the eye vs. the camera eye

i’ve noticed that most blossoming trees often look completely covered with flowers. there doesn’t appear to be a single empty space anywhere in the canopy of the tree. but what i’ve found is that if i snip a few branches from one of those trees and try to recreate that full-bodied abundance with my camera at home, the branches look spare, and attractively but sparsely flowered. this is true of pussy willows, and red maples when they leaf out, and our redbud tree when it first starts sending out its red laser flares in may. there is one exception to this general rule, in our environment,  and that is the crab apple tree. it is truly teeming with blossom. this photo is an experiment in recreating that profuse abundance on my studio floor. i don’t know if the effect comes through, but i like the photo, so i’m declaring success.

crab apple blossoms