Make Your Own Art

I'm a big fan of photography - my dad even owned a photography store in the town where I go to school! But until I can afford to buy some of my own prints (Conde Nast has an amazing selection of their old prints for sale) I've had to take my own photographs and make them work.

I love bold, punchy colors and wanted something for my apartment that would give a little color to the white walls. At the time I was growing some hibiscus trees in my backyard (for the record, gardening and being a college undergrad do NOT mix well...) and thought the flowers were the perfect inspiration for my walls. Unfortunately, the only pictures I could find were either too abstract and sketchy...

or too literal.

Unhappy with what I was finding, I decided to give it a go myself. I took a few of the flowers from my own tree, taped them to a blank white wall (a piece of paper would probably work just as well), and snapped away. A few minutes on the free editing software that came on my laptop and I was able to enhance the color of the flower and wash out the whiteness of the wall. It gave the photo that great artistic edge that made it fun to look at with a bold splash of pink for the walls.

My hibiscus on the tree...

 taped to my walls, still a work in progress...

 and viola! A good zoom lens and the proper lighting is all it takes to turn an ordinary flower into a great pop of color! 

Combined with a beautiful black frame I got at Home Goods for about 12.99 (gallery frame 75% off!) it was exactly what I was looking for and a great way to show off my (amateur) skills behind the camera! All you need is a little inspiration and you can turn any little thing into your own work of art.