Magnolia Macro

Years ago in the spring of 2015 I took this photo of a magnolia tree flower while out walking around Theta Pond on the OSU campus, and that started a decade-long infatuation with photographing these magnificent signs of spring that show up every May here in Oklahoma. I don’t take photos of magnolias as often, and as regularly, as crocus or Indian paintbrush flowers, but they are fun to shoot when I have the opportunity. Or when I just think of it, because let’s face it, I often don’t :) Another classic is this top-down view that I took a few years later in the spring of 2017, again with my 50mm lens but augmented by a set of close-up filters. (Maybe a +4, perhaps? I can’t remember, and the image EXIF data doesn’t have any information about filters.) Both images were fine and, to be honest, quite good considering my skill level and the relatively modest gear with which I was shooting. But now, with a proper macro lens, it sure is fun to revisit some of these types of shots to see how things have evolved over time.

While this week’s photo wouldn’t have happened without its earlier counterparts as stepping stones on the path of learning, there’s no denying that by almost all accounts I can think of it’s just a better image. It’s much cleaner and crisper than the others, with a nice sense of contrast between light and dark. It has foreground petals to create a sense of depth and context, and I intentionally used a small aperture of f/22 in order to get a good balance between depth of field and subject sharpness. The one thing I wish I could do differently, and hope to pull off someday, is alter the lighting so that it’s more even and less harsh. At first the sun was covered in a layer of clouds, but over the course of just two or three minutes that I was facing the flower and firing off some exposures, the clouds dissipated and the sun came out—lending a brighter and more vibrant, but at the same time slightly less pleasant, light over the scene. It’s not bad, just one of those things I couldn’t control but hope to plan around the next time I go out to a magnolia tree with my camera in hand.

I’m curious though…when you look at this image, what do you see? A friend of mine took one look and said it was gross and disgusting, like dozens of slimy worms or something similar. I never thought of it that way, but everyone is entitled to their own interpretation when it comes to art, so this does leave me wondering what others see here. Is it even clear that it’s a flower, or did you think it was something else entirely? Have you taken similar shots and, if so, how did they turn out?