During my September vacation in Petropolis, Brazil, I was captivated by two plants in my mother’s garden. The first of these, the African Iris, is the focus of this post, while I will write about the second, the Swiss Cheese Plant, on another occasion.
The African Iris, found throughout the garden, continuously produced flower buds that would unfurl in the morning and wither by day’s end, every other day. Observing the synchronized opening of these delicate, pure flowers was a delight.
Out of the numerous portraits I took of the blossoming African Iris, only two struck me as unique enough to warrant mention. The first, the FEATURED PHOTOGRAPH (f/4.5, 1/100, ISO 320), was captured after a petal detached from the flower bud, creating a charming “gesture” that I was fortunate to freeze in time before the other petals unfurled.
The second photograph, featured below, showcases a side view of a fully open flower. While I appreciate the black and white version, the colored one better distinguishes the flower’s elements from the background, giving the entire structure a three-dimensional appearance. What intrigued me was its resemblance to an insect’s head. This photo is a composite, created by stacking four layers of images.
I often jest with my fellow photographers that “I never stack, but sometimes I lie.” I generally avoid image stacking due to the effort it demands and its impact on my artistic freedom regarding depth of field. However, in this case, closing the lens down to f/22 did not yield the desired three-dimensional effect. If you’re unfamiliar with photo stacking, a quick search on YouTube will provide numerous tutorials. I personally use Helicon Focus (a product I’m not affiliated with) for stacking, as it works better for me than Photoshop. There are various other paid and free options for photo stacking as well.
Both of these photographs are available for purchase in my GeoGalleries portfolio. The color version of the “insect head” is available for purchase in my Geogalleries “Color” folder.
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Wall Art landscapes and miscellaneous
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It is all about the light 
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