Candle Cassia flower on a rainy day

[Vijay Rajan]

After winding up a 2 hour floral shoot on a lazy Sunday afternoon in a faint drizzle at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park Mumbai, I decided to drive down to the Film City (Aarey Colony) for my next session. The moment I paid toll charges & entered Film City, I came across a patch of wet marshland with striking wild yellow flowers blooming out of the weeds. I pulled over instantaneously, took my shots, came back to my car only to find a Traffic cop standing beside it. I tried explaining that I had pulled over for just a couple of minutes to get a shot of this flower & pleaded with him to avoid penalty for having parked by the roadside (although it wasn’t a no-parking zone). All my requests went unheard until he saw this image on the LCD screen of my 550 D. Guess what ? He was pleased as punch with the image and let me off without a fine !

I had to tone down the saturation/hue a bit on PP since the yellow seemed to be overpowering. On hindsight, I guess a slight tweak in the White Balance at the time of shooting might have produced the original colours better.

Canon EOS 550 D, Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II, FL 50 mm, Aperture Priority, Av 4.0, Tv 1/250 s, ISO 400, poor light & overcast condition, Ev.Metering, EC -1/3, handheld, 5% crop for composition otherwise full frame. C & C welcome.

Candle Cassia, a 6 - 25 feet tall, perennial shrub, has erect waxy yellow spikes that resemble fat candles before the individual blossoms open. The large leaves are bilateral - symetrical opposed and fold together at night. The fruit is a pod, while the seeds are small and square. The leaves contain chrysophanic acid & are reported to be sudorific, diuretic and purgative, being used in the same manner as senna. The leaves are commonly used to treat ringworm and other skin diseases. The leaves in decoction are also used to treat bronchitis and asthma. Because of it's anti-fungal properties, it is a common ingredient in soaps, shampoos, and lotions in the Philippines.