Capturing living flowers with a flatbed scanner

This picture was made by arranging the living crocus face-down on a flatbed scanner. No camera was used.

This monkshood was captured ourdoors "plein air" style. The background is backlighted by the sun and also makes the foliage appear translucent like a watercolor.

The dahlias are called 'Black Diamond'. I reared some Eastern Black Swallowtails in my garden. The larvae was scanned with the specimen. Later, I added the adult butterflies using Photoshop.

I collected the milkweed from the roadside and captured it in my plein air studio on a very windy day. The wind kept blowing the stalks off the scanner platen. But all the movement gave an interesting effect.

I made a poster from the scanned vermilion poppy. Poppies disassemble easily and are very difficult to pose.