Gather Ye Rosebuds

I've been on a bit of a photography spree of late.  As a birthday treat, I spent a day in the French Quarter photographing all the things.  I really wanted to capture a lot of the amazing residential portion of the French Quarter, but as temperatures inched up toward 90, I definitely started to lose my drive.

I agreed to meet a friend at the St Roch Market for lunch so it seemed like a perfect time for a break.  Walking toward Elysian Fields and beyond, I realized where I really should have been taking photos all day.  The houses are fantastic.  The colors are brilliant and the cottages are classic New Orleans.

I will definitely have to head back to New Orleans for another day of photography.  Hopefully, another day when I am less likely to melt.  

I spent a few hours in the Garden District a few week back.  The houses there are overwhelmingly elegant and grand.  I find I prefer the more modest shotgun cottage in all their gaudy Creole glory.

With my new embarrassingly large largess of photographs, I thought it would be fun to play with some more mixing.  

My initial thought was to take the idea of Gathering Ye Rosebuds to the nth degree and make my young girls actual rosebuds, but as the image evolved, I decided to leave my young misses with their lovely faces intact.

I tinkered with the color scheme from bright to dark.  I even tried a version without any young ladies but finally settled on my favorite.

GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.