Monday, November 8, 2010

Macro Monday: Radicchio

IMG_7973 radicchio
Radicchio - Leaf Chicory (Cichorium intybus)

Two reasons that are keeping me from blogging as much as I would wish are that I've been ill for the past two weeks and I'm taking a beginning photography class that is consuming most of my available time. Last week our assignment was to emulate, but not copy exactly, a famous photographer or other artist. I chose to emulate photographer Irving Penn (1917 - 2009). In 1980, he published "Flowers" after working on the book for seven summers. This beautiful purple tulip was his cover image:

Photo by Irving Penn


I did not have time to run up to the flower mart to find tulips, but I thought the radicchio was a close enough approximation. To teach us the discipline to frame during a shot rather than in post-production, cropping is not permissible for this class. I would have probably cropped my image square, like Penn's tulip.

See more of Irving Penn's flowers here. My other emulations are here and visit other Macro Monday posts here

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

First of all, I hope you are feeling better soon! I am so jealous of your photography class...how I would love to do something like that! I absolutely love what you have done here...the colors are perfect and I love the simplicity of the shot! I also enjoyed going through your flicker acct of your other assignments...more awesome images!

Yoli said...

So beautiful! At first when I saw it on my sidebar I thought it was a tulip. So happy for you that you are taking photography classes.

George said...

Your future looks as bright as that radicchio, Dutchbaby. The key here is your willingness to improvise — to go with the radicchio instead of going to the market for an identical tulip. Think of good jazz, good food, or anything else — it always reflects a certain degree of improvisation.

Vagabonde said...

Your radicchio is lovely – quite appetizing in fact and a very good improvisation for the tulip. I need to take a course on photography, or at least read my instruction books…. What type of lens do you use for macro? My Nikon D40 does not take macros and I am not sure whether I should buy a lens or another camera. I hope you feel well soon.

Lorenzo — Alchemist's Pillow said...

Congratulations, dutchbaby, on thinking out of the box, or out of the bulb, and going for the radicchio instead of for a tulip. The results are outstanding. Sorry to hear about your recent condition; I understand it is quite painful. Heal well

Kala said...

Wonderful details of the radicchio. The colors and patterns resemble the tulip photo. Sounds like a great photography class!

George said...

For some reason, I initially missed the point about your illness. I just want you to know that I wish you well in your recovery. Shingles can be painful, I know, but creativity can be an antidote, to some extent. Get well soon.

Kim, USA said...

Wow this is beautiful!
Macro-Lemon

Jeannette StG said...

Since I have discovered radicchio, I love to add them in my salads. Beautiful pic, dutchbaby -great job! And the tulip is so similar in color and "print" on the petals!
Take care and have a speedy recovery of the shingles!

Ginnie Hart said...

Now that sounds like a great class, DB. I can just see you figuring it all out...as though you hadn't already. So sorry to hear you've been ill, however. :( It must have been all that baseball stress!

CC said...

You have a fine eye, m'dear. I'll bet the instructor is pleased as can be to have
you in class.

Millions of years ago, when I was a small child, my Mom got to meet Irving Penn and
his brother Arthur Penn. Both, sadly gone now, were from Philly. Such fabulous talents.

CC said...

Oh dear, I nearly forgot to say that I hope you are on the mend and feeling much better.

OOOXXX

Unknown said...

Perfectly done! I love the first one - feels like it's sitting right here in front of me. Love! Love the colors too! Hope you're feeling better now. :0)

Susan said...

Oh! So much more creative than using a tulip!! I love it.

I hope you are feeling better and will soon be back in good health.

((hugs))

graceonline said...

Excellent photograph! You accomplished exactly what you set out to do. Mouthwatering.

rochambeau said...

Am thinking good thoughts for you to feel better Dutchbebe!! My SIL had Shingles and it was not good!!
Your photo of Radicchio turned out beautifully!

Like you, I'm a big fan of Irving Penn. Once I had a great book of his work. Many portraits of interesting people from all over the world, shot in the corners of backdrops ( a great technique)!! AN old boyfriend has my book, oh well.

Keep feeling better and keep the great photos coming!

xox
Constance

lorilaire said...

Incroyable les similitudes dans les couleurs entre un chou et une tulipe, BIEN VU !

Relyn Lawson said...

Oh, I am so excited about your photography class. How wonderful!

Dutchbaby said...

Dear tammymcchesney,
Thank you for your well wishes, I am feeling very much better. I have a love-hate relationship with my photo class. I love working on my assignments and learning about talented photographers, but I hate how much time it is consuming. It's been difficult trying to keep up with the work while I was ill.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my other images.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Yoli,
I am very happy to be taking this class, especially because I am taking this with one of my book club sisters.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear George,
As a lover of jazz, I will take your words as a high compliment! Thank you!

I went to Whole Foods for my props and found the vegetables to be far more inspiring than the flowers there.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Vagabonde,
Yes, the radicchio is very tasty. I bought some delicious soft cheese from Cow Girl Creamery, made locally in Point Reyes, to put in my salad. The cheese is a great counterpoint of flavor and texture to the bitterness and crispiness of the radicchio.

I used the kit lens that came with the Canon Rebel XTi. I doubt you need to buy a new camera to take macro photos. I advise you to call B&H photo in New York for suggestions.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Lorenzo,
"Thinking out of the bulb" :-D

Thank you for your well wishes, I'm 90% better. I'm guessing that in a few days I'll be good as new. High doses of B-vitamin complex did wonders for the pain.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Mr. Lonely,
Thanks for your visit.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Kala,
Yes, it is a great photo class. I think you would enjoy it immensely. I like that we take very different photos every week.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear George,
Thank you for your well wishes. I was surprised how unrelenting the pain was, but I'm almost over the virus now.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Kim, USA,
Thank you, this project was fun.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear jeannette,
I enjoy radicchio in salads too. I'm glad you concur that it shares similar visual properties with the tulip (who knew?).

Thanks for your well wishes. I'm feeling very well today.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Ginnie,
I am grateful that I am now finally figuring out the mysteries of f stops, shutter speeds, and apertures. Now I wonder what took me so long. The next thing I'd like to unveil is the mystery of lighting - that's a whole new ball of wax.

It was terrible to be sick during the World Series, but I'm so glad we finally won! Yippee!

Dutchbaby said...

Dear CC,
Why thank you, coming from someone as talented as you, I am extremely flattered. I'm not sure the instructor or the class appreciated me; I ask a lot of questions and have loads of comments. I always wonder if I overdo it.

Yes, I'm virtually healed. Just well enough to stand out on the dock well before sunrise this weekend to help with a rowing regatta for my son.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear lisaschaos,
Thank you very much! It was a fun and delicious assignment.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Susan,
Thanks for the praise and for the hugs. It means a lot to me :-)

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Kathryn Grace,
Thank you - let's see if my instructor concurs.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Constance at rochambeau,
Thank you very much for your good thoughts. I'm sure they helped me heal!

I know that Irving Penn portrait book; I'm so sorry you lost custody of it.

Dutchbaby said...

Chers lorilaire,
Merci bien!

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Relyn,
I am enjoying the class very much. It takes up a lot more time than my floristry classes though.

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