The Daylilies
|
 | Get right up to your flower. The main subject of your artistic flower picture should fill the frame except for a small amount of greenery or other back-ground. If your friend doesn't know what the subject of your photo is, you're too far away! |
 | Super light! This “fluffy” yellow daylily bloom reminds me of a lemon chiffon pie... both the lemony color and the light bubbly texture of the petals. I spent the day on Toronto Island - the gardens were terrific. Man, was I ever in flower heaven! |
 | My sister has a number of daylilies in her fabulous Southern Ontario garden. Every visit I take full advantage of the flower photography opportunities. What a treat working beside the pool... taking in the floral sights and smells. |
 | The same group of yellow daylilies on Toronto Island. Even with a digital, think about every picture you take and make it good! And work one flower from all angles, close-up and macro. Don't be afraid to stick to one flower for a variety of shots. |
 | I usually travel alone. That's a good thing for me and others. It's very boring for friends to go with me. I spend almost every minute thinking about my photography and when I start taking pictures, I completely withdraw in to myself and nature. |
 | You can tell that I really loved this garden of yellow daylilies! I stuck to them like glue for over an hour. When I'm looking into a macro world, time and place is forgotten. The tiny details we would never see otherwise, grab me and my imagination. |
Daylily cultivars - the search for the showiest of flowers...
-
Cultivars are much more commonly grown than species daylilies.
-
Colors of the flowers are absolutely overwhelming. Almost white, almost black, shades of peach and apricot, pale yellow to orange, maroon, vibrant reds, purples, lavender, plum, pale pink... but alas no success (yet) in breeding a blue!
-
Ruffled edges have been accomplished.
-
Scent has been achieved in some flowers.
-
Contrasting colored “eyes” in the center of the flowers.
-
And the coup de gras - glittery “diamond dust” on the tepals.
-
The most recent trend is to produce tetraploid plants. The normal number is diploid... 2 sets of chromosomes - 1 set from each parent. Like people! Diploid plants produce single flowers with 3 petals and 3 sepals - or 6 tepals. Tetraploids produce double flowers with 12 tepals. One orange tetraploid daylily called “Kwanzo” actually produces an amazing 18 tepals - a triple flower.
 |  |  |
| Try to be creative. Take some close-ups to show detail in petals or leaves. The ruffled edges and bicolors are intriguing. The lines and curves of daylily petals are sensuous and the colors of the new cultivars are dazzling. Take your tripod for close-up shots! | Another of the lemon-yellow blooms...you can see how many photos I got of these daylilies that afternoon. All different angles, some macros with a tripod, and lots of close shots. Unfortunately I didn't have my film camera with me - I shoot 35 mm slide film. | There is just something about raindrops on flowers that makes a great photo. To catch raindrops properly, you have to get very close to the subject. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you can catch a clear reflection in one. You must have a tripod and remote. |
 |  |  |
| One way to tell daylilies from true lilies is the leaves... long, slender and flat. The daylily grows from a clump that includes the leaves, crown, and roots. This almost white daylily cultivar was in the Winnipeg Assiniboine Park Conservatory. | Red is hot and energetic. Red and bright yellow make a splashing pair - nature often puts them together. Check the white balance on your camera. Adjust it to the correct reading for the light to help you get correct color in your photos. | Small dark yellow flowers - this cultivar blooms in abundance! A smaller daylily but it provides a huge splash of color! I had to get very close with a tripod to have the small flowers fill the frame. The light is even and bright with a bit of cloud cover. |
 |  |  |
| No shadows on this pink and bright yellow flower. I often use a reflector to shine the light back on to the flower. A reflector from the photography store or a home-made reflector of white paper or cardboard work equally as well. And cheap! | One wine colored bloom is in focus and another is blurred in the background. Personal style - some might like the second bloom in focus as well. Remember that everyone feels differently about art. Make pictures that you love to look at! | This daylily picture has the front petal in sharp focus. Because of the shallow depth of field that I chose, the rest of the flower is out of focus. That wasn't a mistake! I wanted to emphasize the texture of the wet petal and raindrops clinging to it. |
 |  |  |
| How is the rule of thirds used in this daylily photo? The flower isn't centered, it falls in the lower two-thirds. The two buds are in the top third. The throat of the flower is on the lower right third. There are also lots of curves in the petals and filaments and angles in the buds. | You got some hints in the photo beside this one, so try to analyze this picture for the rule of thirds and other compositional rules. The light is even and bright on the flowers - check for the same even light on all the daylily pictures on this page. You can do it just as well with a little practice! | Love these colors and the yellow ruffled edges! Can you see the triangles formed by the petals as well as the entire outline of the bloom? The point of the triangle extends outside the photo. I used a depth of field so the entire flower is in focus and the background looks dark in contrast. |
Return from Daylilies to Pictures of Flowers
