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April 23, 2008 : Zantedeschia 'Mango'
Plant Family / Families: Araceae
Scientific Name and Author: Zantedeschia 'Mango'
Name Location: cut-flower
Elizabeth asked in the comments yesterday if we had a snow shower weekend locally. Yes, a little bit on Friday and Saturday, but I didn't really notice. I had purchased a bouquet on Friday afternoon, partly for the reason that the forecast suggested a return to wintery conditions (which didn't really come to pass) so I would instead spend time inside learning how to use my off-camera flash unit. These are a couple of the results of that exercise. I've primarily categorized these photographs as "botanical art", as I've used much more digital manipulation than I normally would and don't consider these images documentarian. As to what sort of manipulation, for those interested, I greatly increased the midtones using curves on both images. In the second image, I also burned a small portion of the flower to locally decrease the exposure.
I think these calla lilies are the cultivar 'Mango'. I called the florist yesterday, and the person answering the phone thought the name was 'Margo' (a non-existent cultivar, from what I can tell), so I concluded 'Mango' instead (and somewhat confirmed by the Zantedeschia photographs on the Pacific Bulb Society Wiki). Another point of evidence is the many commercial recommendations for its use as a cut flower in a search for "Zantedeschia 'Mango' cut flower".
Certainly, one of the elements that attracted me to this particular bouquet were the orange tones (the bouquet contains orange lilies and orange gerberas, as well). The Production and Landscape Horticulture program at Massey University in New Zealand has done some research into Zantedeschia pigmentation. As you might expect from a cultivar that is mainly orange with patches of red, it is concluded that 'Mango' contains a discontinuous layer of anthocyanins on a base of carotenoids.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at April 23, 2008 9:33 AM
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Comments
Posted by: Sue in Bremerton WA at April 23, 2008 11:29 AM
Daniel - I really like your art and abstract photos ... so much so that I've put several in my folder of Mac desktop art, including the trio above. yes indeed, beauty ... daily.
Posted by: Hollis at April 23, 2008 1:07 PM
I was wanting to know a little more about the "digital manipulation."
I use Adobe Photo Shop CS 2. What setting(s) might I use to get the same gorgeous effect?
(I know this isn't a digital photography course, so if you prefer you may email your answer.)
Posted by: TC at April 23, 2008 1:50 PM
It came out very nicely, indeed! Of course, one doesn't get a beautiful manipulated image without an excellent raw image to begin with, so I would commend you on ALL of your skills. No eye, no photo!
Posted by: E. Marie Robertson at April 23, 2008 4:01 PM
Looks more like peaches. Nice pics. Interesting choice of background. I like the use of a complementary color, but I think a simple gradation would have set off the flowers better. As it is, it competes with them.
Posted by: Roberta at April 23, 2008 6:59 PM
Lovely flowers, and gorgeous photos.
Posted by: Carol B at April 24, 2008 9:02 AM
thank you daniel
lots of drama in the pictures
number one is really fine on a poster perhaps
this has been a really interesting week
i enjoy what i call the blomming riots of spring
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at April 24, 2008 9:51 AM
TC, I don't mind posting it here. Other people might have the same question.
The bulk of this effect is created by using curves and stretching the midtones. A quick and dirty way of doing something like this would be to a) open your image, b) do something like Image -> Adjustments -> Curves (this is using PS 7, but I think is the same in CS 2), then dragging the curve down along the quarter line and up along the three-quarter line, as shown below.
If one were to get more refined with Photoshop, one might concentrate the effect on a particular channel (red, green, or blue). Properly, I suppose, it would also be best to do it via a Curves Adjustment Layer.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at April 24, 2008 12:11 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
Lovely thing to do with such a nice curvy flower. It is fun to 'play' and learn new technicues with a camera and a good edit program. And the whole thing turned out quite well, didn't it? I think so. I do understand the difference @ a portrait from a studio is a lot different than the one they take at jail or for the passport.