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American Willow


American Willow
Photo Information
Copyright: Catherine Dijon (CatherineD) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 419 W: 15 N: 1827] (6601)
Genre: Plants
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-03-01
Categories: Trees
Camera: Canon EOS 40 D, Canon EF 100 mm F2.8 Macro USM
Exposure: f/5.0, 1/250 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-03-07 12:01
Viewed: 774
Points: 26
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The American Willow (Salix discolor) is a species of willow native to North America, one of two species commonly called Pussy Willow.
It is native to the northern forests and wetlands of Canada (British Columbia east to Newfoundland) and the northeastern contiguous United States (Idaho south to Wyoming, and east to Maine and Maryland).
It is a weak-wooded deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 6 m tall, with brown shoots. The leaves are oval, 3-14 cm long and 1-3.5 cm broad, green above and downy grey-white beneath.
The flowers are soft silky silvery catkins, borne in early spring before the new leaves appear, with the male and female catkins on different plants (dioecious); the male catkins mature yellow at pollen release.
The fruit is a small capsule 7-12 mm long containing numerous minute seeds embedded in cottony down.
Like other willows, it contains salicin, and was used by Native Americans as a painkiller. (Wikipedia)

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Le saule discolore (Salix discolor) est un saule originaire d’Amérique du Nord.
C’est un buisson vivace ou un petit arbre qui peut atteindre 6 m de haut. Les fleurs ont la forme de chatons et apparaissent tôt au printemps, bien avant les feuilles. Les fleurs males et les fleurs femelles apparaissent sur des arbres distincts (plante dioique) Cette floraison précoce est une bénédiction pour les abeilles affamées et d'autres insectes à la recherche de nectar et de pollen, étant donné qu'ils sont des pollinisateurs importants pour le cycle de vie et la survie de cette espèce.
Comme les autres espèces de saules, il contient de la salicine, utilisée par les indigènes d’Amérique comme analgésique.
Pitoncle, matatur, fiyo, gannu, eng55, siggi, maurydv, cataclysta, valy67, nglen, vinicio has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2900 W: 34 N: 8586] (32012)
  • [2009-03-07 12:06]

Hi Catherine . You have once again taken a fine close up, this time of the Willow bud. Such sharpness and detail with natural looking colours. They stand out from the plain coloured bg. well done TFS.
Nick..

  • Great 
  • roges Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 590 W: 0 N: 497] (3004)
  • [2009-03-07 12:16]

Hi Catherine !
A very nice picture and interesting.
Have a nice weekend,
Adrian

  • Great 
  • valy67 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1879 W: 59 N: 2915] (8733)
  • [2009-03-07 12:28]

Hello Catherine !
In my country, these willow tree flowers are always one of the first signs of spring - I wait for them eagerly, because they mean end of cold, end of winter, and start of new life. I really like this picture. The sharpness and details are excellent, aznd you really managed to capture the textures wonderfully - the catkins look so soft. I also like the natural colors, the blurred BG, the composition, the POV. Very well done !
Valérie.

Hi Catherine
As always beautiful and elegant. Simple composition, perfect blured backgound - fantastic effect. Also great sharpness and contrast
Nothing to critique ;-)
TFS
Krzysztof

Ciao Catherine,
une très jolie composition, j'adore les jeux de lumière, superbe netteté et trrès belles et naturelles couleurs.
Merci et félicitations.
Amicalement
Maurizio

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1365 W: 56 N: 4667] (16040)
  • [2009-03-07 12:45]

Hello Catherine,
Love the color composition in this shot.
It is excellent in the combination of the colors and the BG.Great POV and very nice framing.Best regards
Siggi

  • Great 
  • eng55 Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1122 W: 32 N: 1109] (3430)
  • [2009-03-07 12:55]

Hi Catherine,
Excellent close up.Well seen and composed.I liked POV,lighting,simple BG and visual impact a lot.
Have a great weekend!
Thanks for posting.

  • Great 
  • gannu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1169 W: 4 N: 3262] (14691)
  • [2009-03-08 3:14]

Catherine, Very nice shot with a lot of information. Good subject and thanks for sharing. Ganesh

  • Great 
  • fiyo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 987 W: 5 N: 2759] (10600)
  • [2009-03-08 3:16]

Merhaba Catherine,
Harika bir makro; netlik, detaylar, renkler ve kompozisyon çok güzel olmuş. Örümcek ağı ayrı bir değer katmış.
Tebrikler.

A perfectly depicted detail, down to the spider web tendril Catherine, with a fine aesthetical merit. The progressively illuminated neutral BG focusses the attention finely on the tiny structures of the willow tree. TFS this fine composition.
Cheers,
Mehmet

  • Great 
  • lise Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 172 W: 51 N: 548] (2875)
  • [2009-03-08 8:21]

Bonjour Catherine,
Superbe photo! L'arrière plan fait bien ressortir les chatons.
Belle netteté, j'adore ce petit fil d'araignée.
Bravo
Lise

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2377 W: 94 N: 5465] (17432)
  • [2009-03-08 9:27]

Hello Catherine,
Very beautiful photo in incredible sharp details. The colours are splendid contrasting against the plain BG. The light in the left corner is gorgeous. Fantastic composition.
Regards,
Peter

Bonjour Catherine,
Très belle et intéressante publication valorisant bien le sujet picturalement et scripturalement.
A bientôt sur TN pour de nouvelles aventures.
Gérard

  • Great 
  • vinicio (158)
  • [2009-05-12 22:27]

I love these clean portraits where the background is out of focus in this way, very good picture Catherine, compliments.
have a nice day
Ciao
Vinicio

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