Who can resist a dandelion clock?
For a long time, I didn’t make the connection between the name given to these seed heads, and the game I played as a child — blowing on the filaments to see how many puffs it would take to dislodge them all. The number of puffs told the time.
I was a terribly serious and terribly logical child and suspect that, had I known, I would have regarded the notion with incredulity. Er, where’s the second hand?
Yesterday, when I noticed a single dandelion amongst the kikuyu and paspalum rampant in our lawn, I resisted the temptation to play the game. Instead I captured a few shots in situ, then took it inside to set against a dark background.
While I quite like the complexity of the seed head revealed in the first black and white shot, I’m definitely more drawn to the simpler, more delicate third and fourth images. What do you think?
And for a post about time, childhood and simplicity, this song by the late Jim Croce seemed perfect.
Written for Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge at Lens and Pens by Sally.
I took a photography class in college and I brought in a bunch of gone-to-seed dandelions for exposure photography. (My term, I don’t remember what the real term is.) We went into a dark room, laid our objects on unexposed film paper and switched on a light for a certain number of seconds. Then we developed the images. Your first and second images in all black remind me of that process. (I like how you get the edges of the picture all roughed up as if they are ripped or torn. Is that a feature of your photo editing program?)
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Hi. Thanks for your comments. I’m glad those images reminded you of direct exposure shots. That’s kind of the effect I was thinking of. I also thought that the second white on black reminded me of an X-ray (which I guess is pretty much the same thing). The ripped edges were done in Pixlr; good selection of frames there. Cheers, Su.
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Thanks for the Pixlr reference. (Though, it does look like your cat leaned on the keyboard while you were typing.)
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I like the shot with the green background … the green hints at the promise of life within the seed head.
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Thanks Susan. It’s definitely the most cheerful shot!
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Love the clarity and green of the first shot. But a real question: Having never heard of a “dandelion clock” … does it really tell time accurately? Because if it does, I wish I had known that as a kid, who never had watch. 🙂
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Thanks JoAnn. Hm. I doubt dandelion clocks would be any better at telling the time than pulling petals off flowers (he loves me, he loves me not) would be at predicting the state of a crush’s heart. Unless there is some chemical thing that makes the filaments stickier approaching midday and midnight (which then disappears at 1 o’clock ….) There are so many of these old traditional games; when I remember them I wonder if any had much basis in reality? Cheers, Su.
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I like the first shot with the green background, it is interesting how complex a dandelion is. All the photos are great! Thanks Su. 🙂
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Thank you. I enjoyed playing with the camera to get different shots, and then editing them. I could spend waay too much time doing that stuff. Cheers, Su.
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Lovely images as always Su.
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Delicate, delicate, dandelion gives us hope in its sustainability and survival. It is much more than it appears to be: an edible wild thing. Great pairing with the song, which brought
tears–happy and mixed ones. I am drawn to the first for its cheer and detail. Happy Photo Challenge.
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Thank you Sally. I love the powerful simplicity of the song — seemed like a good fit with such a wonderful plant.
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Indeed…
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Wonderful images and editing.
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Su, I love these and the song as well. There never does seem to be enough time, does there?
janet
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Thanks Janet. I thought of a few songs about time, but I love this one and love Jim Croce’s voice; which, sadly, I’ve been listening to posthumously most of my life.
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These are fascinating. I think I like the first and last ones best. The first because it is dramatic, the last because it is poetic.
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Thank you Amy. 🙂
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Indeed it is a clock. In the Bronx they just called them dandelions and blew on ’em. Maybe make a wish. But those photos are terrific.
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Thanks. I think the making a wish part sounds pretty good. 🙂
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I used to wish that I’d find a four-leaf clover. Still looking.
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Excellent photography Su.
I find it impossible to get a decent dandelion shot with my mobile. I love the third one the most.
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Thank you. I took quite a few attempts to get a decent shot — and editing helps to mask the flaws! Cheers, Su
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Your dandelion clocks are so beautiful, and the song is so sad…
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Thanks Inese. The really sad thing is that Jim Croce died about the time the song was released.
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I didn’t know that. Very sad.
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I didn’t either until the other day; he’s always just been a voice from my childhood. The album was released posthumously.
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I knew he died in the crash, and that’s all. Thank you for sharing! Now I know more, and it is great he is remembered.
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Really pretty….they are all great in their own way, but that fresh green background is so appealing at this time of year😊I loved playing dandelion clocks as a child✨💞
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Thanks Seonaid. I hope you are getting some nice spring weather. 🙂
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It’s been very sunny in good big patches over the last week☀️😊✨
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Nice!
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