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Flower Pictures In Tuscany
t’s springtime in picture postcard scene,
Tuscany, early May. comprising the essential props of
Arriving at Pisa airport a Tuscan photo â€" cypress
the air smells different, dryer, trees, warm brick farmhouse and
lighter, brighter with the stone church, with gently curving
alluring waft of some flower green hills behind. Is it
scent, even amid the concrete possible to take a bad photograph
hustle and bustle common to in Tuscany? Well yes it is. If I
airports everywhere. I’m give in to temptation and snap
travelling light, or as light as every tempting vista, I’m
you can get when your camera bag going to find the bright midday
is your hand luggage and you light turns everything to dull
couldn’t quite leave the monochrome, flattens the colours
tripod behind. Not when the and wastes all my film before
mission is a whistle-stop orchid I’ve even started on the
extravaganza, to try and orchids. I’ll have to note
photograph as many different the best views and try to come
sorts of orchid as we can find, back in early morning or evening
in under a week. light, when it all magically
turns golden and lucid.
Heading off in a hire car, we
leave Pisa behind and take to the We know where we are heading
hills, a winding, twisting, and â€" south of Siena some
convoluted back road towards friends have been walking through
Siena. The air is fresher and the veritable meadows filled with
hint of flowers strengthens until orchids. The challenge will be to
we are overwhelmed by the honeyed find those places by car, along
scent of broom, pouring in the strada bianca (dirt roads)
through the car windows. Every that crisscross the countryside.
which way you look there is a The other challenge is reaching
our destination, when every few I need to trim the grass around,
yards we spot a flower spike on either with nail scissors or by
the roadside and have to screech gentle flattening down. A wide
to a halt to identify it. Fresh aperture will take care of the
from England any orchid at all is background but I don’t
a rarity, but after an hour we want any blurring of grass waving
are already blasÃ"© and we no in the foreground. Sort out
longer stop for ‘just tripod, get light reading and
another spotted orchid’. bracket, bracket, bracket.
The next day we are up bright and These are pre-digital days,
early at our first spot on the I’m using tranny and
lower slopes of Monte Amiata. colour saturation has to be spot
There is an open clearing on, so to be safe I’ll do
surrounded by stunted oak trees five half-stop brackets. I
and bingo â€" a lavish can’t reshoot from back
sprinkling of bee orchids, my home once I’ve processed
favourites, with their furry lip it all and seen the results. This
that looks just like a bumble also means I have to be
bee. Now the advantage of early selective, I’ll only get
morning light and sparkling six shots to a roll of film, so
dewdrops is offset by the fact just the best flowers and best
that I’ll have to lie down angles.
in the damp grass to get a good
angle. Remember to bring a Moving across the clearing, as
waterproof next time. I should the light strengthens, I find a
use a tripod, but first fly orchid, this time
I’m looking through the impersonating a bluebottle fly,
camera to choose the finest not as pretty as the bee orchid
specimens and best setting. Some but striking, then setting up for
that shot I nearly tread on a the orchid shape leaps at us from
fragrant orchid, delicate pink all sides. A lot of these orchids
flowers. I have to be quick now are also supposed to be common in
before the light gets too harsh Britain but I’ve never
and contrasty. Three in the bag seen any of them there, here in
and it’s off to a bar to Italy they’re everywhere
get a second breakfast of â€" must be something to do
cappuccino and brioche. The film with farming methods, pesticides
is safe in a cool box â€" hot and all the rest. Here there are
cars at midday don’t do a lot of small-scale farmers,
much for it! The middle of the subsistence farming is dying out
day is for scouting the but huge commercial agricultural
evening’s shoot, then companies haven’t taken
lunch and a siesta. The light over. There are also a lot of
won’t be good again until woodland and unfarmable hilly
about 5 o’clock, but we slopes. Orchids on the roadsides
have to be in the right place by though, that’s just
then to make the most of it. So showing off!
it’s driving the back
roads again between Buonconvento At the end of the week
and Casciano di Murlo. it’s back to Pisa, hand in
the hire car, just slightly
Over the next few days we cross dented from overly-steep off-road
off our list the green-winged experiences, and try to persuade
orchis, pyramidal orchid, lady the security people to hand
orchid, the monkey orchid with search the film bag rather than
its long tail, a man orchid X-ray it, which could fog the
â€" not so easy to spot with film. They promise that their
its greeny-yellow colouring, but machine is so modern and
now we’ve got our eye in foolproof that you can put film
through safely but I’m not huge sigh of relief when you see
taking any chances and eventually images on the film, then
they agree. examining each one carefully and
remembering the scent of the
So only one more hurdle to go, Italian countryside in
the lab back home, processing and springtime.
seeing what I’ve got
â€" that heart stopping moment Copyright 2005 Kit Heathcock
before opening the envelope, the
About the Author:
Sometime flower photographer, keen observer of the resonances of life and fulltime mother. Born in the UK but now living on a farm in the southern hemisphere. Contributor to the creation and maintenance of http://www.aflowergallery.com/main/chakra-colors.asp
one of the homes of chakra flower art.
Source: www.isnare.com
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