A dragonfly on a blade of grass. It’s a nice shot. But...
But...
The thing is, it’s "just" a nice photo. There are a million shots exactly like it out there, and if someone looks at it and thinks, "I could take that too," they’re probably right. All they’d need is a spare afternoon by the water three months from now.
We could leave it at that – just a pretty picture. Or, we could turn it into something else entirely: a piece of high-end design.
Let’s play with the bokeh and push the colors until they pop. It doesn’t matter if they aren't realistic. Strict reality is for documentaries or crime scene investigators. Here, we're focusing on the art.
Those blurred light circles in the background now look like distant city lights at night. The term "Neon Nature" comes to mind. That contrast between deep blue and golden yellow is a classic pairing that never fails to land. Where does a piece like this belong? Almost anywhere – a modern apartment, a high-end gaming setup, or as a bold focal point in a clean, minimalist interior.
The black-and-white version is a whole different story. Stripping away the color makes the geometry truly stand out. The wings look like delicate lace, and the blade of grass takes on the look of a sleek metal rod. Switching to a vertical crop adds a sense of elegance and importance. Where would a piece like this fit? A minimalist Scandi-style interior? Or perhaps a modern, high-end office?
Both versions are still works in progress that need some fine-tuning and polishing. For instance, the black-and-white version still shows some JPEG artifacts in the background that need to be smoothed out. But while the original is just a pleasant photo for a "nature lovers" Facebook group – where it would definitely pick up some likes – these edited versions actually feel like pieces you'd see printed in a large format and hanging on a wall.
This process reminded me once again that a photo is just raw material. A dragonfly on a blade of grass was only the starting point; the result is a design piece with its own identity. What started as a simple snapshot by the water turned into two very different stories – one screams in color, the other whispers in detail. Now it’s time for the final retouches and prepping the large-format prints. We’ll see where this dragonfly eventually lands.
