Beautiful in Blue

A few months ago I was given a packet of Cornflower seeds by my girlfriend and they were sown in my parents' garden next to a bed of Petunia flowers. The seeds grew quickly and in the last week or so have started to bloom. They really are beautiful, the head of the flower about the size of a 10 pence piece and a lovely deep blue colour, fading slightly as the petals are bleached by the sun. What has been especially interesting to observe is how the hover flies have totally ignored the Petunias and made a beeline straight for the diminutive and somewhat straggly Cornflowers. Proof indeed that we should all spend a little more time and thought when selecting plants and flowers for the garden.

Nearly ready to greet the World 

Beautiful in Blue

Both images were taken with a Nikon D4 and Nikkor 105mm F2.8 lens. A tripod and cable release were used in both cases.

The top image 'Nearly ready to greet the World' was taken outside and at quite close range, probably no more than 8 cm, so any breeze causing the flower head to move was quite evident through the viewfinder. Patience was the key here.

The image 'Beautiful in Blue' was taken inside after a heavy hale storm had broken the stem of the flower. A small glass container was used to prop the flower up and helped to add a bit more depth and interest to the image. Thankfully, wind was not an issue with this shot.

A truly beautiful little flower.