My photo treasures: Diane Varner

Photograph © Diane Varner. Sweet Dawn (flowers of potato vine, Solanum jasminoides).

The photography of Diane Varner did not catch my eye and interest immediately, but rather grew on me slowly. I was attracted by the subjects that Diane Varner discovers on her daily walks: intimate details of trees, plants and flowers, such as the one above, sea-, water- and landscapes, or even birds. What took me longer to fully realize and appreciate is the unique character of her photographs.

For Diane Varner, post-processing is just as important as the actual photo searching and taking process. In most cases, the original content of the composition is not altered, but countless hours are spent exploring the photographs in the digital darkroom. She enjoys experimenting with the computer and to me, her photographs reveal a great effort for the choice and adjustment of the colors and overall appearance. If you are interested, Diane Varner shares some of her digital developing techniques in great detail in post-processing tutorials that feature before and after examples and also include PSD files to explore.

To me, the most distinguishing characteristic of Diane Varner's photographs are the colors, which always create an airy, mystical, and also slightly surreal atmosphere. This unique mood is often emphasized by the contrast between the sharp main subject and the out-of-focus elements in the background. What I appreciate the most is the attention to the small details of beauty that are easily overlooked, but that enlighten our days if we are just willing to look carefully and consciously. None of her photographs feature iconic landmarks!

Diane Varner explores the beauty nearby her home on daily walks with her dog and also shares her creations in an award-winning blog with that name (for example, her blog is in the top 10 on coolphotoblogs!). It is inspiring to read about her growing awareness of the small gems in her environment and how, by her daily explorations, "the mundane had become magical and I wanted to record it and share my excitement of what I had found". To learn more about her photography and to enjoy her images, head over to the daily walks website, visit her galleries, and maybe read some of the interviews that she has given (listed on her "about page"). The photograph above is one that I think is particularly representative for Diane Varner's photography. It is also a photograph that does not only appeal to me, but also to the masses: it has been awarded in the International Garden Photographer of the year 2012 competition with the third place.

2014/11/01 by Unknown
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