Magnolia Flowers April 2020

The magnolia flowers are stunning to see in person this April but as with all flowers they dont seem to be quite a straight forward to capture as I thought.
I thought every picture would be of the beautiful magnolias but for me the branches got in the way and looked nearly next to the swan like petals of the flowers. Typically I just wanted to see the pretty parts.

All photographed on the Canon 5D with a 50mm f/1.4 lens

The 1st couple are extreme close ups with added grain that I love. I think I might be o the Pictorialism end of photography or Romanticism. I'm manipulating the images to my view of beauty.
I love the blush colours. 50mm Lens f/1.8

The 2nd set is sharper and more natural. Again focusing on the central stamen. 50mm f/2.8

The 3rd set I have reduced the clarity to 'prettify' the image taking it to a dreamy de-focused picture. 50mm f/2.8 with lightroom manipulation cooling and de-saturating the colours.

The 4th I wanted just the blush pinks and blues and with a soft focus in both colour and black and white versions. Reducing some of the black so the stems don't create too much contrast. 50mm f/2.8

The 5th a higher saturation of pink and blue for a less romantic more tropical sharper image. 50mm f/2.8

The first images to me are more interesting. I think I'm looking for a 1930s - 1950s texture to my images. Photographs from this period in Harpers Bazaar - Louise Dahl Woolfe, Alfred Steiglitz, Immogen Cunningham etc. have a feel to them. Strong and beautiful and capturing an idea of beauty not just something as an object in front of them.