Behind the Shot
Anyone who has experienced a sweltering summer day knows that it can be equal parts unbearable and invigorating. Oppressive yet simultaneously joyful. There’s nothing quite like sweat rolling down your face while you bask in the warm sunshine after months of cold and bundling up.
This is especially true in the South, where photography duo Wesley and Emma Teague both hail from and currently reside. “I wanted to capture the feeling of a Southern summer and the thick summer air,” Emma says. She found an unconventional way to do that, but it worked. She pulled over on the highway to snap a patch of Queen Anne’s lace, a common wildflower. But to really get the feel of a Southern summer day, she had to get creative. So naturally she wrapped a plastic bag around the camera lens to create a hazy feel. It worked. The resulting image transports you smack into the middle of summer, no matter the season. You can almost hear the insects buzzing and taste the lemonade.
Sometimes, the most imaginative methods lead to the most rewarding outcomes. Hanging this print in your home is a perfect reminder to experiment and try things a different way now and then. Just like a plastic bag and a patch of wildflowers beneath an overpass, there’s beauty in the unexpected.