NOPHO Week 3 - Elegant

From dictionary.com

el·e·gant

 [el-i-guhnt] Show IPA

adjective

1.

tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc.: elegant furnishings.

2.

gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style: an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.

3.

graceful in form or movement: an elegant wave of the hand.

4.

appropriate to refined taste: a man devoted to elegant pursuits.

5.

excellent; fine; superior: an absolutely elegant wine.

 

Between you and me I elegant is like porn, you know it when you see it. Otherwise it is hard to define. Sometimes elegant is bordering on regal. Sometimes it is the opposite of trashy, ostentatious, or too much. Sometimes it borders on austere.

 

It is subjective and really a matter of sensibility and taste. Or in terms of art, ascetic.

 

L, wrinkling up her nose,  asked me what elegant was exactly and it took me a bit to explain it. She snorts and says, "you mean boring." L's tastes skirt or dive into ostentatious, depending on the day. She hasn't met a pattern she couldn't live without or mix and match with... She thinks black and white as a design scheme is in a word, BORING. (She also gave each photo in last weeks wrap up a thoughtful and very critical critique. She knows what she likes and she has, even at her young age a very fierce and well defined aesthetic.) 

 

I struggled with this photo this week. At first I had planned an outing for myself and I had an idea of what I wanted to shoot. Somehow I never made it there. Then I set up a shot in my kitchen and while I like and it is very sensual, it just wasn't exactly what I wanted.

 

I took a shot of the cat and well elegant it isn't, but regal, we nailed regal.

 

On a lark I took my camera with me Saturday as we hit the park and I hoped something would speak to me. The park is new and the season at a rather stark point, but I decided to be free and just take pictures.

 

As I edited the photos, I realized I had a few wonderful shots. And then finally, in the last three, I saw my picture! Simple, strong, and elegant.

 

(I posted the runners up on Monday and Tuesday and will finish up on Thursday and Friday. A week of photos this week.)

 

Don't you agree?