Beautiful Fading

This is a picture of fading flowers taken while looking upwards into a tree. Even though the flowers are fading, definitely past their prime, something about this scene still struck me as pretty, almost whimsical.

I framed the flowers deliberately off center, I think because it added to the sense of whimsy or light-heartedness. The blurred background also helped highlight the flower cluster and make it pop out, as did desaturating and dimming the colors in the background a little.

These things helped highlight the pretty aspects of the flowers – the light yellow color, gentle lines, and soft textures.

Nevertheless, a close look reveals that the flowers are dying, and it still seems incongruous that we would find this beautiful.

Why does this work? Why do we find beauty in scenes that are not necessarily inviting? Do we ignore the actual content and react to the abstract colors, forms, and patterns? Or do we see something more than what is pictured, and from that sense beauty?

I think these things are worth pondering, and have done so elsewhere, so that photography for me becomes more than just the pictures.