This week’s wallpaper features a flawless Sulfur or Yellow Cosmos (Cosmos sulfureus) bloom in macro. I thought that this photo could serve as a great example of how the absence of strongly contrasting colors in an image can be just as visually striking as the strong contrast that I generally look for. In this case the visual interest comes mostly from the masterful framing of the shot and the beautiful use of bokeh (the blur in the image from the shallow depth of field). Almost all of visual interest is contrast of some sort, and in this case it is contrast between the sharp and blur rather than colors, as we see in most great images. The lighting is also interestingly laid-out, creating a shadow coming toward the viewer.

This photo is another from the fantastic Japanese photographer Tanaka Juuyoh. It is interesting to see a photo of a sulfur cosmos coming out of Japan. The plant is native to Central America and is classified in much of the US as an invasive species (though it is an annual, it is a self-sowing plant). However, in Japan and Korea, legendary Japanese horticulturist Woo Jang-Choon (who was the first hort to successfully develop the fully double petunia) spearheaded efforts to plant sulfur cosmos along roads. This has been very successful, as cosmos are easily disseminated and, unlike many other plants that have been used to line roads, is too toxic to be collected by farmers for use as livestock feed.

Sulfur Cosmos Wallpaper

Image Credit: Tanaka Juuyoh
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