Sometimes You Just Have to Photograph It

Cochlospermum vitifolium, or by any other name; Copán, Honduras, 2011

During the intensive search for "portfolio worthy" images, sometimes we stumble upon happy little larks of color, shape, or form that beckon our lenses for no reason other than simple beauty.  There are a number of subjects whose very attraction and ease on the eyes has caused their visual exhaustion.  I had an exasperated instructor in graduate school that used to tell us that we were "absolutely forbidden to photograph puppies, babies, flowers, or sunsets unless a) the baby was crying, b) the puppy was dead, c) the flowers were covered in blood, d) sunsets were made 'prettier' by things like fires and traffic accidents in the foreground, or e) they were in any combination of the above." 

The unusual is, of course, always more interesting than the mundane.  But sometimes, you just have to pause and marvel at perfection and banality.  Take a moment to--literally--stop and smell the flowers.