When I finally left my partnership of 4 years, one way I coped with the newfound spaciousness was to take long walks with no particular destination in mind. I would wind a roll of film into my camera, throw it around my shoulder, say goodbye to my cat if I could find him and lock the door. I would walk whichever way I pleased, twisting and turning here or there, listening to music and looking for new flowers to smell and photograph. There were a few favorites I could never resist visiting, namely the viney jasmine bush one street over and the morning glories around the corner.

I became enthralled by the idea of flowers out of context, which to me meant, getting so close the blur drew forth their familiar traits but by feel, rather than by intellect. A familiar fold of a rose, the distinguishable color scheme and pattern of a sunflower, the fuchsia of a bougainvillea. We know the name, effortlessly. It made me wonder what else the body knows. I continue to wonder this and continue to photograph flowers on walks.