Lily in the Pink

The lily's fully open flower makes it a perfect subject for photography. It seems a miraculous flower - a single, perfect, hugely perfumed blossom, emerging from an inconspicuous bud. It is so tall and impressive with the yellow centre of the flower giving it a golden touch, and the stamens in a dark, rich colour and texture, giving it a sculptural look. Large scale breeding programmes, particularly in Holland, America and New Zealand, are producing new varieties by the field-load alongside the better-known traditional garden varieties and species.

To take this picture I moved the vase into the morning sunlight streaming into the room to create dramatic side lighting to draw out the texture of the stamens thickly coated with sienna brown pollen. There is just a hint of the lime green filaments which support the stamens. With my 12-60 mm zoom lens at its greatest magnification I experimented with different settings. I found 1/160th at f/10 produced stamens which were pin sharp with the surrounding petals nicely softened.