Lady' Smock, or Cuckoo Flower; cardamine pratensis

Lady's Smock, cardamine pratensis

Lady's Smock, cardamine pratensis

I have wanted to photograph Lady's Smock for some time, but it appears in my field only very rarely. It is actually a member of the 'bittercress' family (cardamine), examples of which have appeared in this blog several times already.

I caught it, finally, on a dewy morning, with the flowers either in bud or just emerging.

The problem here was complexity.  I took many images showing a profusion of buds and opened flowers, but decided that these were too confusing.  I present two simple images here, hoping to capture the essence of the flower , a sense of awakening, and the fresh dewy morning.  Having chosen the subject matter and the composition, the photography itself was less challenging than it has been lately, as the light was much better, but there are still problems with striking the balance between 'depth of field' and the isolation of the image from the detail in its surroundings.  

Common Field Speedwell (veronica persica)

Common Field Speedwell (veronica persica)

Common Field Speedwell (veronica persica)

The common speedwell (veronica persica) has been a long-term project.  How do you capture its essence?  Unregarded, very beautiful, reticent, always hiding in the grass.  And then the usual problems:  how do you make a satisfying image out of a single flower?  Or how do you contrive a grouping with a solitary flower like the speedwell?  Here are two attempts.

Something Old, Something New

Red Deadnettle, lamium pupureum

I have been trying for some time to get an image of Red Deadnettle (lamium purpureum) that I was really pleased with.  The flower is unusual and exotic, but that seems to render image-making all the harder; or is it that our settled views of conventional flowers prevents us seeing an abnormal one objectively.  Anyway, I have now produced an image that I am quite satisfied with.

Common Fiedld Speedwell, Veronica persica

Also for a long time I have thought that Common Field Speedwell, Veronica persica, should make a good subject, without ever getting round to photographing it.  Well, I have put that right now.  I'm sure that I have produced the best possible image, but at least I now know that this plant has great potential.

Spring in Full Swing

Ground Ivy, glechoma hederacea.

All the Spring flowers are out now, and its time to try again at flowers that I have photographed in the past, but never in my view, got right.  One of these is ground ivy, glechoma hederacea.  This is a very common flower, but seems to be very rarely noticed.  The flower itself has a fascinating structure, giving you the strong feeling that 'there must be a picture in here somewhere.

Hairy bittercress, cardamine hirsuta.

One of my aspirations is to produce photographs that have the attributes of paintings, watercolours in particular.  The opportunity arises only rarely, since it usually involves photographing a subject through another subject.  I got the chance here with hairy bittercress, although it did, of course, add to the difficulties of getting the camera into the right position.  

Red Deadnettle

Flower bud of red deadnettle,  lamium purpureum.

Flower of Red Deadnettle, Lamium purpureum

Back to high magnification, and my most challenging wildflower.  Red deadnettle occurs all over the place, and is no doubt regarded as a common weed.  But the tiny, individual flowers are very interesting - shaped like a pitcher, with detailed markings on the entrance, presumably to guide incoming flying insects.  The flowers would also seem to be very beautiful, having many of the attributes of exotic orchids.  The challenge lies in the fact that for all the interest and beauty of the flowers, I have yet to take a satisfactory photo.  The images here include one taken of a bud - a tiny globe of ruby red.  Images here are taken at a magnification of about 3X.  

Other Signs of Spring

Wild plum, prunus insititia

Wild plum, (prunus insititia)

Of course there are many different sorts of blossom out now, and they're usually much easier to photograph.  You can just wander around and take shots.  Hard work can resume in due course.  Here is some wild plum in flower (Prunus insitia)

Spring at Last

Hairy Bittercress, cardamine hirsuta

Hairy Bittercress, cardamine hirsuta

Well, it really is Spring now - the bittercress flowers are fully open, and the light is a lot better, even when the sun isn't out.   Lining-up a shot is still difficult;  the surface of the moss-garden is so uneven that I can't really say that I am composing pictures -  I am simply fighting to find somewhere secure to wedge the lens support into, and then seeing what images can be produced;  but I think things are getting better.