Beyond sleek
Click for greater clarity.
Last month, in a post entitled Sleek, you saw the relatively straight and distinctly shiny strands that female Clematis drummondii flowers produce after they’re fertilized. Now, in a photograph that I took in my neighborhood on July 18, you get to see the tangled mass that those strands, still somewhat lustrous, turn into. The red area at the center of the picture is a seed core, with each strand attached to one seed.
The width of this photograph represents about an inch and a quarter (3.2 cm). Because I had to get in so close, and because the strands were at varying distances from the front of my macro lens, I stopped down to the minimum aperture of f/32 for the greatest possible depth of field. To compensate for the loss of light at such a small aperture, I turned on the camera’s flash. The dark navy blue visible between strands was actually clear sky.
© 2012 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
As usual your work is amazing and inspirational.
Michelle Armour
August 5, 2012 at 6:07 AM
I appreciate that, Michelle. There’s a lot to be inspired by in nature. Clematis drummondii happens to be one of my favorite native plants to photograph.
Steve Schwartzman
August 5, 2012 at 6:15 AM
That is beautiful.
Cathy
August 5, 2012 at 7:29 AM
These swirling strands always impress me, and I never get tired of photographing them.
Steve Schwartzman
August 5, 2012 at 8:31 AM
Beautiful photograph. I am still at the digital fixed lens stage and I really appreciated your posts on your equipment and technique.
afrenchgarden
August 5, 2012 at 7:46 AM
Glad to be of help. Even a fixed-lens camera—especially nowadays—can still do a lot. Happy picture taking to you.
Steve Schwartzman
August 5, 2012 at 8:46 AM
Here, it looks amazingly like fireworks. Or, more likely, certain types of fireworks look like clematis drummondii After all, we speak of fireworks “blossoming” into the night sky. This shows how apt the comparison is.
shoreacres
August 5, 2012 at 8:55 AM
Thanks for a new analogy. Until you said it, I would never have thought about fireworks “blossoming” into the night sky.
Steve Schwartzman
August 5, 2012 at 9:47 AM
It’s amazing the similarities found throughout Nature… This image reminds me of human hair strands!
FeyGirl
August 5, 2012 at 9:09 AM
Now, in contrast to fireworks, I definitely conjured up visions of human hair strands. By the way, the most common colloquial name for this species is old man’s beard. You’re certainly right about the similarities found in diverse parts of nature.
Steve Schwartzman
August 5, 2012 at 9:50 AM
Ah! Old man’s beard… So they obviously thought the same, heh. I do love seeing such similarities.
FeyGirl
August 5, 2012 at 8:58 PM
They don’t show you this stage in the seed catalogs you get … Thanks for something I never would have expected.
Merrill Gonzales
August 5, 2012 at 1:52 PM
You have to be within inches to see this “interior” view. My guess is that few producers of seed catalogs—or plant growers—get that close and therefore don’t think to include a picture like this. For me, this is the most interesting and picturesque phase.
Steve Schwartzman
August 5, 2012 at 2:31 PM
Cool shot!
TBM
August 6, 2012 at 1:48 AM
This is one of my favorite things to photograph.
Steve Schwartzman
August 6, 2012 at 6:18 AM
[…] last photograph was a close view of a Clematis drummondii seed core, with each seed attached to a feathery strand. At the same July 18th session that produced that […]
Farther beyond sleek « Portraits of Wildflowers
August 6, 2012 at 6:16 AM
[…] last photograph was a close view of a Clematis drummondii seed core, with each seed attached to a feathery strand. At the same July 18th session that produced that […]
Farther beyond sleek « Portraits of Wildflowers
August 6, 2012 at 6:16 AM
As tangled as a medusa’s head…. It’s really helpful reading your technical tips. I’ve been experimenting using your advice.
Nature on the Edge
August 6, 2012 at 3:50 PM
A medusa’s head is a good analogy. Biologists use the word medusa for a jellyfish or a phase in the life of one, but you’re the first person I know who’s applied the term to Clematis drummondii.
I’m glad some of my photo techniques have proved helpful.
Steve Schwartzman
August 6, 2012 at 4:39 PM
What a very cool shot!
Roberta
August 6, 2012 at 10:25 PM
It’s quite a sight when the plant reaches this state. It takes a close look to do it justice.
Steve Schwartzman
August 6, 2012 at 11:10 PM
[…] beard, so the overall effect is less impressive. On the other hand, as intricate and swirly as a display of Clematis drummondii can be, it pales, literally, in comparison to the rich color of the scarlet […]
Scarlet leatherflower opening—in its way « Portraits of Wildflowers
August 8, 2012 at 6:09 AM
[…] the same street at whose corner I took the pictures of Clematis drummondii that appeared three and four posts back. Also coincidentally, last week the NASA vehicle called Explorer landed in a crater on […]
Balsam-gourd « Portraits of Wildflowers
August 9, 2012 at 6:11 AM