On a Mission
by Bruce Bley
Title
On a Mission
Artist
Bruce Bley
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This photograph was taken while driving on a country road near my community. I came across a garden that had many unusual colored sunflowers. While photographing this red sunflower a bee passed by my ear on his way to collect pollen from this flower. I enjoy taking macro photographs illustrating the detail of the subject I am photographing. The seeds of the sunflower will be used for feeding birds in the area and for growing new sunflowers next summer. I hope you have enjoyed this photograph and will share it with others. You can see more of my work on my homepage in the various galleries I have created. Thank you for visiting and please come back.
The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence (flowering head), and its name is derived from the flower's shape and image, which is often used to depict the sun. The plant has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves, and circular flower heads. The heads consist of many individual flowers which mature into seeds, often in the hundreds, on a receptacle base. From the Americas, sunflower seeds were brought to Europe in the 16th century, where, along with sunflower oil, they became a widespread cooking ingredient. Leaves of the sunflower can be used as cattle feed, while the stems contain a fiber which may be used in paper production.
What is usually called the "flower" on a mature sunflower is actually a "flower head" (also known as a "composite flower") of numerous florets (small flowers) crowded together. The outer petal-bearing florets (ray florets) are sterile and can be yellow, red, orange, or other colors. The florets inside the circular head are called disc florets, which mature into seeds
The flower petals within the sunflower's cluster are always in a spiral pattern. Generally, each floret is oriented toward the next by approximately the golden angle, 137.5, producing a pattern of interconnecting spirals, where the number of left spirals and the number of right spirals are successive Fibonacci numbers. Typically, there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other; on a very large sunflower there could be 89 in one direction and 144 in the other. This pattern produces the most efficient packing of seeds within the flower head.
Sunflowers commonly grow to heights between 1.5 and 3.5 m (5-12 ft.). The tallest sunflower confirmed by Guinness World Records is 8.0 m (2009, Germany). In 16th-century Europe the record was already 7.3 m (24 ft., Spain). Most cultivars are variants of H. annuus, but four other species (all perennials) are also domesticated. This includes H. tuberosus, the Jerusalem Artichoke, which produces edible tubers.
Uploaded
July 20th, 2014
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Viewed 1,311 Times - Last Visitor from Cambridge, MA on 04/23/2024 at 7:04 PM
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Comments (34)
Mariola Bitner
Congratulations on your outstanding artwork! It has been chosen to be FEATURED in the group “500 VIEWS.”
Bruce Bley replied:
Thank you so much for the feature in the group "500 VIEWS", Mariola. I sincerely appreciate it.
Bruce Bley
Darren, I am grateful for the feature in the group "Flower Art 3 A Day". I truly appreciate it.
Bruce Bley
Brooks, Thank you so much for the feature in the group "Sunflower Power". I truly appreciate it.
Bruce Bley
Romuald, I want to thank you for the feature in the group "Arts Fantastic World". I sincerely appreciate it.
Robyn King
Fabulous shot Bruce!!! Congratulations on your well deserved features awesome work!!! sharing:))
Bruce Bley replied:
Thank you for the wonderful comment and congrats, Robyn. I truly appreciate it and thank you for visiting.
Bruce Bley
Thank you for the feature in the group "Weekly FUN For ALL Mediums SPRING IS IN THE AIR", Chrisann. I truly appreciate the honor.
Kimberlee Baxter
Bruce, this is unbelievably beautiful to me! This inspires me to want to paint this amazing capture, so I am back to appreciate once again! Love this! Fave! L/F/FB!
Bruce Bley replied:
Thank you for the wonderful compliment, Kimberlee. I am glad you enjoyed this photograph and that it is and inspiration for a painting of yours.
Ellen Tully
Wonderful capture on this bee in flight. Great focus and beautiful flower.
Bruce Bley replied:
Thank you for the wonderful compliment, Ellen. I really appreciate your comment.
Bruce Bley
Thank you for the feature in the group "ALL SEASONS Landscapes", Nadine and Bob. I sincerely appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Nadine and Bob, I am very grateful for the feature in the group "Artist News". I appreciate the honor.
Paul Lovering
Stunning capture ... You have magic in your lens Bruce
Bruce Bley replied:
Thank you for the wonderful compliment, Paul. I guess you might say I was at the right place at the right time.
Bruce Bley
Marinescu, I really appreciate the feature in the group "Premium FAA Artists". Thank you so much.
Bruce Bley
Brad, I want to thank you for the feature in the group "FAA Elite. I truly appreciate the honor.
Bruce Bley
Mariola, I truly appreciate the feature in the group "BUGs BUGs and more BUGs". Thank you for the honor.
Bruce Bley
Pamela, I appreciate the feature in the group "3 A Day Waiting Room ART". Thank you for the honor.
Bruce Bley
Jay, Thank you again for the feature in the group "Amateur Photographers- 2 Entries Per Day Please". I really appreciate it.