From a distance, I noticed yesterday that some yellow tulips were getting ready to bloom in the garden of my neighbor and photography mentor Cindy Dyer. Cindy deliberately chooses colorful, photogenic flowers for her garden, so I love visiting it frequently. As I got close, I noted the spectacular two-color patterns of these tulips. When I sent a photo to Cindy, she informed me that they are known as “broken tulips.”
Perhaps she told me some time in the past what “broken tulips” are, but I rushed to Google to find out why they are considered to be “broken.” This term refers to the dramatic color-breaking of these flowers, an effect highly sought after during the 17th-century Dutch “tulip mania,” according to Wikipedia. Historically, these changes are caused by a virus infects the tulip bulb and causes the cultivar to “break” its lock on a single color, resulting in intricate bars, stripes, streaks, featherings or flame-like effects of different colors on the petals.
Unfortunately, the virus weakens the bulbs and as a result some famous color-broken varieties no long exist. Today’s “broken tulips” are no longer caused by a viral infection, but are stable variants produced through breeding. Cindy noted to me that her tulips have been going strong for at least five years.
I was feeling creative yesterday when I took these photos and tried a lot of different angles and settings to get some unusual looks. I decided mainly to feature the areas with the different colors and deliberately shot with a shallow depth of field that causes the edges that are away from the center to be soft and out of focus. I think it worked out pretty well.
I decided to post these images today as a counterbalance to the photograph of a wolf spider that I posted earlier, a kind of “beauty and the beast” set of postings. I am guessing that almost everyone will like at least one of the two postings.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Beautiful ❤️
Weakened by a virus and resulting in beauty. Sounds strangely familiar.
I am glad to see that I am not the only one who had that same thought. Stay safe and healthy. 🙂
Very nice and colorful Mike! Brightened my day!
Mission accomplished. It is a cold, gray, and gloomy day where I live and I desperately felt the need for some bright colors.
That’s an interesting explanation, Mike. Beautiful flower and photos. I especially like the last one, looking inside of this delicate beauty.
Thanks, Jet. It’s amazing how much I can learn and share when I try to figure out post facto what I have photograph. I too especially like the intriguing angle of the final photo–it has an almost abstract quality to it. I wonder if someone might be uncertain of what it was if they didn’t know beforehand that it was a tulip.
Being from the Netherlands I used to always have tulips at home during this time of the year! Now living in Paris and being confined here your photos are the only tulips that beamed into my living room. Grateful for those wonderful shots. Thank you!
Marcella
Thanks so much. I love Paris and spent there weeks there last November. I had such a wonderful time taking long walks with my camera each day. It saddens me to think of people confined indoors in such a beautiful city. Stay tuned, I hope I will be able to post some more colorful flower shots soon. We are not quite so confined as you are in Paris, but our movements are limited and we have been instructed to stay at home as much as possible.
Great to hear you have had such a wonderful time in this beautiful city. It is indeed pretty strict here, parks are closed so no greenery! I think it is good to limit your movements these days, the spreading of this virus is just horrifying. Stay safe and I will definitely stay tuned for more photos 😃
Very pretty!
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Thanks, Mitzy.
These are great, Mike. Keep experimenting!
Thanks, Michael. I think of style of learning photography is similar to my style in learning to use software–I like to play around and experiment. 🙂
Once you understand the basics, I think that’s the best way. And, to some degree it’s a very good way of learning the basics.
Beautiful photos of a beautiful flower! You’re multiplying the joy of the blooming to many people through sharing on social media and that’s a lovely thing to do. Thanks and take care Mike!
Beautiful & Beautiful & Beautiful!!! There is a saying attributed to Kim Nance : “Coloring outside the lines is a fine art.” It appears that the same is true of photography! Thank-you, Mr. Mike! P.S. I forwarded your Dandelion photo to Benjamin yesterday after our FaceTime to watch him create his masterpiece for National Crayon Day. He was delighted that I had shared his Dandelion story with you!
Thanks so much. I love the quote about coloring outside the lines–there really are no limits to creativity. Thanks for sharing my dandelion photo with Benjamin. I have read that one of the keys is to writing an effective blog posting is to have a specific reader in mind. Often I will try to focus on trying to be energetic and interesting enough to reach someone as curious, engaged, and detail-oriented as Benjamin.
These are lovely, Mike, and I’ll confess I skipped your “beast” posting!
No apologies needed, Ellen. I fully recognize that my spider and snake photos (and possibly those of other subjects) do not appeal to all viewers. Unlike in our current political environment, I do not assume that someone who disagrees with me is the enemy. 🙂
🙂
I know full well how many folks react to detailed spider shots, but I agree that they may yet come around through our offerings and explanations. But who couldn’t love a tulip?
I went searching today in the same garden where I found the tulips, hoping I might find a jumping spider. I figured that a jumping spider perched on a tulip would be an irresistible combination. Alas, I found no spider this time. I did note, though, that more tulips are preparing to bloom, so I have visions of more bright color showing up again before long in my blog postings. It’s nice to have a neighbor who loves to grow flowers.
Interesting. I’ve never heard of these.
Very nicely done, Mike. I really like the centre image. The colour combination is stunning. I like to experiment with angles and settings, too. Changes in the aperture can really make a big difference, as you know, especially the depth of field. I like to experiment with different light conditions, too. I find direct sunlight can be pretty harsh for flower photography in general, so I try and photograph in more ambient light where possible, but you can’t always change the position of the sun 🙂
Thanks, Pete. I have a collapsible handheld diffuser that I take with me when I am going out specifically to shoot flowers and I know that the lighting will be harsh. Cindy, the friend in whose garden I was shooting, is much more an expert in photographing and Nikon USA published this article a few years ago with some of her tips. https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/how-to-grow-your-garden-photography-skills.html
😲😍😍😍 Beautifully broken!