RICHARD LEAR

BEHIND THE LENS

 

I have traveled the world looking for extraordinary flowers to photograph. Through my lens, I have found beauty as well as abstraction from New Jersey to Fiji. Since the flower is one of nature's most perfect and unique gifts it makes the ideal subject. It brings joy and laughter, and brightens the darkest of days. The magnitude of color is always awe inspiring.

 

I have to admit I have put myself in some very precarious situations to get just the right shot. For my flower photography, I use a macro lens so I cannot take my pictures from a safe distance. Having my husband sit on my legs so I can hang over a body of water to reach the perfect water lily, to hanging upside down over a second story balcony to capture a unique flower I had never seen before is just a sample of the lengths I will go to for my art.

 

I become enthralled with different things and take endless pictures, from doors to landscapes to people. Usually, it is about a simple aspect of the entire subject.

 

I never knew life could be joyful, exciting and calm all at once until I picked up my camera for the first time and tried to capture the beauty that had been before me my entire life.