I don't remember the first time I decided to try shooting flowers from the back, but it may have been this one here.  This was in the years before digital and I wanted to learn more about developing shots.  So, I took a course on black and white photography.

Since it was a winter course, I was mostly stuck inside.  One afternoon I decided to pick up a couple of flowers (memory says one was a gerbera daisy and the other was a stargazer lily) and see what I could get.  Since they wouldn't always stand up straight in the sorta vase I was using, every now and then I'd be looking at the stem and back of the flower.  I like the texture and color contrast, which I thought would made a good image.  I've shot many flowers since and still like this sort of composition.

But, I'm still not a huge fan of black and white.

In early 2001, I took a course on developing black and white photography. This image was scanned from the original negative from that class and fixed up using Photoshop.

I feel like posting a giraffe picture.  And how often does a person get to say/type that and then follow through?

giraffe

The image below is a "Bumblebee Deelite" iris.  It was taken down at the Arboretum last week and is another one where I used focus stacking to get everything I wanted sharp.  But, that's not why I decided to post this one.

The reason I'm sharing this one is because of what it is.  According to the label found by the flower, it is a Miniature Tall Bearded Iris.  I can't possibly pass up sharing something with an oxymoronic name.

"Bumblebee Deelite" Iris