Figure 1 – Waterlily, Concord, MA, August 3, 2020. (c) DE Wolf 2020.
Here is the ultimate return to childhood, summer days – the gentle rush of rowboat or canoe gliding over a crop of waterlily pads. Figure 1 shows a real beauty of a waterlily (Nymphaea odorata) gracing a pond in Concord, MA. The image is dominated by the intense white and the contrasting deep and mysterious darkness of the pond. The reflection seems, in fact, to show greater and subtler detail of grey in the petals than the flower itself which like Icarus ventures too close to the sun. Water lilies accentuate the quintessential quality of August’s dog days; sultry warm, high overarching cumulus clouds, and gentle breezes. Winter seems far away, but we are reminded that September and the transition to autumn will soon come to the world. The waterlily is the botanical analogue of the swan, brilliant and virgin white, gliding over the surface of the pond, reminiscent of eternity.
“The world must live. We are only one species among billions. The gods don’t love us any more than they love spiders or bears or whales or water lilies.”
Canon T2i with EF 70-200 L f/4.0 USM mm lens at 200 mm, ISO 200, Aperture Priority AE Mode, 1/125th sec at f/7.1 with -1 exposure compensation.