Single Flowers

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge  this week Single Flower or Bud has again made me aware of just how few photographs of flowers I have in my archives. My catalogue goes like Birds – 500-600 images, Butterflies- at least 300, Flowers – 22. It isn’t that I don’t like flowers, it’s just that I’m not very good at taking pictures of them. They never look nice enough in my images.

When I look at a flower I don’t see a potential picture. Except if it’s the dandelion image that started me off on macro photography in general. I was totally amazed when I took a photo of a single dandelion and then zoomed in to look at it closely on computer. That was when I realised that (a) macro photography would enable me to see things which would never be visible to the naked eye and (b) I needed to buy a good macro lens.

My first dandelion ©HelenBushe

These are some close ups I took four or five years ago. The black backgrounds were my way of coping with photographing a flower without having to try to make it sit beautifully in its natural surroundings. (Oh and for a couple of these I went to the florist and in sheer desperation bought flowers that I thought would look ok against black). I think my photographs look like botanic reference pictures but I’m ok with that.

I can’t even give these photographs titles as I can’t remember what the blooming (intentional pun) things are called.

Oh, give me butterfly photography any day!

Painted Lady on Buddleia ©HelenBushe