SKIMMER ON A STEM

Let me start off by admitting I'm not generally a fan of photographs incorporating various sorts of lens flare, or ghosting, as part of the finished image. I know, however, some folks do like this effect, and am also aware there are any number of genuinely excellent photographers who often purposely strive to shoot with the notion of capturing such elements in their photos. 

What can I say? Tastes vary. Different strokes for different folks. 

But for me, such technical aberrations border too much on the Pseudo-Artsy School of Design. Like that latest attempt at creating art by Yoko Ono, which—I kid you not!—is simply three piles of dirt on a floor. Come on—really? Art? Of course Yoko also once exhibited another bit of "art" in which viewers had to climb a ladder in order to read the word "Yes" she'd painted in tiny letters on the ceiling. Yoko claimed divine inspiration for that one…though I say more like cosmic ego and perhaps a bit of residual LSD still banging around in her system from days basking in the shadow of John Lennon. 

So how do I square such an admittedly prejudiced stance with the photo above? 

Alas, I don't. Moreover, such a glaring character inconsistency rather worries me that I may be going soft in my dotage. What's next…developing a fondness for Rap music and skim milk? 

The fact is, I tried to throw the image away several times—but kept compulsively retrieving it from the trash because…well, because I liked the way the ghostly little blobs of flared light seemed to compliment the ethereal nature of the male Widow Skimmer perched on a weed stem. And you know the worst part? I'm not even ashamed of myself!

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