Snowdrop flowering at Imbolc
I have been enjoying the flowers of early Spring, which being generally very small, decided it was a good opportunity to experiment taking some ‘close-up’ pictures. I love seeing macro shots, probably because I have poor eyesight and pictures can often show more detail than I can see with my eyes. Taking them is a different matter however – my poor eyesight makes it difficult for me to focus accurately, and it has been very windy all week, adding an additional element of luck to whether the flower stays where I have focused. A tripod wouldn’t necessarily help!
Snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis
Snowdrops seem to have become very closely associated with Imbolc, and Brigid in particular. They are green and white – the freshness of Spring combined with the purity of the Goddess, and of course the colour of milk which this festival celebrates. (After the lambs or calves are born, there is milk to drink again.)
Rosemary flower
While watching for snowdrops, I found many Viburnum flowers as well as Hazel catkins swinging in the wind. More surprising however were a few purple Anemone blanda just opening up, as well as Rosemary in flower.
Anemone blanda flower just opening for Imbolc
I also found a lone cyclamen flower, which was fun to take from almost underneath, and an Iris reticulata being battered by the wind.
Iris reticulata flower
Cyclamen flower
Finally, I noticed some teasels which are long past their flowers but were backlit by the sun and I couldn’t resist.
Iris reticulata being blown by the wind.
Teasel, Dispsacus fullonum seedhead.
The pictures were all taken with the same Pentax DSLR camera body but two different lenses – a Sigma 70-300mm telephoto on macro setting, giving me a working distance of 1-2m, and a 50-year-old Pentax 50mm lens with a reversing ring and converter ring giving me a working distance of 10cm and almost no depth of field. I’m still exploring its potential now that digital gives me instant results.
Under a Rowan Tree 