The Quiet Picture

Random rants and occasional photographs

Jun 16

Fleur du jour - Lily of the valley

Category: lily of the valley

Convallaria majalis

  • English: Lily of the valley
  • Swedish: Liljekonvalj
  • Finnish: Kielo

Lily of the valley is the national flower of Finland. It was voted such back in the 60s and it’s no surprise - it is a truly elegant flower with a scent that is hardly surpassed in the natural world. I don’t know why I only had one picture of the lily in my photo database because it is a fairly common flower, but I was determined to fix the issue after I found several places where the flower grows abundant. So much so that I became a little bit overconfident - I had an idea in my head and I thought that the photo would pretty much take itself if I just pointed the camera in the right direction. Well, I crash landed in that respect and the photos seem to be hard work but I have a few days left to improve my efforts, until the short blooming season of the lily of the valley comes to an end.As for the light, it doesn’t really matter - this is one of those subjects which looks equally good in the sun and in shade. In this case, the patchy light in the forest provided a spotlight on the flower itself, while shading the leaves around. It’s just a matter of waiting for the right moment.

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Image specs: ISO 200, f5.0, 1/1250, Canon 300mm f4L w/ 31mm ext. tube

1 Comment so far

  1. r.olsen June 22nd, 2006 2:46 pm

    Hmm, different lotv-picture. Honestly, I don’t know if I like it or not, but it is different from the mass. -It’s a good sign if you can’t state your opinion right away, me thinks. The lens is sharp…

    I haven’t had any luck with lilies this year :-/ First they weren’t blossoming, then it was too windy and finally the blooming was over. Same old stuff, you know.

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