Anemone, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

Anemones are members of the ranunculus family, and related to the buttercup. Taking a break from my task of working on my new book, Digital Light and Exposure, I couldn’t resist cutting some flowers from the garden, including dahlias and this anemone. With the cut flowers in water, I just had to photograph them. I used natural light in my studio, and classic high depth-of-field macro technique.

Related images: White Anemone, Anemone Japonica.

[85mm macro lens (127.5mm in 35mm terms, 36mm extension tube, 20 seconds at f/64 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]

Anemones are said to be symbolic of memory, although I think this one looks more like an angel with wings and a burning core than a memory bank. In any case, the flower is apt for the day, 9/11. Few of us will forget the anniversary of an event that transfigured our world, and changed it for the worse. Here’s one of my photos, scanned from a slide, of the New York skyline before the Trade Towers came down.