The Cormorant, the Dragonfly, and the Bee: purple

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Beans in Water

(See also below the first two photos for an update to the original post.)

We eat dry beans that we soak and cook ourselves; they're not from cans. So it is not an uncommon occurrence for beans to be soaking overnight in a pot on the stove. The other day I looked in the pot and decided the water was particularly still and that, despite theoretically being distorted in appearance by being below the surface, the beans were still fairly clear to the eye. Naturally, I had to take a photo or two.

We cook various white beans, black beans, and pinto beans. These first two photos below are of organic pinto beans purchased at the local farmers market.

These were taken hand-held with my macro lens using natural light at 1/20 sec. at f2.8.

The photos got me wondering if, like snowflakes, no two beans are exactly alike, certainly not ones with patterns and wrinkles on them like these.

Good thing I didn't accidentally drop the camera into the pot!

Beans in Water #1

Beans in Water #2

The very next day, we were soaking black beans. They were too dark to photograph while in the water. Sitting just out of the water, after soaking, they looked like the two photos below. Note that black beans turn purple after soaking!

Black Beans #1

Black Beans #2

Friday, May 29, 2020

Parrot Tulips and More

Parrot tulips are more "flamboyant" than most common tulips. Their petals have a unique fringe design with scalloped edges. They're a delight both outdoors and indoors.

The photos in this post are mostly black parrot tulips, which are a deep purple color. When strongly lit, the petals look more red.

This is such a photogenic tulip that I've included several different views here. I've also included a few other flower photos and one frog to break up the set as you scroll through.

This first photo was taken on an indoor windowsill.