"Pendulous sedge casting pollen, April 2007"

I had seen and admired images like this in the past however I had no idea how to execute this sort of image. A friend introduced me to the technical editor of Canon EOS magazine early one morning whilst photographing Snakeshead Fritillaries in a meadow in Oxfordshire. He taught me the technique on spot.

During a walk in a local wood I spotted this sedge heavy with pollen and when tapped it released a small cloud of pollen. Using the technique I had been taought I was able to capture this image. Basically you need to use a high speed sync flash to backlight the falling pollen and tap the stem at the same moment as triggering the flash. An off-camera cable ensures that the camera and the flash sync properly.

Canon EOS 5D, 28-135mm lens (@100mm), ISO 100, 1/800sec, f/8