Macrophotography, Life

Aging Tulips

It’s all in the details. iPhone 13 Pro Max macrophotography.

Tulips, to me, signify the arrival of spring. Their scent, which sticks to your fingers with a subtle sweetness, seems to only get more potent as the flowers begin to age. While the newness and freshness of a tightly-fisted flower has its own beauty, as with many things in life, tulips seem to grow more beautiful with time.

The petals unfurl into striated satin frills. And the stamen, fuzzed and green, stands tall, while the six pollen-clad anthers spread open like a star fallen to earth.

One of my favorite photographers and writers on medium, Anne Bonfert, published a story this morning about looking more closely at the details of a scene and how it changes the way that you see the subject you are photographing. While zooming in with a telephoto lens can bring out the detail in a field or a tree, macrophotography is one sure-fire way to dive into the world of a flower.

While I own a dedicated macro lens (or three — I have to admit it!), I have been so amazed at the quality of the macro photos on the newer models of the iPhone. These were all taken with the iPhone 13 Pro Max. What I love about this newest phone is that the macro feature just “pops” up when you move the phone close enough to the subject. And the quality of the photos is really quite good!

I usually receive a new bouquet from my CSA (community-supported agriculture group) in the wee hours of the morning each Tuesday. By then, the old bunch of flowers is usually ready for the compost bin. But, this week, I just could not bring myself to toss out the tulips.

With the addition of ice cubes to their vase every few days, they will perk back up a bit and hold on just a little longer. I had arranged them with pussy willow stalks, which look a bit like puffs of fluff on a stick. I came across this scene in the early afternoon and was so taken by the light and the life still left in these flowers.

I am feeling my age more and more these days. So, I can relate to these flowers. While they don’t have the new beauty of a closed up bud, just emerged from the earth, they sway with a grace and rhythm which only comes from spending a little more time in the sun. I only hope that I am aging as well!

Erika Burkhalter is a yogi, neurophilosopher, cat-mom, photographer, and lover of travel and nature, spreading her love and amazement for Mother Earth’s glories, one photo, poem or story at a time. (MS Neuropsychology, MA Yoga Studies).

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Story and photos ©Erika Burkhalter. All rights reserved.

I’m tagging a few of my “photography friends” on medium, with the hope that you might also respond to Anne Bonfert’s prompt:

Dennett /Anne Bonfert /Eileen Vorbach /Lisa Bolin /Tracy Aston /David Wade Chambers/Kim Zuch /Barbara Radisavljevic /LensAfield /Barbara Dalton /Sasha Meyer /Susan Alison /Diana Lotti /Barbara Dalton /K. Barrett /June Nguyen /Juan O. Aguilera /Ellie Jacobson /Shruthi Sundaram/ Pene Hodge /Tracy Aston/ Sandra Barrett/Jillian Amatt — Artistic Voyages/Ian Hanson/ John O'Neill/ pockett dessert/ Penny Grubb/ LucianoSphere/ Louise Peacock/ Mark Tulin/ Mark Ali/ Erik Smith/ Gina Pacelli/ Randy Runtsch/ Christopher Lovelace @ChristopherLovelace/ Scott Younkin (and I’m sure I’ve accidentally missed a few — forgive me if I’ve inadvertently overlooked the addition of your name and let me know so that I can add you next time around).