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Brilliant Blue Herb


Brilliant Blue Herb
Photo Information
Copyright: Janice Dunn (Janice) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3315 W: 148 N: 6113] (18648)
Genre: Plants
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-10-13
Categories: Flowers
Camera: Canon EOS 300D, Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro
Exposure: f/16, 1/60 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2005-10-19 0:57
Viewed: 1398
Points: 43
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Borage
(Borago officinalis)

I love this pretty flower. It is a ‘real’ blue, and is quite tiny too - around a thumbnail size. I have taken this shot from side on. But in WS you can see the view that is mostly seen of the flowers when they are growing.

The Common Borage is a hardy annual plant coming originally from Aleppo, northern Syria, but now naturalized in most parts of Europe, though mostly only on rubbish heaps and near dwellings, and may be regarded as a garden escape. It has long been grown freely in kitchen gardens, both for its uses as a herb and for its flowers, which yield excellent honey.

The whole plant is rough with white, stiff, prickly hairs. The round stems, about 45cm high, are branched, hollow and succulent; the leaves alternate, large, wrinkled, deep green, oval and pointed, 6-7cm long or more, and about 4.5cm broad, the lower ones stalked, with stiff, one celled hairs on the upper surfaces and on the veins below, the margins entire, but wavy. The flowers, which terminate the cells, are bright blue and star-shaped, distinguished from those of every plant in this order by their prominent black anthers, which form a cone in the centre and have been described as their beauty spot. The fruit consists of four brownish-black nutlets. (Sorry, that’s heavy reading for you, but they explain it better than I could!!)

It is these bright blue flowers that borage is known for. All parts of the plant have a refreshing cucumber flavour, but because of the thistly hairs, the stem and leaves are rarely used. Naturally there are some exceptions:
Adventurous chefs have been known to add blanched leaves to salads as a substitute for spinach.
In Latin American, the leaves are used in a tisane to help lung problems.
Chinese chefs have been known to use the leaves much as others use grape leaves: stuffed and rolled.
Germans add the leaves to stews and court bullions.
And for all you English Gin drinkers, in England the gin based drink, Pimm's No.1, has borage as one of its important ingredients.

www.sallys-place.com/food/columns/gilbert/borage
www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/b/borage
liquidsunshine, TAZ, Comandante, halki, red45, dew77, ddg, sAner, radz, marhowie, wishnugaruda, carper, wallhalla15, scottevers7, Luc, cedryk, livios, Marlis has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Nice shot Janice,
Lovely colour, good sharp detail and POV.
This is the first I've seen from you with the canon macro lens. Good notes and well framed.
Thanks for posting.

Hello Janice!
Wonderful flower close up.Colors,lighting,POV,details,BG and composition are perfect.Thanks for sharing.

Hi Janice!
I love blue and I love flowers- so... I LOVE YOUR PHOTO :-)))

It's great you have so many flowers on NZ. In Poland everything is daying and it's cold!

  • Great 
  • halki Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 249 W: 8 N: 105] (469)
  • [2005-10-19 3:15]

Hello Janice!
Wonderful flowers and artistic capture.Details and light are amazing.Thanks for posting.

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2241 W: 47 N: 3167] (10926)
  • [2005-10-19 3:33]

What a pretty flower that you have very well captured ! Good quality shot but perhaps more DOF for the front flower. Thanks Janice for picture and note.

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2705 W: 74 N: 8864] (30243)
  • [2005-10-19 3:51]

Hello Janice!

This is one of best herbs for nature photographer. All you need is your cam, tripod and patience. You place tripod nearby flower and wait. After few minutes you've got good macro pictures of different insects ;-) Beautifull flower and beautifull photo my friend! Full of colours and summer mood.

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4774 W: 294 N: 4020] (13209)
  • [2005-10-19 3:57]

Hello Janice!
Very nice capture.Vivid colors,lighting,sharpness,contrast between BG and flowers,POV and composition are wonderful.TFS...:-)

Janice, the colors are great but where is the quality?
I can't see any sharp part. The front flower is very disturbing, it makes the photo busy and messy (Imho).

I don't know the reason of quality, but I can tell you that 1/60 sec is low speed so you must use a tripod.

  • Great 
  • Graal Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 755 W: 31 N: 20] (5032)
  • [2005-10-19 5:20]

Hi Janice,
very nice flowers. Good colours and DOF. Interesting note. I like it. Well done.
Rgs, Aleksander

  • Great 
  • ddg Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 855 W: 23 N: 942] (5111)
  • [2005-10-19 6:29]

Jancie bonjour, belle composition dans les tons de bleu de cette bourache officinale . Il est dommage que la fleur de premier plan ne soit pas trés nette !!Any way good work . Congratulations Didier.

  • Great 
  • sAner Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1490 W: 72 N: 1427] (4744)
  • [2005-10-19 6:59]

Excellent note, brilliant colors and sharp details. Well composed too Janice. Too bad the most prominent flower is oof ... Exposure is good too. Well done & TFS!

Regards,
Pieter

  • Great 
  • radz Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 603 W: 11 N: 616] (3404)
  • [2005-10-19 8:09]

Lovely details&lighting is very nice.

Great color & light Janice. Short on time today, Thank You.

  • Great 
  • puciu Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 519 W: 0 N: 16] (2603)
  • [2005-10-19 10:53]

Hi Janice, Fajna ro¶linaka ³adnie sfotografowana. Dobra ostro¶æ i kolory.
Robert.

Hello Janice,
this is so beautiful, I like these lots of hairs in this excellent sharpness. And I love this colour, everything is so nice, a wonderful arrangement, thanks
Sabine - wishnugaruda

  • Great 
  • carper Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2009 W: 122 N: 2581] (8424)
  • [2005-10-19 14:27]

I like the shot a lot Jancie,
fantastic composition, good colours and a good pov and a fantastic dof, very good job.
gr. jaap

Nice shot Janice, good macro. I like the details, sharpness and POV. Good work! Thanks for sharing.

Hi Janice,
That is really a blue flower, Amazing detail in this shot.
Great notes. I don't think I would want that in my salad.
Scott

  • Great 
  • Luc Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1873 W: 304 N: 4300] (14729)
  • [2005-10-21 22:23]

Personal assessment of the photo: very good.
Power of evocation in me: strong.
Very strong visual impact.
Aptness of the photo for the site: excellent.
Personal assessment of the note: complete.
Thank you mf Janice.

  • Great 
  • cedryk Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 966 W: 52 N: 1694] (5184)
  • [2005-10-22 20:29]

Great composition, Jancie. Particularly I like the hairs on the stems - so well exposed, and lit from behind. TFS! Michal

  • Great 
  • livios Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2156 W: 322 N: 4258] (16906)
  • [2005-10-23 18:06]

Janice, when I saw the photo, I thought it was bigger.

Another shot by you with an artistic touch.

I like the blue shades and the dark bg.

Composition is great too.

beautiful image, Janice,
in this wonderful macro Borage looks quite well defended- all those fierce looking needles!
Great colors and composition.
TFS
Marialuisa

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