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phormium tenax

Georg Baumann

Subscriber Member
Well, the phase one is here since friday, and it is raining... raining... raining... :ROTFL: Fog so thick you can not see the fence in front of the house.

So out of frustration I took the alpha and the 70-400 and tried to find a quick shot on the Flax in the front, leaves are probably 10ft long and it is short before to flower.

Phorium tenax is native to New Zeeland, but found in coastal regions in Ireland a lot.

Hope to get some nice shots once in full flower.

1/80 sec, f7.1, 100mm, unortuantely not totally windstill

 

Georg Baumann

Subscriber Member
Hi Neil,

thanks for your comment.

At the moment I am at a stage in my photographic life where I shred my own work to pieces, all I can see is what went wrong in it. :D Excpet the composition may be, which works to some degree.
 

Georg Baumann

Subscriber Member
Thanks Jack, I really find them fascinating plants, they have something ancient about them. A sweetener, medicine, raw material for all kind of tools and household stuff, most versatile in deed.

By the time Captain Cook visited New Zealand in 1769 it had already been inhabited for almost a thousand years by the Maoris who originated from Polynesia. They brought with them their skills at using various plants in their daily life. They soon realised that the native plants that we now know as phormiums or New Zealand Flax, were ideal substitutes for the palms and other plants they had used in their homelands.

The long strap-like leaves were ideal for plaiting into mats, containers, shoes and even shelters. (The name Phormium comes from the Greek word phormos meaning basket, a traditional product of New Zealand flax.) Strong flexible fibre could also be extracted from the leaves for weaving into clothing, or for making rope and fishing nets.

The flowers provided nectar for sweetening and pollen for cosmetic use and the strong but light flower stems could be used for building and for making rafts. The roots were a source of medicinal products. The Maoris became, and still remain, very skilled at selecting, preparing and working with New Zealand Flax.

Europeans soon saw the benefits of New Zealand flax as a replacement for normal Linum flax and from the 1820s till the 1970s there was a thriving flax industry in New Zealand. Following the introduction of mechanical flax stripping machines in the 1860s, thousands of tons of flax fibre were exported to Great Britain, mainly for rope making.

Gradually, however, the introduction of synthetic materials and the development of inexpensive sources of other plant fibres meant the the New Zealand Flax industry went into decline and the last flax mills closed down in the 1980s.

Phormium tenax (Maori - 'Harakeke') is still cultivated for weaving and plaiting and many of the old Maori cultivars are now being conserved. Landcare Research in New Zealand, have set up experimental plantings of Maori weaving flax varieties in various parts of New Zealand. The results have been published in He Korero Korari, No.13, November 2004. (ISSN 1175-5350)
 
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MoJo

Registred Users
Georg these flower photos are stunning, especially the first one. Just about Perfect!
 

Georg Baumann

Subscriber Member
Thank you Mojo.

I do not shoot flowers usually, there are so many flower shots around and people who do that much better and made a lifetime out of shooting flowers. It is just not my world I suppose.

In this case, it was just that I had this new camera and was itiching to shoot something, anything. :ROTFL: So I stood here like an idiot in the front of my house and stared at the Flax for a while, looking for something that tickled my eyes, when I saw the shapes and light in the first one, which I considered to be a strong geometrical composition with somewhat pleasing back light.
 
N

nei1

Guest
Georg your shot in post 6,(and of course the first image)is a good example of composing the out of focus areas to the main subject.While this can be guessed at with a rangefinder,to really confidently and creativly use these areas as a part of the composition an slr is needed.This is why I doubt the "honesty" of so many "bokeh"shots shown here taken with an M8.Bokeh on a rangefinder is a happy accident,nothing more.It surprises me that a noctilux was never made for the R series of cameras.
However another beautiful shot Georg,all the best............Neil.
 
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