Snowy teasel

click photo to enlarge
The plant known as teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) has one of the most attractive seed heads that manages to retain its shape and interest for most of the winter months. I've photographed them before, here, and blogged about how the needle-like bracts were formerly used to "tease" i.e. pluck or raise, the nap or pile of cloth to give a soft finish. In fact, the variety known as Fuller's or Cultivated Teasel (Dipsacus sativus) was the plant favoured for this purpose.

Since I wrote that piece I've read more about this interesting plant that is commonly found along the edges of Lincolnshire's water-courses. The first part of its Latin name means a little cup for holding water. This derives from the cone-shaped depression at the base of its leaves where rain and dew collects. Long ago it was called the "Venus Basin", and girls would dip their finger in the water gathered there and dab it on their warts, wrinkles and freckles hoping that it would remove these blemishes. Others believed water from the teasel was a remedy for poor eyesight. In the days when teasel growing for the textile industry took place bee keepers would place their hives amongst them to benefit from the distinctive honey that its pollen produced. In such fields the teasel pickers would harvest about 200,000 heads per acre, distinguishing between the biggest "King Teasel" that grew at the top of the main stalk, and the smaller "Queens" found on secondary stalks. The introduction of metal combs has confined the use of teasels for napping to the craft industries, and today we know them mainly as distinctive and attractive wild plants growing in uncultivated margins.

I took this photograph of a "King Teasel" as I enjoyed a snowy walk down a track between fields of wheat and vegetables. The dead seed heads of teasel and yarrow seemed to make up the majority of the tall stalks, and all of them had been plastered with snow by the driving wind. The January midday sun was producing the odd bead of water as it melted the ice. I took this shot with a long lens to throw the snowy background well out of focus, thereby emphasising the detail of the seed head.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 150mm (300mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/800
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Contre jour teasels

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The mongrel nature of the English language is shown by the number of words that derive from other languages. French, German, Dutch, Latin, Hindi, Arabic, Spanish - it seems that there isn't a people anywhere in the world that haven't contributed to English.

Some words are absorbed and the meaning is modified, as with the French verb "promenade" meaning to walk or take a walk. Though English speakers still use it in that way, today, in British English, it is more often a noun meaning the main path (and road) next to the sea where people prefer to walk for leisure. Other words have been adopted and the pronunciation Anglicised. The Hindi for a single storey house with a verandah, "bangla", was appropriated by European colonists and turned into "bungalow". Some words are absorbed with no changes to meaning, spelling and pronunciation. The French phrase "contre jour", meaning "against the day" is an example. Though English speakers do describe a photograph such as that above, as "against the light", "contre jour" is also widely used.

Winter is a great time for contre jour shots. The low sun is often behind objects that it would be above at other times of year. In winter, light is at a premium, so it's nice to be able to frame shots that emphasise it in the composition and effects. These teasels (Dipsacus fullonum), interspersed with dead umbellifers, were growing in great profusion by a stretch of water. I came upon them in midday light when each dried head had its own annulus-like halo. I was pleased to be able to include a lot of out-of-focus examples behind the nearer heads that I made the main subject of the image.

See here for more information about teasels, and for another of my contre jour shots of these attractive seed heads.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 150mm (300mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/400
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On