KATHY LIBBY PHOTOGRAPHY
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A Moment in Bloom-Catching Nature at the Perfect Time

6/2/2025

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There’s something magical about flowers after a fresh rain—their petals hold onto droplets like tiny jewels, reflecting the soft morning light. On this particular outing, I had one goal: capture nature’s post-storm beauty before it disappeared. 

In the past, I’ve watched flowers bend too far under the weight of lingering raindrops, losing the elegance of their perfect form. But this time—my timing was spot on.

I framed this shot to capture the delicate curve of the petals as they embraced the remaining raindrops. The contrast of deep purple and green felt like nature’s own dramatic masterpiece. 

​This iris reminds me of life’s delicate balance—too much waiting and an opportunity may pass, but if you catch it at just the right time, you get something extraordinary.

Have you ever captured a perfect fleeting moment? I’d love to hear your stories! 

This print is now available in my shop—bring a touch of nature’s elegance into your home.

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Wabi Sabi

3/30/2022

 
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Wabi Sabi - The art of finding beauty in the imperfect.

When I was first presented with the idea of Wabi Sabi and looked at the mostly dead daisies, I have to admit, I was challenged. I've always looked at broken items, rusted out things and dead plants as discardable--not photo-worthy. Now, I see them in a new light. There is something about these daisies that I am drawn to.

At one time, these were beautiful daisies, part of a wonderful display of flowers. Although they've been removed from their companions, I can see some of the daisies clinging to that life force--not ready to give up. I don't necessarily mean the 
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white petals when I talk about those that are clinging to that life force.​​ The whole time I was manipulating the flowers, trying to find just the right angle in which to photograph them, not one petal dropped. It was as though their story was not over yet. It was as though they were saying to me, "I am worthy of a picture. I am still beautiful, with all my scars and in my old age." I, then, found this angle and click the shutter. I saw the beauty, and I understood Wabi Sabi.
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What's a Long Exposure?

8/10/2020

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I confess… I love to make long exposures. It’s not something I do a lot, but I love the effect. The dreamy look of this photo is achieved by taking a long exposure. A long exposure is when you leave the shutter of your camera open for a longer period of time than the normal fraction of a second. In order to capture this image, I put my camera on a tripod and left the shutter open for nearly 30 seconds. This allowed the water to blur each time the ocean waves rushed towards the beach.

This sunrise photo was taken in Stone Harbor, NJ. It was taken before the sun rose—it was still quite dark and in order for the image to be seen, by the sensor, the shutter needed to remain open longer than it would have had the sun been up.

Had the sun been up, I would have used an ND filter to make the shutter stay open. An ND filter reduces the light hitting the shutter. It is similar to sunglasses for your eyes. It shades the front of the lens requiring the shutter to stay open.
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I like this picture because the sky is still in focus despite the long shutter. A lot of the time, the clouds would have blurred too (given that clouds move in the sky), but the sky was very still this day. As I mentioned above, I like the dreamy quality to the bottom half of the picture. It looks foggy around the rocks. I also like the colors. What do you think of this image? Do you like the long exposure—or would you have preferred to see the waves crashing? That would have been a completely different picture. What are your thoughts?
 


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