Two Poppies, Two Edges

A coral-red poppy with pale edges among seed pods, and a red poppy among blue cornflowers: where each flower’s outline comes from.

Two paired studies

Study A

A coral-red poppy with pale petal edges stands among green stems and seed pods.
Study A. A coral-red poppy with pale petal edges, seed pods and buds on the stems around it.

Study B

A red poppy blooms among blue cornflowers and tall green stems.
Study B. A red poppy among blue cornflowers, more poppies out of focus behind.

Observations

Plant or featureSeen inWhat to look at
Poppy, coral-redStudy AA pale rim runs round each petal and draws the outline.
Seed pods and budsStudy AOn their own stems around the open flower.
Poppy, redStudy BNo pale rim; it fills most of the width of the frame.
CornflowersStudy BBlue flowers on both sides make the red read warmer.
Two photographs by different photographers, compared side by side. Neither is a before or after of the other.

What the pair shows

Both photographs hold one open poppy near the middle of the frame. What differs is where the eye finds the edge of the petals.

In Study A the edge is drawn for you: a pale rim follows each petal, and the flower sits small among seed pods and buds. In Study B there is no rim. The poppy is much larger in the frame, and its outline appears only because red sits against blue and green, with more poppies blurred behind it.

Filed in the same band

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