Drops of water pearled on pale blue flowers ... rain blossoms. In March all flowers drip with rain but capturing the phenomenon in photographs requires a deft touch. The Viennese photographer Ernst Haas (1921-1986) was an early enthusiast of color photography, a medium he discovered shortly after he moved to the United States in 1951. Haas became a member of the Magnum Agency in 1949, the same year as that other underappreciated photographer, the Swiss Werner Bischof (1916-1954).
Unlike some of his contemporaries who turned their noses up at color, considering Kodachrome a dirty word, Haas quickly became adroit at catching temporary effects, becoming the first photographer to receive a solo exhibition of his color work at the Museum of Modern art in New York City in 1962; there would not be a second such show for another fourteen years. Prejudices, however baseless or silly, fade slowly. Just look at the Cosmo (below), its rain-drenched petals mimicking the shape of an iris for a moment.
Unlike some of his contemporaries who turned their noses up at color, considering Kodachrome a dirty word, Haas quickly became adroit at catching temporary effects, becoming the first photographer to receive a solo exhibition of his color work at the Museum of Modern art in New York City in 1962; there would not be a second such show for another fourteen years. Prejudices, however baseless or silly, fade slowly. Just look at the Cosmo (below), its rain-drenched petals mimicking the shape of an iris for a moment.

Images:
1. Ernst Haas - untitled, date not given, Ernst Haas Estate.
2. Ernst Haas - Cosmos, California, 1981, Ernst Haas Estate.