It is often believed that the "strange" and "other" lie at the periphery far away from the "normal" and "familiar". That is, we do not encounter the strange and other on a daily basis due to its proximity. But this is not always true. When you really look at things, you see things you normally did not notice. You see it basically in a new light. Subsequently, the ordinary and familiar become strange and other.
This is accentuated by photography, especially when you use a macro zoom lens. In the following series of photographs, which I named "Encountering the Strange", I showcase various photographs of my fynbos (fine bush) garden I took with my macro zoom lens. Where possible, I will name the flower's but the focus of this post is not to showcase you how the flowers/plants appear to your eye, but to rather showcase how these flowers can be seen through an artistic lens. That is, I play with the angle, lighting, and focal point. This showcases the plants in a different way than you would normally see. I will also write some of my musings at the end. Please enjoy the absolutely stunning but strange South African Fynbos plants.
(Note: Not all of the plants are native South African Fynbos. Some of them are alien or non-native species. But they are in my garden, so I just lumped them in.)
"Encountering the Strange"
Euryops pectinatus unopened flower I
Euryops pectinatus unopened flower II
Euryops pectinatus unopened flower
Parrot Lily/Alstroemeria psittacina seed pods I
Parrot Lily/Alstroemeria psittacina seed pods II
Pelargonium cucullatum/Wild malva leaf
Pelargonium cucullatum/Wild malva leaves
Tecomaria capensis flowers
Graptoveria titubans leaves
Arctotis x hybrida/African Daisy flower
Helichrysum retortum leaves
Phylica ericoides leaves and flowers I
Phylica ericoides leaves and flowers II
Phylica ericoides leaves and flowers III
Phylica ericoides leaves and flowers IV
Carpobrotus edulis/Cape sour fig new growth
Gazania/African Daisy flower
Unidentified
Polygala myrtifolia flowers I
Polygala myrtifolia flowers II
Centaurea gymnocarpa (Velvet Centaurea) leaves I
Centaurea gymnocarpa (Velvet Centaurea) leaves II
Agapanthus praecox unopened flower bud
Unidentified
Unidentified
Unidentified
Unidentified species of dragonfly
Musings at the End
The garden is alive, it is truly magical to see it "grow" and "die". It is sad to see some of the plants die, but it is part of life.
Some of these plants are really strange and unique to our "valley". When you drive 100km or so south or north, you will get totally different plants. It is truly magical how many species you get in such a small area.
My journey with these plants has been rocky but every day is a new adventure. I love them like some people love pets. This has come to be a bad attitude because sometimes plants die easier than animals. But I have managed to keep most of them alive. Some are super easy to make cuttings from, but the heat waves we are getting are taking their toll on the plants.
Today, for example, was 40 degrees Celsius. It is seriously burning hot. The plants are tough, but they might not get out of this unscathed. I am only hoping for the best.
In any case, I wanted to write more about the philosophical aspects of "encountering the strange" but I went into some rabbit holes trying to find all the names for these plants. It took most of my time! But, hopefully, this will be helpful (I know it was for me). Let us briefly reflect on the strangeness of using Latin names for our plants and how many "common names" are so "fluid". Gazanias, for example, are sometimes African daisies, then there is a myriad of others that are also called African (and even Cape!) daisies. Luckily, I am not in classification.
In any case, I hope you enjoyed this macro journey into the strange world of Fynbos flowers and leaves and seed pods from my garden! All of the photographs were taken with my Nikon D300 and 300mm Macro-Zoom Tamron lens. The flowers, well, they are from mother nature in my garden! All credit to her. Stay safe and happy photographing!