Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Macro (Edible Nasturiums)

10 August 2015

Lens:

1. Nasturtium; Copyright © 2015 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved/Lens and Pens by Sally

2. Nasturtium; Copyright © 2015 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved/Lens and Pens by Sally

Let me know which you prefer and why. Click onto each image to enlarge.

Pens:

“Ode to the Nasturtium”

Sassy and spicy paper-thin wings,

Drenched in sunlight’s flares.

Wishing for longevity,

Almost satisfied with the journey. ~~ Sally W. Donatello

From April to November my kitchen garden “spoils” me every single day. It lavishes me with fragrant and vibrant  flowers, scrumptious greens, and delicate and potent herbs.

Years ago I discovered edible flowers that have become part of some of my culinary fare. My favorites are arugula, geraniums and nasturtiums. So it’s not unusual to find those floral beauties atop a salad or soup.

This week the trailing nasturtiums were covered with deep red-orange blossoms that became central to my late evening dinner salads. Nasturtiums are shockingly dainty in appearance but tough in character. They are one of Mother Nature’s flowers that tastes as though it was an uptown radish. It’s peppery layers ingeniously move over the tongue and slide down the throat, creating a lengthy appreciation for this punchy taste.

Nasturtiums are particularly suited for salads where a flower head, petals and leaves can be starlits of a meal. I’m fond of wild food and each time that I pluck and imbibe any edible flowers (e.g., allium, bee balm, borage, dianthus, and marigold) from my gardens, I feel hardily nurtured. Their accents in my meals are like placing bright jewels onto  tableware.

After I wander through the kitchen garden and snip a sprig of this or that, I’m never sure what becomes more satiated: my taste buds, my visual palette, or my spirit. Regardless, these true culinary surprises are one of Mother Nature’s great progeny. To harvest these treats is to set up a challenge of how to use them in new and tantalizing ways. Once a new edible is discovered, they rarely leave my cultivated spaces or my recipes.

I’ve often stated that macro photography can reveal some of the most intriguing parts of a subject. That’s true of the nasturtiums as seen in the Lens section. I was especially stunned by the frilly inside center of this attention-seeker. One can easily miss this characteristic with the naked eye. The two images are apt examples of this flower’s seductive qualities. It has a palette that grabs our adoration. It’s simplicity is a bold statement by nature that is also for human nature’s pleasure.

Tip of the Week:

Here is a relatively short video about macro photography by Gregory Cazillo and called “Basic Flower and Macro Photography” (2012). Hope that you learn one or more lessons to add to your tool kit. Click here to view the eight minutes and thirteen second video. Also here is an article that reiterates some of the pitfalls of macro photography. If you discover one pointer that helps you with your macro shots, it will be worth the read. Click here for “Close Up! Macro Photography and the Pitfalls to Watch out For” by David Peterson from the website: digital photo secrets.

View other entries from this week’s challenge:

https://patchworkponderings.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-macro/

https://forestwoodfolkart.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-macro/

https://livingwithmyancestors.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-macro-2/

https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-macro-hanging-in-there/

http://luciledegodoy.com/2015/08/10/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-macro/

https://decocraftsdigicrafts.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-paua-eyes/

https://piecesofstarlight.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/august-fruit-and-flowers-for-sally-ds-macro-mobile-photography-challenge/

https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/mundane-monday-19-and-mobile-photography-macro/

http://debs-world.com/2015/08/12/every-day-is-an-adventure-66365/

https://zimmerbitch.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/on-beach-walks-and-reading-the-stories-of-the-land/

http://nwframeofmind.com/2015/08/12/sally-ds-mobile-photography-challenge-macro-robins-egg-blue/

Note:

As always I welcome comments about this post or any part of my blog. My photographs for the mobile photography challenge are taken with an iPhone 6.

If you’d like to join this Mobile Photography Challenge, please click here for details and history of the challenge. If you have any questions, please contact me. Below is a reminder of the monthly schedule with themes for upcoming challenges:

1st Monday: Nature.

2nd Monday: Macro.

3rd Monday: Black and White.

4th Monday Challenger’s Choice (Pick One: Abstraction, Animals, Architecture, Food Photography, Night Photography, Objects, Portraiture, Still Life, Street Photography, and Travel).

5th Monday: Editing and Processing with Various Apps Using Themes from the Fourth Week.