Photographs of the seedheads of Lactuca Canadensis (which sounds slightly more elegant than Canada lettuce). These wild plants are not particularly beautiful at first glance, but as with many things, there is often beauty to be found in the details.
One of these things is not like the others – a layer of raindrops has been added to one image – at this moment I can hear the last day of summer being washed away by the autumn rains.
© Karen McRae, 2013
draw and shoot 
I think this plant is about 2′ tall ?
I’m glad to hear it actually called Canada Lettuce, a cousin of Dandelion, this is
in deed the origin of Lettuce ! (It took 2 hundreds years to eliminates its
bitter tasted white juice. —- so the book says)
Beautiful photos !
Hi Yoshizen, these plants were 3 ft or so. I think they can get a little bit taller even.
They do have a bitter white sap but I haven’t tasted it myself.
I read somewhere that if you eat the tender young leaves they are somewhat edible.
Thank you!
How beautiful an image is that! Wonderful photograph.
Thank you, Cara!
Haunting
It must be that they are the ghosts of flowers past… : )
Beautiful!
Thank you! : )
Small whispers of colour and line, so utterly delicate..
Oh, they are very delicate. Just a breath away from letting go.
Thanks, Cath.
Truly beautiful — you take us into a different, ethereal reality
Much thanks, Louis. I am pleased you come along.
I love these beauties Karen!
Thanks, Marianne.
I would like to suggest that you try photographing these flowers with a smaller aperture.
That’s a good suggestion, Shimon. While I enjoy the shallow depth of field for many of my flora series there are images that I had wished were somewhat more in focus.
If I can find more of these after all the rain we’ve had I’ll have another go at it!
September songs in a Debussy scale and diminished (light) blue!
Exquisite, Karen. 🙂
That is an exquisite picture. Well taken.
Thank you, Marina. I like those touches of light blue, too.
Lovely little ballerinas. Isn’t it amazing how ordered even the tiniest things in the universe are?
I think things are more ordered the closer you look! Thanks, Judy.
You have such an incredible touch with the camera Karen, it really is so uniquely beautiful. I’m not sure why Shimon would suggest a smaller aperture, I love the shallow depth of field you’ve achieved here. It’s what makes your pictures so captivatingly intriguing and uniquely you.
Much thanks for your comments, Adrian.
I imagine Shimon would like to see a little more of the seedhead in focus – I confess there are a few that I wish had more focus, too, but I like this set. Sometimes it’s hard to tell how things work out until you see them on the big screen.
I appreciate your feedback. : )
Lovely images. Did you use a coloured backdrop for the last one or were you relying on bokeh of the natural background?
These are all photographed with a natural background. The colours vary because of the vegeation – green and yellow grasses and a touch of pink from wild asters. And a very shallow depth of field…
Thank you, Wood Dragon. : )
Each one a celebration! I so enjoy the subtle colors contrasting with those sensitive threadlike umbrellas. Absolutely gorgeous as usual.
Thank you, Elena. I like the idea o f thread-like umbrellas. Maybe not very effective but rather lovely sounding.
You are so right! The beauty is in the details 🙂 stunning photographs as always!
Thank you, Lara!
Absolutely stunning!
Thanks very much, I’m glad you like them.
Beautiful, beautiful!!
takk, takk!
Oh, indeed it is the detail! So many things we pass by without a second look, but inside they have the most extraordinary beauty. Lovely photos. They always look as though you have spent hours capturing them.
I do spend a fair amount of time making photographs. I love the small details – sometimes you find unexpected things.
Thanks very much, Anna.
Beautiful.
Thanks, David.
Graceful, ephemeral beauty.
Ephemeral for sure. Thanks very much, Tricia.
So soft !!!
: )
These are so beautiful and delicate 🙂
Thank you, Sophie. : )
Oh so very astonishing. With personalities and stories in each one. Like they came out of another world. Riveting.
Thanks for your great comments, Steven. I like that you find them astonishing!
Beautiful photo’s; almost family of the jelly-fishes.
Land jellies, maybe? They do sort of look like that, don’t they, and they would be just as delicate.
I find the ones on green very refreshing. Great work!
Refreshing is good! Thanks, Alessandro.
Beautiful, almost spectral structures set up to communicate in ways we can’t understand. Like the beauty of an electricity pylon. Stunning.
Or maybe a type of satellite seeds…
A lovely comment, Richard. Thanks very much!
Those all-seeing bright blue pinhead eyes are so beautifully hypnotic!
I like those little touches of blue, too. Great description, Patti, thank you.
I can only add to the compliments. These are so creamy-looking – I wonder how you achieve that smoothness.
I guess it’s partly the way I’m using the light.
The seedheads are shaded, and the background is sunlight on various vegetation. The back-lighting will change depending on the intensity of the light. You can see this as you shift your camera. I often use manual settings to play with the exposure.
I am also using very shallow depth of field F4.8 for many of these – which blurs the background very nicely.
The seedheads are only 1cm each so I’m using a macro lens quite close to the subject.
Thanks for your interest!
These are particularly beautiful, the hint of blue in the seeds complemented with a pale green background….nicely done!
Thank you, Apna!
It seems to me it is the detail of life that has the most beauty. I spend a lot of time looking for it 🙂
Yes, I agree. There is much beauty when you look closely.
All of them are very beautiful 🙂
Thanks, Inga!
stunning images!
Hi Riccardo, thanks very much!
Karen, your shots never seize to take my breath away!!! I love each & every post!!! 🙂 **
That’s so nice to hear, Xandre. Sincere thanks. : )
very elegant, and you have such a talent for bringing out the beauty in the detail, Karen
Thank you, Emily. : )
Another collection of dancing beauties. Delicate but proud. Wonderful shots of wonderful plants! Thank you.
Much thanks for your lovely comment, Roland.
Great beauty here, Karen – the 2nd down is particularly striking. Adrian
Thanks very much, Adrian!
You know me Karen.. I think there is beauty in everything and you certainly show that 🙂
Yes, you just have to look a little closer to find it sometimes. Thnaks, Helen!
these colors, the sensitivity in your work Karen. Outstanding
Mimo, thanks very much!
Absolutely beautiful blog and photographs! The softness in these photos is pretty spectacular!
Hi Tweetie,
Thanks for your very kind comments, and for stopping by.
Karen
I don’t think I’ll be satisfied with my photos of dandelions after seeing these gorgeous images 🙂
I’m sure yours are wonderful, Carla. : )
Thank you.
once again, wowed.
Thank you, Russ! : )
Truly captivating to see such delicacy portrayed like this ….
Thank you!
Beautiful, Karen. And thank you, too, for stopping by my post on gratitude and serendipity. Much appreciated.
With warm regards,
Sean
Much thanks, Sean.
Hi Karen,
Your comment about finding beauty in the small details really resonated with me…and I noticed a theme emerging with these images and some of your earlier posts, where things appear flimsy, whimsical, lace-like and yet very present; pushing against the edges of perception…
Cheers,
Nic
Hi Nic,
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, it’s a lovely worded insight.
Best wishes,
Karen
I really like these. Bright and still delicate. They’re lovely!
¡Que belleza!!
Terrific shots – an inspiration to try again with the dandelions, except the storm we are having right now probably has finished them off.
Thanks, Ephem,
In my experience Nothing finishes off dandelions.
Don’t they grow all year round there in the western tropics of Canada?
Well, they do persist.
But 90km winds and lashings of rain don’t do the seed heads much good. I might have to wait a few weeks for more of them.
love these. thanks to enid blyton i’ve always thought you could tell the time with dandelions.
Oh, I love Enid Blyton.
Thanks for your comment, Tin Roof.
Dreamy, artful, and exquisite compositions, Karen. I am a fan of the soft focus look 🙂
Thank you, Marina. The most delicate of structures alwyas fascinate me …
Great work Karen!! Loved them..
Thank you!
The soft focus and sense of visual transition mirroring nature’s transition – stunning. Thank you for liking my blog posts.
The colours…
robert
: ) oh the patterns – so delicate – makes me think of mandalas and moroccan tile in some ways.
and great colours (and love the raindrops!)