A week or so back, our fields, hedgerows and nature reserve were almost overwhelmed with dandelion seed heads presenting some great opportunities for macro photography.  So many in fact that whole area seemed to have been covered with frost or snow! Did you know that:

1. Dandelions belong to the Taraxacum genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae
2. They are native to Eurasia and North America
3. European species are edible in their entirety
4. The common name dandelion is from French dent-de-lion, meaning “lion’s tooth”
5. Dandelions have very small flowers collected together into a composite flower head. Each single flower in a head is called a floret and are one of the most vital early spring nectar sources for a wide host of pollinators
6. You can tell the time by them, counting the number of breath puffs it takes to blow all the seeds away! At least this was true when I was a child!

I think the subject of dandelion at this stage of its life was a good choice for monochrome macro photography, the white head against a black background looking better than white against green leaves. It’s always a personal choice though, and a lot depends on your own perception of the potential image before you’ve clicked the shutter I guess?

Categories: Photography

Tags: dandelion, dandelionclock, Macro, Macro photography, taraxacum