The Luck Of The Iris

This Might Be The Latest Rainbow Warrior

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

One of the pleasures of having a large garden that produces blooms in almost every season is the old-fashioned joy of walking out in the front or back yard with a pair of secateurs and choosing a variety of tall and short flowers for different-sized vases.

It’s something I’ve always done with the Authorbloglets, so there has been the added appreciation of time spent together, which is always so precious.

We had a very special occasion in our family recently, so of course every vase at Casa Authorblog was crammed with flowers of many descriptions. These shots were taken indoors, in soft light in a room that was lit by afternoon sun but not completely bathed in an overpowering glow.

Yes, I deliberately waited for this time of day for two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to be able to capture every nuance of the blues that grace this iris. Secondly, the tall rosebuds in the same vase were the most delicate shade of link pink. Because they were almost white, I knew they would photograph best in indirect light.


In the four hours that I waited patiently to take these shots, one of the irises in the broad vase was probably at its most interesting stage, because the partially-open flower showed strong variation in colour, while still retaining the delicate folds of more beauty to come.

In Greek mythology, Iris is the personification of the rainbow as well as the messenger of the gods. The rainbow manifestation is fairly clear, with the vivid tongue of yellow amid the mix of blues. The first image that appears with this post is actually one of the last I shot in the series but I guess the reason I like it is that the angle makes the iris look like a frill-neck lizard or some psychedelic monster emerging from the deep.

Any angle that endows an object with an added dimension is a good angle.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.