- Welsh onion about to flower… / Ciboule s’apprêtant à fleurir… – by Steve Troletti
There’s more than just flowers at the Montreal Botanical Garden! The Economic Plant Garden displays plants for either their nutritional value or their fibres used in making cloth. A large part of this garden is dedicated to education versus the visual impact of ornamental plants. This doesn’t mean nature still doesn’t have something pretty to show us. This Welsh Onion is the perfect example. It first creates a round bulb at the upper part of the plant. This bulb dries up and slowly reveals a large spherical flower. I found this in-between stage to be visually stimulating.
This year’s poor North American Weather created a photographic challenge with this plant. Waiting for a nice clear day with no wind is just not an option. I was faced with variably cloudy weather and variable wind gusts as a cold front moved into the region. This plant being fairly high meant I had to use the speed of my flash over my aperture to freeze the action as it blew back and forth in the wind. An other option would have been to use a flex-arm from my tripod to hold the plant still with the use of a delicate clamp.
I opted for the flash option as I was counting the minutes before the storm rolled in! This picture was taken with a Nikon D300s, Old Sigma DG 105mm Macro Lens, and a Nikkor SB-900 Speedlight Flash mounted on a Manfrotto 055XPROb Tripod. My tripod of choice for macro photography. I used a corded shutter release and a 90 Degree viewfinder to make taking the picture more comfortable.
Picture taken @ 105mm – ISO 400 – 1/500 sec. f/8 with the flash in Manual @ 1/2 power