Silver Lily

This is not, of course, a silver lily, but the lilies photographed on 25th February. This shot was taken in overcast window light. The bright sunshine of yesterday has gone and it's a grey day. This flat lighting removes the strong shadows - a feature of the previous shot which emphasised the pollen-laden stamens.

In iPhoto I changed the image to black and white, and increased the definition, sharpness and colour temperature to create this silver effect. The flowers are withering now. but you'd never guess from this photo - it's been given the equivalent of a face-lift! It details the circular arrangement of stamens at the end of their filaments and the pollen-receptive black stigma at the end of the style. This oozes a sticky liquid to ensure any visiting insects leave some pollen behind to fertilise the seeds. There won't be any visiting insects in my dining room but the lily doesn't know that!

It reminds me of the days when I spent hours and hours in my darkroom making test strips to produce one quality black and white print. I have no nostalgia for those days and think it's fantastic what's possible now with photo software and good judgement.