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Harlequin Blueflag or Blue Flag Iris


Harlequin Blueflag or Blue Flag Iris
Photo Information
Copyright: Jay Meeuwig (Shoot_Score) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 445 W: 302 N: 670] (2376)
Genre: Plants
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2003-06-30
Categories: Flowers, Bushveld
Camera: Fuji FinePix 3800, Fujinon 6X Zoom f=6-36mm 1:2.8-3.0
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Iris in the world [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-04-14 13:08
Viewed: 11058
Points: 42
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
... aka Forget About Spring; Think Summer!!!

It doesn't look like Spring will ever arrive here... Yesterday morning between 6AM and 9AM it SNOWED again... So to put a wee more positive spin on "Spring" let's think very positive, and think Summer .. That way even if summer doesn't quite make it, IT can masquerade as Spring!
So here we have a beauty from another year. In the middle of the year < some call that Summer... > we see the "Blue Flag" here. Anywhere from 4 inches tall in the barrens, to 2 feet tall in rich marshy well protected areas. It is a wild flower here that has a stunning beauty. It is a perennial that propagates via rhizomes.

I present to you one fresh flower and one bud...
This iris was less than six feet from the tidal highwater mark.
Salt spray does not appear to bother the iris plants.

Here is what Wiki says:
Iris versicolor, also commonly known as the Harlequin Blueflag the Blue Flag Iris and other varitations of those names, is a species of Iris native to North America where it is common in sedge meadows, marshes, and along streambanks and shores.

I. versicolor is a perennial herb, usually 10-80 centimeter. high. This iris tends to form large clumps from thick, creeping rhizomes. The unwinged, erect stems generally have basal leaves that are more than 1 cm. wide. Leaves are folded on the midribs so that they form an overlapping flat fan. The well developed blue flower has 6 petals and sepals spread out nearly flat and have two forms. The longer sepals are hairless and have a greenish-yellow blotch at their base. The inferior ovary is bluntly angled. Flowers are usually light to deep blue and in bloom during May to July. Fruit is a 3-celled, bluntly angled capsule. The large seeds can be observed floating in the fall.

The species has been implicated in several poisoning cases of humans and animals who consumed the rhizomes, which have been found to contain a glycoside, iridin. The sap can cause dermatitis in susceptible individuals.

The Blue Flag is the provincial flower of Quebec, having replaced the Madonna lily which is not native to the province.


Tech talk: Shot; cropped; posted. No PP, no colour adjustments.
< I took it on a day with soft light. > What I saw is what you get... Enjoy.
delic, jhm, Necipp, gypsygirl58, herve1993, saeedabbasi, lovenature, anniejo, loot, dew77, peter_stoeckl, bobair has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Toba_O: very nice flowerShoot_Score 1 07-02 18:24
To loot: ready and eager for the summerShoot_Score 2 04-17 10:35
To anniejo: Another WeatherbombShoot_Score 1 04-17 00:00
To gypsygirl58: Another storm is brewing...Shoot_Score 1 04-16 22:24
To herve1993: Another storm is brewing...Shoot_Score 1 04-16 22:23
To saeedabbasi: Another storm is brewing...Shoot_Score 1 04-16 22:21
To lovenature: I hear your getting another blast of winter.Shoot_Score 1 04-16 22:16
To vizion: Perfect light.Shoot_Score 1 04-14 15:49
To delic: Frame-filling and imposing composition.Shoot_Score 1 04-14 15:47
To trinko: composition with the flower filling the scene.Shoot_Score 1 04-14 15:45
To wishnugaruda: I like your POV from above.Shoot_Score 1 04-14 15:44
To wishnugaruda: I like your POV from above.Shoot_Score 1 04-14 15:43
To jhm: you took these flower very well in the heart, ...Shoot_Score 2 04-14 13:48
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello Jay,
Lovely close-up. Some intense colours. Very sharp and detailed. Perfect light.

Thanks,
Christian

  • Great 
  • delic Gold Star Critiquer [C: 440 W: 6 N: 310] (898)
  • [2007-04-14 13:18]
  • [+]

Merhaba Jay,
This is very nice. Frame-filling and imposing composition. Colors are great. Well done.
Best,
Hakan

  • Great 
  • jhm Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 893 W: 0 N: 507] (1853)
  • [2007-04-14 13:21]
  • [+]

Hi Jay,

This is a summer picture with the lovely flower with very pleasant colours, you took these flower very well in the heart, with a nice sharpness and clarity. Thanks for sharing.

Have a nice sunday,
John.

great focus wonderful colors good composition with the flower filling the scene.

Hi Jay,
that's wonderful, such a beautiful flower.
I like your POV from above. Light and sharpness are excellent, very well done
Sabine - wishnugaruda

great pic, TFS Ori

Hello Jay, fine detail and colours, well composed. Good work tfs Rgds Necip.

  • Great 
  • Adanac Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1273 W: 1 N: 6188] (21378)
  • [2007-04-14 21:20]

Hello Jay,
Great colors, sharp focus, informative note and nice composition an all around great post, thanks my friend.
Rick

Hi Jay,
Beautiful macro of this Iris! Stunning colours and the sharpness and details are excellent. Great lighting too! TFS
Cheers Tina :-)

Bonsoir Jay,
Cette espèce est magnifique et très bien photographiée. Cette espèce ressemble à Iris spuria, grand iris bleu présent en Europe.
Salutations
Hervé

Hi again dear Jay ,
excellent details with vivid colours.
i like this colours.
great sharpness and composed.
well done
best wishes
Saeed

Hi Jay
I hope your happy looking Iris is giving you some hope that spring will arrive soon. I hear your getting another blast of winter.

Love the colour and composition here. You show off the nice qualities of the Iris well.
TFS Janice

Glorious colors!! This flower is one of my favorites!

Nicely photoed, with stunning color variations and crisp details!!
Very impressive capture, I think the soft lighting has helped.....

  • Great 
  • loot Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5524 W: 722 N: 4163] (11276)
  • [2007-04-17 0:14]
  • [2] [+]

Hi Jay

Seems like you are ready and eager for the summer (or be that at least spring) to arrive. Calling it with this beautiful iris close-up is one way to spice up (heat) your chilled bones or as you put it to place "a wee more positive spin on "Spring" let's think very positive, and think Summer..."

A lovely colourful composition with extra sharp details. The green vegetation in the BG did well to enhance the flower and make it stand out in the shot. The exposure control was spot-on to ensure great colour saturation and lighting control with great contrasts showing in the darker areas as well as in the white areas.

Very well done and TFS.
Regards
Loot

Hi Jay
beautiful composition with gorgeous colours of this lovely flower
very good background also
one only remark about the highlights a little overexposed...may be a difusor would helped?

best regards

pedro

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2007-04-17 22:20]

Hello Jay

A beautiful shot of this Iris.I see Quebec has a photo of this flower on the large welcome sign as you enter the province on the trans Canada highway, just east of Cornwall here.Very well focused with sharp detail.The lighting is very good .Well composed in the frame.TFS

Rob

Hello Jay,
A lovely flower in a pleasant close-up capture!
Good light and fine details, suitably narrow DOF makes the flower stand out well...
Well composed presentation, great colour palette!
Greetings,
Pablo -

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4432 W: 248 N: 4028] (13270)
  • [2007-04-19 2:14]

Hello Jay,
Lovely close up of this beautiful flower.Vivid colors,lighting and composition are excellent.
TFS..:-)

Hi Jay,
fragile, touchy, poetically seen and well captured.
Lovely cool colours. The strictly vertical point of view shows all the wonderful irregularities of life within its symmetrical patterns of growth. Geometry with feeling.
Very nice shot, and a good text, too.
Has spring arrived in your place, in the end?
You could well take over from us that very strange April summer we are having since about four weeks now on the same geographical latitude. It is making most of us crazy, made a lot of premature blossoms fade away within days, has parched the soils and made farmers - and naturalists - pray for rain.
A nice flag for the "province" of Quebec, indeed, that I well never ever dare again to call a "state".
Cheers,
Peter

Hi Jay,
this is nice for me to see as it has been years since I last saw an Iris.These flowers grow wild in various places in my old hometown of Peterborough Ontario.You know I don't believe I have ever seen one of these as blue as yours looks so I'm surprised you didn't do any PP on it.Well done on this one and Tfs. Bob

very nice flower
beatiful colours and great foku
well done
Toba

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