If there is one key that I could give young photographers it is to change your perspective. We all see the world from eye level 95% of the time. This perspective is so ubiquitous that we are instantly drawn to images that change the point of view. I laid down on my stomach to take this photograph and with that simple step changed a picture of some pretty flowers into something interesting. We look at the stems as they emerge from the dirt and we can almost feel them pushing upwards. Get high, get low, do what it takes to change your perspective in interesting ways. The other concern I had was the very busy background so I stopped down to f/2.8 and got back far enough that I could shoot it at 200mm. This longer focal length emphasizes and strengthens the effect of the shallow depth of field, turning the distracting background into a blurry field of dark tones. When I took the photo I was thinking black and white because the the brilliant white petals but little did I realize how converting to B&W in Nik Silver Efex Pro would give the flowers a glow as if lit from within.

-Russell Berg