love-in-a-mist

As part of my government sanctioned exercise today I cycled past my friend Jean's house to drop in some loose leaf Earl Grey (she can't get it on her delivery from Waitrose!). As I was leaving she presented me with a small smudge of white from the garden to shoot.

At less than 2cm across and with very little stalk I attached it to a piece of wire and pegged it to a support (pen pot!) and made some images using my 'usual' set-up: flash gun off camera as the sole illumination source, between 45°-80° to the lens so the light sweeps across the flower to reveal the texture. (Extra is set up)

Nigella damascena, love-in-a-mist, are upright, bushy annuals with finely dissected leaves and solitary flowers with 5 blue or white, petal-like sepals and feathery bracts, followed by decorative, inflated seed capsules. 

The plant is supported by thread-like leaves known as ruff which gives the appearance of the flowers surrounded by a mist, hence the romantic name love-in-a-mist.

Other common names:
bird's nest, blue crown, blue spiderflower, chase-the-devil, devil in a bush, devil in the bush, garden fennel, Jack in prison, Jack in the green, Katherine's flower, kiss-me-twice-before-I-rise, lady in the bower, love-in-a-puzzle, love-in-a-tangle, St Catherine's flower