Puff, a photo from Utah, West

Photographer's Note

This is not a dandelion but the seeds of a salsify plant. The seed heads are much larger than a dandelion. For this image, I shoved my camera right down into the seed head with a small aperture. Luckily there was enough light for me to hold the camera still. This plant is very prolific here in Utah. The yellow blossoms can be seen in early summer, and the seed heads in late summer and early fall. Enjoy!

shutterbug, avigur_11, jstewart, hispic, Jeppe, Georges, robiuk, Motrem, Porteplume, mortijo, chappy77 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

hayseed (104) 2004-09-20 21:24 [Comment]

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shutterbug (531) 2004-09-20 21:50

I would not guess that this isn't a dandelion had you not mentioned it David... Good perspective and nice dof. It looks really cool :)
~Stacey

nmess (2301) 2004-09-20 22:09 [Comment]

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Khennjo (13) 2004-09-20 22:11

Cool perspective! nice shot you have there. I like the depth of field in which it was captured.

avigur_11 (22553) 2004-09-20 22:35

Wow. I thought that it is a fontain from above, David..
A very graphic and artistic shot. I like the squarre crop and the silky white lines. Just beautiful.

greghume1 (447) 2004-09-21 0:51

Excellent macro - very well done. Has anyone actually eaten salsify? The common name is oyster plant. My father grew some in his garden many years ago and cooked some in croquette form - very tasty.

alainh (33209) 2004-09-21 0:56

bonjour David
tres belle image, sortie d'un qualeidoscope dirait on. L'oeil ne sait pas oщ se poser. superbe
alain

jstewart (1150) 2004-09-21 1:10

Excellent. The geometry of nature, not to mention the colours that you have captured.

agelaste (533) 2004-09-21 1:24

at first i thought it's dandelion,and it looks like the fireworks,it's better to cropped pic in square shape ,to get balance well and give the sight focus on the seedweb...
i like it so much!!!

bobll7 (200) 2004-09-21 2:01

This is sure an astonishing picture. Good catch, with a perfect exposition and composition. You cannot ask much better. You can look at it over and over and kept being captive of this image. My first favorite.

saurabh (104) 2004-09-21 3:10

You've captured the delicate and fragile beauty well. The light has been captured excellently through the strands.

Carma (2440) 2004-09-21 3:17

Feeling of inner world. Thanks!:-)

merpb (2001) 2004-09-21 6:59

This is now the 4th macro shot that I've commented on after a year with TE, (they usually leave me cold) could this be becoming a habit!
A very intriguing and original insight into the inner workings of this plant David, that transcends the merely mechanical macro shot and creates/shows the beautiful simple geometry of nature.
I love the way you have positioned the central radiating ribs so that they each seem to lead to the peripheral seed heads and the light on the upper heads truly shows their delicate gossamer structure.
Nicely done.

tgdusty (385) 2004-09-21 7:19

OHH! What a wonderfull capture David,something to behold,Very well done
Tony B

richtersl (3546) 2004-09-21 8:00

What a wonderful abstract this is! Simply beautiful.

djenno (0) 2004-09-21 14:35

Awesome macro! Regards, Djenno

Jeppe (18654) 2004-09-21 16:15

A nice and very harmonic image you got here David - I like the angle and DOF as well - I'm not sure to find this plant around here - but I will check my books - Thanks sharing this fine job.

ishai (4097) 2004-09-21 16:25

Very good cupture
And good DOF

Midnight_sun (1941) 2004-09-21 18:35

Stunning macro, the delicate central & symmetrical shape has such great light
on it. It really holding the eye and is so nice to explore the rest of the seeds from here. Wow, great result as usual.

sn00zie (2384) 2004-09-22 10:50

wow! this is some shot! i got very goofed and was staring at it for sometime (trying to figure out what it was).. i read your note after that! very interesting patterns and textures..

manny (22032) 2004-09-22 21:26

Hi David...I am always pleased with the way you expose, compose and enhances the beauty of your subject. This one as usual, is a classic. I am looking and learning. I wish I can do it too.

pts later

Georges (11185) 2004-09-24 7:55

Ca c'est de la macro avec cet effet et ce cotй abstrait.
Les dйtails sont superbe et la nettetй irrйprochable.
Du bon boulot David Bravo.

robiuk (10807) 2004-09-26 18:52

Beautiful!
AN excellent POV as well as colours & composition!

colorpw (165) 2004-10-05 10:03

not too centre? but i like it still

Motrem (2392) 2004-10-12 19:46

Wouah! Which macro, we would say the inside of a hot-air balloon. Details and colours are good. Big mastery of the technique and overflowing imagination. A true pleasure for us!

Wouah! quelle macro, on dirait l'intйrieur d'une montgolfiиre. Les dйtails sont bien dйfinis et les couleurs bien rendues. Grande maоtrise de la technique et imagination dйbordante. Un vrai plaisir pour nous!

laxpix (686) 2004-10-28 8:04

Great macro, The result is so beautiful, never matter that we can;t say what is it. It is the beauty of the nature.

robyrad (610) 2004-11-28 8:01

molto molto carina. l'angolo и molto originale e la qualitа del dttaglio veramente notevole. mi piace proprio... viene voglia di soffiarci sopra!! :)))

cottalorda (140) 2004-12-12 4:58

all is good here ! It's art ! Congratulations !

hantulaut (3441) 2005-01-23 6:08

a very decorative picture, and its a rare shot here on TE :-)

ornis (1271) 2005-02-05 17:22

Hi David. Just a little look on TE. I was looking for the whip snake you posted earlier. In the meantime, I stopped at this one. Very creative inspiration, leading to a great artistic shot. It's art and nature. I like your work, there's always something special in it. So, when do we see you with some nature shots on TN? Regards.

faubry (35447) 2005-04-05 4:24

ouahhhhh, superb picture, very very beautiful flowers.. like"nmess" seem kaleidoscope, colors in sweety, artistic, bravo
francine

Porteplume (4036) 2005-04-26 11:40

Bonjour David, really sorry having too little time for so many great photographers on TE! This one is a very good photo, really sharp and crisp close-up!

I remember that vegetable/root E:salsify/D:schorseneren/F:salsifis ou scorsonиre/Latin:Tragopogon porrifolius & Scorzonera hispanica and being called the "poors' asparagus". But I always liked the taste, it has almost desappeared of the shops nowedays, here in Holland or France, though you still can buy them in a can.
I also remember howmuch time you needed to prepare them and how black your hands were after the job... [scorsonere : scorza nera : black rind]

mortijo (12828) 2005-05-12 7:07

Absolute stunning macro. The cropping is excellent. I am learning every day here on this site, I had never seen the seeds of a salsify plant.

chappy77 (306) 2005-05-23 8:52

This is one of the most amazing and unique macro shots I have seen! The postioning of all the seeds radiating out from the centre is great as well!

Albrecht (11283) 2006-10-13 5:29

Hi David
Great job;wonderful picture.Nice artistic touch.
gs.Albrecht

asadi-s (108) 2006-10-13 5:37

like a fountain...nice photo

uccia84 (720) 2006-12-08 9:22

you make some stupendous photos... beautiful macro excellent light and detail also the sobjet.I want to points every your photo!