Revenge Of The Spiderwort

Title

Revenge Of The Spiderwort

Artist

Gary Holmes

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photography

Description

This super macro of the business end of a Giant Spiderwort (Tradescantia gigantea) flower highlights the details of the flattened yellow anthers and the tiny purple hairs. These native Texas wildflowers grow up to one meter tall, with crops of variably pinkish to deep purple flowers. According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Each hair on the stamens of this showy spiderwort consists of a chain of thin-walled cells; the hairs are a favorite subject for microscopic examination in biology classes because the flowing cytoplasm and nucleus can be seen easily. The tip-to-tip diameter of the flower is approximately2.5 to 3 cm. I took this hand-held photo on the side of a very busy highway in the Texas hill country on an overcast and windy day, using a 22 mm wide angle lens plus a short extension tube. The combination requires the front of the lens to be touching part of the subject in order to focus on any part of it, and I would estimate the depth of field to be no more than 5 mm. This is the reason why only the anthers, some of the hairs and the edge of the adjacent petal are in reasonable focus. It all makes for a challenging experience, but is worthwhile to give the effect of being essentially inside the flower itself. Someday I plan to try this in a more controlled environment, with a tripod and no wind, to see what results I can get.
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Gary Holmes, photographer: I have always loved to photograph nature, landscapes, abstract, and other found objects of interest. Although I have staged single and group portraits and still life photographs, I prefer the challenge of trying to capture the unpredictable spontaneity of things and events as they are occurring. I started with a Kodak Brownie as a child, but entered the world of real photography with a Canon AE-1 in the late 1970's. I have successfully sold a number of my photographs on Fine Art America, and have won several awards, including an Editors' Choice on

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April 8th, 2015

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