Orange and purple

click photo to enlarge

Orange and purple don't rank high in the colours that I like. I prefer orange over purple, but I'll take green, red, blue and violet over either of them. When I see the two colours I think of the 1970s, a decade when they seemed to rise in prominence and find uses in the most unlikely places. I recall seeing houses and shops with their exterior woodwork painted a deep purple; not very many admittedly, but it only takes a few to catch your eye and cause you to wonder about the aesthetic sensibilities of the owners of those premises. Then there were the bright orange walls in rooms - not every wall, just one or two to contrast with the more muted colours elsewhere. Clothes often featured the two colours as well, usually to the detriment of those wearing them. A few years ago the seventies came back into fashion and orange, more than purple, re-surfaced as a colour of choice. In this latter-day reprise it was often paired with strong lime green. I remember seeing the combination used for plastic kitchen implements. The very thought of them makes me shudder.

It has been said that as far as putting one colour next to another goes you have to be careful except in one very particular circumstance. Flowers, many believe, go together whatever the colours. I think there's some truth in that statement. Perhaps it's the omnipresent green of the leaves acting like a flux, binding one hue to another. In our garden we have a fine show of French lavender (Lavandula stoechas). We've grown a variety of annuals and perennials next to it without much thought for the colour combination, and we have not been disappointed by the display that has resulted. Last year we were given some poppy seeds that produce orange flowers in profusion, day after day, even though each bloom lasts for only a single day. When I saw the first flowers appearing against the blue green foliage and purple flowers of the lavender I wondered how it would look. But, despite my feelings about each individual colour I like the combination. So much so that I took this photograph.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 191mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/200
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Crocuses and collecting

click photo to enlarge

Obsessive collecting seems to feature in many people's (especially men's) lives, firstly between the ages of seven and twelve, and later when they are in their forties. Psychologists see the amassing of groups of similar objects as a way of the individual both identifying him or herself and establishing a kind of control over their environment. The French sociologist, philosopher and cultural theorist, Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007), describes the urge to collect as the  the desire for "a mental realm over which I hold sway, a thing whose meaning is governed by myself alone."

All collectors have a liking for the individual things that they collect, be they thimbles, tractors, guitars, old tools, maps, Star Wars toys, or whatever. However, for the obsessive collector each particular object eventually becomes much less important than the idea of the complete set, and the totality of the collection becomes the focus. Of course, completing a collection  leads to a kind of ennui because the point of the exercise disappears. That's why it is unusual for a true collector to buy a complete collection of anything; to do so would deprive him of the the thrill of the chase.

What has this got to do with my photograph of a clump of purple crocuses? Well, unusually for a man, I acquired an interest in flowers, particularly wild flowers, as a young boy, and it has stayed with me throughout my life. My primary school teachers lit the fire of my interest, but Brooke Bond tea was the fuel that caused it to burn brightly. More specifically the card collections of wild flowers that they produced and included with their tea packets in the 1950s and early 1960s. There were three or four series and I collected them, swapped them and tried to complete a collection. I failed, but in the process learnt how to identify many of the native species, quite a few of which could be found in my area of the Yorkshire Dales. Moreover, the cards also fed my pre-adolescent urge to collect things. As a consequence, all these years later, I find myself taking an interest in the flowers we plant in the garden as well as the wild species that we see during our walks. And, as you can see if you come here often, I regularly take photographs of them.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 100mm macro
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Crocuses

click photo to enlarge

A computer component failure has descended on me again, and though it hasn't severed my connection with the wider electronic world - I'm using my older machine - it does require some attention and a little time. Consequently I'm likely to be somewhat quieter than usual, as far as photographs and reflections go, until I have dealt with the problem. I do have a queue of photographs in waiting so I may post those but without much in the way of accompanying ramblings.

Today's photograph shows a group of crocuses that my wife planted under a cherry tree in the part of our garden that we sometimes call "the jungle". They looked so magnificent in their thrusting brightness that I had to get the macro lens and tripod out, get down on my knees and grab this shot. It is presented just as it came out of the camera with only resizing and sharpening for the web.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 100mm
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
ISO: 250
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: Off