SubscribeBlog

Of Love and Other Madness

25 Jul By accord Filed under Flowers. No comments.

While the flower symbolism associated with the tulip is both fame and perfect love, the tulip bulb itself was the coveted subject of a period of financial mayhem in the 16th century in the Netherlands, shortly after it’s introduction from the Ottoman Empire in the mid-16th century when it became very popular. Tulip mania was a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which tulip prices for bulbs reached extraordinarily high prices, and then suddenly collapsed. Popularized in 1841 by the book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, written by Charles Mackay, at one point as much as 12 acres of land was traded for a single tulip bulb. Supposedly many investors were ruined by the collapse in prices and Dutch commerce suffered a severe shock. Love or madness, the tulip has become one of the most beloved of flowers.

Prints available for purchase through Imagekind.
© 2010 Dawn LeBlanc. All Rights Reserved. Contact for Use.

Fragments (Agapanthus)

25 Jul By accord Filed under Flowers. No comments.

Despite its name, lily of the Nile, this plant isn’t native to Egypt or anywhere near the Nile. It is a native of the rivers and streams of Southern Africa in the coastal mountains of the Cape of Good Hope. The long dry season there has contributed to its drought resistance. The genus was named from the Greek for love flower by a French botanist. This plant is not a true lily either, but a member of the Amaryllis family with only two other species in cultivation, A. campanulatus and A. orientalis. The flower of Agapanthus inspired art and sculpture of the Modern movement and became a signature of midcentury pop art motifs.

Prints available for purchase through Imagekind. Created using a scanner.

Artichoke

25 Jul By accord Filed under Black & White. No comments.

The origin of artichokes is unknown, though they are said to have come from the Maghreb (North Africa), where they are still found in the wild state; the seeds of artichokes, probably cultivated, were found during the excavation of Mons Claudianus in Egypt during the Roman period. The various names of the artichoke in European languages all ultimately come from Arabic al-kharshuf (approximate spelling).  The Arabic term Ardi-Shoki  which means “ground thorny” is a folk etymology of the English name. The cardoon, a naturally occurring variant of the same species, is native to the South Mediterranean, even though it has not been mentioned in extant Classic literature. Artichokes were cultivated in Sicily during the Greek occupation, the Greeks calling them kaktos. In this period the leaves and flower heads, which cultivation had already improved from the wild form, were eaten. The Romans, who called the vegetable carduus received the plant from the Greeks. Further improvement in the cultivated form appear to have taken place in the Muslim period in the Maghreb, although the evidence is inferential only.

Globe artichokes are known to have been cultivated at Naples around the middle of the 9th century.  (Source: Wikipedia Commons)

Canon EOS 5D Mark II ,Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM 1/4s f/7.1 at 100.0mm iso100. Combined several images into one using focus stacking with Helicon Focus.

Prints available through Imagekind.

Red, Red Rose

25 Jul By accord Filed under Flowers. No comments.

The name rosa is the classical Latin name for the plant, literally translating as red., the most common color of the flower. In classical Greek, the rose appeared as rhodon, from which are derived the names rhododendron, literally rose trees, and Rhodes or Rodos, the Greek island where rose flourish. The word rosa is also related to rosary beads, which according to church doctrine represent the crown of thorns, or rosarium, worn by the Virgin Mary.

Source: Bobby J. Ward, A Contemplation Upon Flowers: Garden Plants in Myth and Literature.

Canon 20D, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 APO EX DG Macro HSM 2s f/5.6 at 150mm iso 100.

Prints available for purchse through ImageKind.

In Blue

25 Jul By accord Filed under Flowers. No comments.

René Rapin eloquently explained the origin and habit of the cyclamen, a flower used to signify diffendence and distrust in the language of flowers:

Cyclamens, which we now with pleasure know,
To Gredian gardens their extraction owe,
One species is with robes of silver born,
The gen’rous scarlet by another worn,
And both the spring with early pride adorn.
Corsu and Coritus with both abound,
And much of each in shady Zacynth found,
Thousands in summer shine with either dye,
And in autumnal months they multiply.

Image shot in natural window light thru the reflection of some colored glass bottles with a Canon EOS 1D Mark III ,Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM at 1s f/16.0 at 100.0mm iso100 using a tripod.

Prints are available for purchase through Imagekind.

Dahlia

25 Jul By accord Filed under Flowers. No comments.

Native to Central America, Mexico and Colombia, there are approximately 30 species and as many as 20,000 cultivars that no longer bear much resemblance to the original wild species–a simple single flower with a scarlet ray and yellow disk.

Dahlias are named after the Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl, a student of Linnaeus. In eastern Europe and Russia, the dahlia is known a georgina, named for a St. Petersburg botany professor, Johnn Georgi, who was so delighted with the dahlia he saw on a holiday in Paris he took them  home and gave them to friends.

In the language of flowers, a single dahlia indicated good taste, but a collection noted instability,  apparently referring to the difficulty of growing it in European gardens.

Five

24 Jul By accord Filed under Flowers. No comments.

The calla lilies are a beautiful genus of flowers that have been enjoyed by humans for centuries. The calla lily grows from a type of bulb called a rhizome and produces very large green leaves, typically covered with lighter-coloured spots. The flower blooms from the top of a rather thick stem and sort of resembles trumpet shaped rolled paper, having a texture ranging from rather fleshy to wet autumn leaves. A grouping of calla lilies is a wonderful addition to any garden, since they are relatively easy to grow and are an absolute favourite as a cut flower inside the house.

Prints available through Imagekind. Created using a scanner.

Calla Study No. 1

24 Jul By accord Filed under Flowers. No comments.

A genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to southern Africa from South Africa north to Malawi. The name of the genus was given as a tribute to Italian botanist Giovanni Zantedeschi (1773–1846) by the German botanist Kurt Sprengel (1766–1833). Common names include Arum lily for Z. aethiopica, calla, and calla lily for Z. elliottiana and Z. rehmannii although it is neither a true lily (Liliaceae), nor Arum or Calla (related genera in Araceae). It is also often erroneously spelled as “cala lily”. It has often been used in many paintings, and is visible in many of Diego Rivera’s works of art (see The Flower Vendor, amongst others).

Canon EOS 5D Mark II ,Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
20s f/32.0 at 100.0mm iso100. Shot in natural window light.

Prints available for purchase through ImageKind.

Red

15 Jul By accord Filed under Flowers. No comments.

Gerbera is very popular and widely used as a decorative garden plant or as cut flowers. The domesticated cultivars are mostly a result of a cross between Gerbera jamesonii and another South African species Gerbera viridifolia. The cross is known as Gerbera hybrida. Thousands of cultivars exist. They vary greatly in shape and size. Colours include white, yellow, orange, red, and pink. The centre of the flower is sometimes black. Often the same flower can have petals of several different colours.

Image was created by scanning the actual flower, using an Epson 4990 and VueScan as scanner software. I use a scanner sometimes to create images larger than I can create with the 5D Mark II so they can be reproduced in large format.  For details as to how this is done, please refer to this article in Popular Photography.

Prints of this image available for purchase through Imagekind.

Sydney Skyline

11 Jul By accord Filed under Places. 1 Comment.

The Sydney skyline as we returned from a quick boat tip to Manly Beach.

This was shot with the Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon 24-105 mm handheld.

Cyclamen in White

10 Jul By accord Filed under Flowers. No comments.

The genus Cyclamen consists of twenty species native to western Asia, Europe and northern Africa. The common showy greenhouse cyclamen, C. persicum, is native to the eastern Mediterranean.

The name cyclamen is derived from the Greek kyklos or cyclos, for circular, referring to the coiling of the flower stems after pollination. The name has been used since at least the time of Theophrastus in the third century BEC.  The common names sowbread or swine bread come from the belief that the plant afforded food for wild swine.

Cyclamen were used for a variety of complaints–to stop baldness, to counteract certain poisons, aid in childbirth, as well as an “amorphous medicine” used to stir desire. In the language of flowers, cyclamens signify diffidence and distrust.

Note: This was shot in natural window light with a Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 100mm macro lens.