Tricky Manoeuvres: Hellebore Photography

Posted on by Ann Mackay

I’ve been waiting for a chance to take photographs of these hellebores for a while. At last the weather has become calmer. The wind has died down again and there have even been a few dry spells.

It felt good to get back outside into the garden with my camera and I was relieved to see that the rough weather hadn’t harmed the flowers.

But actually getting into a good position to photograph them was going to be a bit tricky. At the best of times it can be awkward to get close enough to low-growing plants, especially when the ground has become too much of a swampy mess to kneel on. Hellebores make it even more difficult by insisting on hanging their beautiful little heads down. You have to practically get to worm’s eye-level if you want to see them.

Luckily for me, there was a stack of bags of compost nearby and I was able to drag one over and lie down on it to get my photographs. Having one elbow firmly wedged against a big plant pot helped to make sure that I didn’t take a nose-dive into the mud.

All this makes me realise that I may have to change the arrangement of some of the garden borders. Far too many of the smaller plants are positioned quite far into the border, so that you really need to get right into the border to photograph them. Without standing on the other plants. Or getting jabbed by something prickly. Or even sitting down unexpectedly in the mud! Hmm, this may need a bit of thought…

Dark Hellebore 4833

Published by Ann Mackay

Photographer, mixed-media art adventurer and completely daft about plants.......

29 thoughts on “Tricky Manoeuvres: Hellebore Photography”

    1. Thank YOU, Liz! 🙂 I’m hoping to gradually add more hellebores with different forms etc – after all, I need something else to photograph next spring…hehe!

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  3. I particularly like the first of the photos, which reveals more delicacy of colour / patterning than I’d realised existed in hellebores … and don’t we all need some colour in our lives right now!

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    1. It’s amazing to find such beautiful colourings and markings on late-winter flowers – really compensates for the horrid weather. (And a great excuse for buying more!)

      Liked by 1 person

  4. The Hellebore is quite a fancy flower. I can feel your pain lying down in your garden, on a compost bag of all things, and propping your camera up. What a photographer will do to get the shot! Great images Ann!

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  7. At least you were at home. I’ve had a few nice encounters with game wardens and sheriff’s deputies who’ve seen me flat down in a ditch and feared I’d had a heart attack.

    The second photo is amazing. Both the color and the form are so attractive. The translucence of the leaves does make it seem jewel-like. Wouldn’t that be something, pinned on a black dress?

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    1. The positions we get ourselves into for a photo, LOL! At least it’s not risky, like hanging over deep water or being on the edge of a cliff. (Garden photography is so much more comfortable than landscape photography!) And give me flowers rather than jewellery any day! 🙂

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    1. Thanks Steve! It was much easier than risking getting wet or frozen while photographing ice the way you do. I have the more comfortable option! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Laurel! They’re actually very easy to grow (in dappled shade and reasonably moist soil) and very tough. These flowered for the first time this year, so I was very excited to see them. 🙂

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    1. I did have one for a film camera that was, as you say, extremely useful. Part of the problem now is just getting down at a plant that’s not in a convenient place – such are the joys of getting older! 🙂

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