"Two years ago I planted in my garden this tulip and totally forgot about it. This year it grew and and I caught my attention. The petals looked like a butterfly's wings, its fragility, shapes and the way the light reflected on it; I got fascinated.
I took the flower into my little home studio and studied it for a long time before taking a picture of it with my 8x10’ camera. Originally I only wanted one picture but I ended up with taking 15 over the next two days, also some in color. Looking at the negatives, I selected 6 and turned it into a little series.
First tests platinum test prints got me really excited. I wanted strong contrasts with a lot of energy in the shades like I usually do it with my portraiture works. For that I used a small soft-box. I also used a polarizing filter in front of the soft-box and the lens, which also created an emphasis on the structure by eliminating all reflections on the details.
The print is a handmade platinum print enriched with a lot of gold. The platinum gives the rich and deep blacks and the gold makes the highlights and midtones shine."
Jan C. Schlegel