Withered Lillies

Leica CL + Zeiss Jena 24mm f2.8 Macro

I don’t know what it is for me about these flowers. This is the same bouquet as in this photo 3 weeks ago. The lilies dried up rather than withered. And in the dried state the colours became more bruised, but no less saturated. The green turned to love, the yellow to mustard, the magenta to plum. The hallways where these flowers stand is dark, except for the dappled stream of sunshine coming in through the textured glass of the French door.

Leica CL + Helios 44M 58mm f2

The colours were very difficult to get right here, but I think these look accurate.

I took some photos with the Helios 44M 58mm, and some close-ups with the Zeiss Jena 24mm, and they look surprisingly well-matched.

Leica CL + Helios 44M 58mm f2

I like these better in colour than in black and white. I think when the flowers were fresh, the edges were more defined and that made them nice in black and white. But now that everything is withered, there is a fluttery vagueness to it that benefits from colour.

After taking these photos, I finally threw away the bouquet.