Burning White Rose, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

I know this rose looks yellow, but it was actually snow white. You are looking at the color of light coming up through the rose bud. Phyllis helped me construct a small stage set for this photo (and the others in the series). We cut the stem close, and positioned the rose in a small, clear plastic cylinder. Next we lit the cylinder from the sides with LED lights. I covered the whole thing with black velevt cloth up to the edge of the rose blossom.

Finally, I made sure the room was entirely dark (except for the LED lighting from beneath the rose), and photographed straight down on the inside of the blossom.

Related image: Camellia Light.

[105mm f/2.8 macro lens (157.5mm in 35mm terms), extension tube, 30 seconds at f/36 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]

Camellia Light, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

This is another photo of a camellia blossom, lit from beneath with flat LED lights, and isolated using a black velvet cloth background.

[85mm perspective correcting macro, 4 seconds at f/54 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]

Peony Revelation 1, photo by Harold Davis. View this photograph larger.

I was surprised to see the core of the peony resolving itself within my viewfinder.

This is a tree peony flower, a lovely and exotic speciment that blooms once a year with exactly three wonderful flowers. There have only been three flowers in any years for as long as we’ve had this plant.

I have been spending a great deal of time photographing these flowers this year and their secrets.

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Less is sometimes more. I loved the way the drops of water came into focus beneath the cloud of peony petals in this photo:

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Abstract Peony 3, photo by Harold Davis. View this photograph larger.

This is a fairly abstract photo of the stem of a peony. I was experimenting with attaching both an extension tube and (old, manual) telextender to my 200mm macro lens. So the view is a pretty extreme magnification. It’s also rather soft focus and very colorful.

I like the effect, and am reminded that all parts of a plant can be beautiful and colorful–not just the flower!

White Flower, photo by Harold Davis. View this photograph larger.

This small white flower sits in a shady corner of my garden. It gives off a vague odor of garlic, weird in such a graceful flower.

What I like about this photo is the way the soft green background with dark lines contrasts with the firm white delicacy of the flower.