The garden by torchlight

Clockwise from top left:foxglove,angelica,geranium,aqua legia,rhubarb
I heard Linda Rutenberg on the radio talking about photographing plants at night using a torch and I couldn't wait to give it a try. It took some experimenting with exposure times and how much to waggle the torch. Some magical effects are possible and there are lovely black backgrounds. With film in the camera  there might have been a lot time waiting for possibly disappointing results. I love the the instant results from digital photography, discarding the failures immediately and pursuing the more interesting ones.Why not take a look at Linda Rutenberg's blog 
http://www.thegardenatnight.blogspot.com/

I liked the foxglove photograph on the left because the light was played over the top part a little more so that the lower blooms have a bluer cast. These are 5-10 second exposures so best done on a still night although the effects from a little movement can be really nice as can be seen on the aqua legia where the lower blooms are moving but the top has stayed relatively still. 
These images reminded me a little of Mary Delany's decoupages or "paper mosaiks" as she called them. She mostly worked on a black background with cut out tissue paper. She started making them when she was 71 and made thousands before she died
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pd/m/mary_delany,_passiflora_laurif.aspx