Hairy Bittercress as a Subject

Hairy bittercress, cardamine hirsuta

Hairy bittercress, cardamine hirsuta

Last weekend I took some photos at high magnification of hairy bittercress, cardamine hirsuta, which were more or less satisfactory, except for the fact that they were set against a dark background.  This accentuated the white flowers, but rendered the image 'low-key'.  I was hoping that there would be enough sun this week-end to cast light into the recesses of the moss garden and alleviate such problems; no such luck.  So I have created a light background by stuffing some garden fleece into the cavity behind the flowers.  Some results are shown.  As images they are not bad, although the leaves of the plant itself are very dark, which again has the effect of reducing the key.  But I am reluctant to stray too far from 'natural photography', and I don't want to get into the habit of carting white sheets around the countryside, even though this is still using natural light.  I am going to have to find a more acceptable way of illuminating subjects.