A Late Summer Rose
Rose in Bloom
A rose blooms in late summer in our front yard, showing off its beautiful color.
Just about every year, I share some sort of “last rose” photo. And then the rose bushes bloom again, making me out to be a liar. So after all of this time, I have learned my lesson and am just calling this one a late summer rose. Yes, it is now fall, but I took this photo back in the last days of summer.
However, one of our rose bushes is still blooming, even though the calendar and the thermometer both say that fall has arrived. So I might still have a chance at that last rose photo for this year if I want to try to guess when the blooming has ended. But instead, I will just stick with this late summer rose. Close enough for me.
The Circle of Life
Of our two rose bushes, one of them is still blooming, while the other one does not look so good. But that’s okay. Because based on past history, they will both bounce back again next year with lots more rose blooms. The rose bushes do die every year, after all.
I like that life goes in circles like that. Everything (except the evergreens, of course) dies out in the fall and looks pretty much dead all winter long. And then spring comes and things start to bud again. By summer, everything is green and colorful. And then the whole process goes again. And again and again.
If things are not what you want them to be, hang on, keep doing what you can, and wait for things to circle around again. Because better days are ahead.
I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him. Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past. - Ecclesiastes 3:14-15
About the Photo
Even though it was still summer when I took this, I wanted a somewhat bleak look for this photo. To achieve that, I used the same technique I used for the Plaza del Sol photo. Once again, I started with a full-color photo. On top of that, I layered a black and white photo, masking out the rose so that the color version underneath would show through. And then I made the black and white layer about 90% opacity so that some of the color of the background would show through, but not too much.
Originally, the background was quite green, but that was too distracting in my opinion, taking focus away from the rose. This method lets a little of the green through, but not enough to distract you from the main subject.
Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in GIMP and Raw Therapee. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Rokinon 35mm f/1.8
Date: September 7, 2022
Location: Home, Williston, Tennessee
