The Eastern Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla Patens) has not blossomed yet and reminds me of the ugly duckling in its current state. In a short time a beautiful flower will unveil itself, and it will be ugly no more.
There seems to be many names for this plant. Common names include Eastern pasque flower, prairie smoke, prairie crocus, and cutleaf anemone. It is also the state flower of South Dakota.
This image is a part of the X/52 project for the somewhat hard to translate theme “Styggfint”. “Stygg” meaning ugly, and “fint” meaning pretty. Ugly/pretty, nasty nice?
Other contributions on the theme:
Anne Ueland: Mr Ugly Pretty
Sonja Middelhuis: Styggfint
Naturglede/Randi Lind Styggfin padde
Jelrik Nylund-van Berkel: Planet Meat
Ståle Ertzgaard: Himmelvendt
Vibeke Prestmo Valestrand: Sweet
Yngve great! Nice depth of field that is!
I DO NOT think it is ugly, so for me you have missed the task;)
(translated by Google)
Original comment (Norwegian):
Jeg synes IKKE den er stygg, så for meg så har du bommet på oppgaven 
Kjempefin Yngve! Fin dybdeskarphet altså!
Thank you, simen. Ugly is of course subject to the eye of the beholder. I have photos of more ugly subjects as well, but I struggled with finding the beauty in them as well. This was a nice balance, I think. I wasn’t too sure about the DOF. I tried several versions, but think this worked best.
Hi Yngve! I think not that it's ugly, but the general perception of a plant at this stage is that it is ugly, so I think that you passed the task with flying colors! (Sorry Simen …= P) =) =) Otherwise, I COMPLETELY agree with Simen that this was a great picture with great colors and nice depth of field! =)
(translated by Google)
Original comment (Norwegian):
Hei Yngve! Jeg syns heller ikke at den er stygg, men den generelle oppfatningen av en plante på dette stadium er at den er stygg, så jeg syns at du har bestått oppgaven med glans! (Sorry Simen…=P) =)=) Ellers er jeg HELT enig med Simen i at dette var et kjempefint bilde med flotte farger og fin dybdeskarphet! =)
Thank you, Sonja. I did try a black and white version too, but that didn’t work at all for this image.
Very nice picture Yngve. I don’t think this plant is ugly; ok what is ugly when coming to plants. Why is a rose more beautifull then a “løvetann”? Why is the løvetann more beautifull thenk the easter pasque flower. I think this plant isn’t ugly; it is just misunderstood…
Exactly. Each year I get that special feeling of spring when the dandelions (løvetann
) show themselves. While a rose may be somewhat prettier up close, a field of dandelions with contrasting green grass is a treat for the eyes in springtime.
This morning the dandelions outside my door have started to dry out, in a day or two it will be a field of seed-bearing parachutes in perfect spheres ready to launch.
Dialect word Ugly Glad you have managed at least here, I think the picture here is very nice. Fun with the messy flower, and Sonja writes that this stage is perhaps the ugliest? So, you have at least loosely themed task in a very delicate way.
(translated by Google)
Original comment (Norwegian):
Dialektordet Styggfint har du ihvertfall klart her, for jeg syns bildet her er veldig fint. Morsomt med den rotete blomsten, og som Sonja skriver om at dette stadiet er den kanskje på det styggeste? Så har du ihvertfall løst temaoppgaven på en veldig delikat måte.
Thank you, Anne.
Simply an ugly nice picture, Yngve! Like others, I like the depth of field here. And then I fell how great the white-pink color of the cowbell appears in contrast with the green background. And then va is the exquisite sharpness. Really a beautiful photo of a bristle head that probably does not deserve the term "ugly ". But since it will go from being a charming, cluttered flower to a beauty in the classic sense, I say now that you have solved the task in a delicious way
(translated by Google)
Original comment (Norwegian):
Rett og slett et styggfint bilde, Yngve! Som de andre, liker jeg dybdeskarpheten her. Og så falt jeg hvor flott den hvitrosa fargen på kubjella kommer fram i kontrast med den vakre grønne bakgrunnen. Og så va det den utsøkte skarpheten. Virkelig et vakkert bilde av et bustehode som nok ikke fortjener benevnelsen “stygg”. Men siden den blir går fra å være en sjarmerende rotete blomst til en skjønnhet i klassisk forstand sier jeg nå at du har løst oppgaven på en lekker måte
Thank you, Ståle. Glad you liked it. It was hard finding the appropriate subject for this challenge, but this felt right for interpretation of the word. It looked uglier amidst the stones in the park, but the challenge was to make it pretty so I isolated it against a cleaner background. Next time I’m thinking of bringing some backgrounds with me, in the form of coloured cardboard. Works great for photos like this.
It was beautiful to be so styggfin! Great picture, sharp and clear in color.
(translated by Google)
Original comment (Norwegian):
Den var vakker til å være så styggfin! Flott bilde, skarpt og tydelig i fargene.
Thank you, Naturglede!
Really good picture! I like the ugly duckling association =) The depth of the picture really makes it =)
The ugly duckling was the first thing on my mind when I was lying on the ground taking this picture. I spent some time getting the background right, since the plant was in bettween stones and other distractions. You can see some of this in lower right corner. (I just spotted it…
) I could remove it, but don’t want to tamper too much with this image.