Crocus Field

[seaslug]

Fiddly work to harvest Saffron.

[Isac]

That is just fantastic Greg. I reckon it's the perfect angle to take tat shot. Colours are terrific.

[Alan]

That place looks to have lots of potential Nice curves and complimentary colours.

Maybe crop some off the bottom to lose the labels?

[seaslug]

Thanks both of you. It's a snapshot of what they are and I'm happy to leave the labels in. It was raining at the time so it was never going to be a great shot.

It's a test plantation for the production of Saffron. A really labour intensive crop. Very fiddly for a tiny amount of high value product. They don't harvest the flowers, just the stamens in the centre of each bloom.

I'm hoping that subsequent plantings will be more intensive and fill the field. I can then go out in better light and hopefully get a really colorful image.

[Grumpy John]

Very pleasing shot Greg, something a bit different to the Canola fields usually seen.

From a Landline article published back in 2002, imagine what it's worth now.

"This year the Noonans harvested nearly 120,000 flowers from their own plot to produce half a kilo of saffron.

"Which if a grower was to give me that at the moment, the currently being paid $31.60 a gram or $31,600 a kilo so half of that, around $15,000 for our crop," Mr Noonan said."

[seaslug]

Thanks for the input John. I understand it's all hand picked with tweezers so production costs would be high.

[Phoenix]

Intriguing curves, lovely diagonal and striking colours that pop beautifully against the dark soil.
If this is "just a snap" I hope you get a chance to go back when its not raining. :-)

[seaslug]

Thanks Jo. I'll have to keep an eye on the weather as the flowers don't last long.

[Sully]

Quite eye catching if you happened to be driving past. I would have stopped for a photo too. Love the colours

[avkomp]

great lines in this, well spotted and executed