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Dangerous Beauty


Dangerous Beauty
Photo Information
Copyright: Silke Force (Silke) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 727 W: 98 N: 1694] (5406)
Genre: Plants
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-07-11
Categories: Flowers, Water Plants, River
Camera: Nikon D70S, Sigma 18-200 mm (F3.5-6.3), Sigma UV 62 mm
Exposure: f/11, 1/200 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): 40 - 49 Points (Chapter 11) [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-08-10 10:20
Viewed: 789
Points: 44
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is a semi-aquatic plant that belongs to the loosestrife family, Lythraceae, which is native to the wetlands of Eurasia. Other names include purple lythrum, spiked loosestrife, or salicaire. It has, however, become a widespread species in North American after arriving here, most likely in muddy ballast water emptied from ships into our lakes and rivers.

The plants spread very fast when removed from their native environment and natural controlling agents. This can result in dramatic disruption in water flow in rivers and canals, & a sharp decline in biodiversity. A single plant may produce up to three million tiny seeds annually and it can also sprout from pieces of root left in the soil or water. Once established, stands of loosestrife are difficult and costly to remove by mechanical and chemical means.

The result is that many states and provinces have declared this beauty to be a noxious weed.

However there have been some successes at controlling them by introducing weevils that live on them naturally back at home (but will these agents themselves become pests to our plants? There-in hangs a major question!)

Tech: shot in RAW, converted to jpg with white balance adjustment.

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful weekend!
c_rapp, gracious, jmp, pablominto, ridvan, lovenature, nglen, jaycee, marhowie, jmirah, ramthakur, cecilia, angybone, pierrefonds, PaulH, peter_stoeckl, eqshannon has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To peter_stoeckl: dangerous beautiesSilke 1 08-14 13:28
To pablominto: Good spottingSilke 1 08-10 11:58
To lovenature: a reasonable rantSilke 1 08-10 11:52
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Critiques [Translate]

May be a weed but it is a pretty one. Great colors and very informative note. I like you pov here! TFS
Christan

Hello Silke,
Yes, there are many noxious weeds looks extremely beautiful from the outlook and spread very very fast if there is no control of it!
This weed's flowers looks pretty too!
thanks for sharing
cheers
Tony

  • Great 
  • jmp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1740 W: 95 N: 2273] (8411)
  • [2007-08-10 11:22]

Hi Silke,
Great details, beautiful light and the water as background compose a nice photo of this beauty.
TFS, José M.

Hello Silke,
The water as background is an important part of this image!
Lovely light and fine details in the plant, partly budding partly full blossom...
Pleasant framing!
Greetings,
Pablo -

  • Great 
  • ridvan Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 555 W: 0 N: 1134] (5196)
  • [2007-08-10 11:35]

selam, excellent shot and very good composition of this flower nice pov and bg with splendid colours.good details presented
Well done !
Regards ridvan

Hi Silke
Ah yes, another invasive species of garden flower gone bad. You've captured it so well growing beside the water. If people would only be resonsible gardeners we might not have a Purple Loosestrife problem.
Excellent note.
TFS Janice
...sorry for the rant

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2921 W: 34 N: 8658] (32266)
  • [2007-08-10 13:16]

Hi Silke. a very good picture of the flower. your notes are very interesting about it.good colours and detail. A nice POV/DOF. well done TFS.
Nick..
Have a good weekend.

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2493 W: 11 N: 6885] (21912)
  • [2007-08-10 16:28]

Hi Silke,

Sometimes it is amazing just how pretty a weed can be. This one is lovely and a beautiful color. It looks wonderful with the water as a background.

Jane

Very well composed shot of this "dangerous" weed bearing those long stalks of beautiful pink flowers, Silke.
Very good use of the ambient light in this image.
Well done and thanks for sharing.

Nice detail and colours as always.
Cecilia

Hi Silke,
A great capture of a beautiful weed against a fine BG...Very well done...

TFS
Jim

Good Morning Silke,
Have to hit the road, so this is a quickie ;)
Nice vertical comp, colors, light, and I like the graceful arch of your weed through the frame..
Well done - See ya!

Great notes! Wonderfully composed. Well done. :)

Hi Silke,

A nice image of the purple lossestrife flowers, the photo has a good composition, sharpness and nice colors. Thanks for sharing.

Pierre

Hello Silke,
I think that I have seen similar flowers but I never thought that they could be dangerous for lakes and rivers...

This is a nice composition with good colors, details and exposure. I love those flowers :) Thanks,
Claudine

  • Great 
  • PaulH Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1112 W: 23 N: 3660] (13089)
  • [2007-08-11 5:45]

Hi Silke,
what a great composition...you've picked a POV that hows these plants off to their best. Vibrant colour and a great OOF river (or lake!) as a background..nice and dharp too...very well done.
Paul

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2007-08-11 19:29]

Hello Silke

Oh the scourge of the purple loosestrife.It has invaded many wetlands around here.The flower is very beautiful,and I like the composition.The diagonal curvy way it fills the frame.Excellent POV and DOF.The flower is in excellent focus with sharp details.The lighting is well handled and the colours are well saturated.TFS

Rob

Bonjour,
Belle mise en page.
Bonne journée.
clnaef

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3825 W: 190 N: 11396] (35111)
  • [2007-08-14 7:21]

Hello Silke,
I wondered what was dangerous about Purple Loosestrife before I read your note. It is amazing how introduced plant and animal species can cause havoc with the ecolocical balance. In Sweden the descendents of mink farm escapees are a serious threat to wetland nesting birds. The plagues of European rabbits in Australia are another example and the re are many more.
I never knew this beautiful wild flower could cause such trouble: it doesn't do this in Europe since it is part of the ecolocical balance.
This is a delightful shot of the Purple Loosestrife in a fine composition with superb lighting in its adopted natural habitat.
Thanks for sharing this one,
Ivan

Hi Silke,
some beauties look even more beautiful once we know that they are dangerous. It adds a pleasant kind of thrill to the aesthetical pleasure. A very appealing dynamic composition in front of moving waters, very well handled strong light. In image that draws me right in with just a few elements, can literally feel that gentle breeze. You made me decide to go to some waters tomorrow, wishing to see our beautiful "Blutweiderich" Lythrum salicaria there - and some other dangerous beauties ;)
With thanks, and best regards,
Peter

I like noxious weeds...I am a noxious weed photographer:-) OK...well I understand.

Well pictured and nice background. Perfecto!

Bob

Hello Silke,

I recognise such flower which I have also posted on 2007-05-22. (see my photo archive) They are lovely. It is a interesting fact that this kind of plants grow in your country. It is a nice capture. Natural colors. POV, DOF and BG are oké. Regards and TFS Bob

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