Garlic (allium sativum),

Garlic is part of the allium genus which has around 400 varieties including onions and leeks. It was originally a native plant of many thousands of years ago, evidence of it has been found in caves inhabited more than 10,000 years ago. It has been used for a variety of different use, not just eating, medicinal prescriptions were found chiseled into a clay Sumerian tablet that was more than 3,000 years old.

Folklore concerning garlic is often proven fact - it is documented in many ancient books and inscriptions. In ancient times, people used to eat garlic before making a journey at night. It made them belch and gives one a foul breath. The primitive belief was that evil spirits would not come within the radius of that powerful smell. This was probably the basis of the superstition the it wards off Vampires and Dracula in particular. 

Other cultures however believe in the goodness of Garlic, particularly the Egyptians, who used to swear on garlic in much the same way as we swear on the Bible today. Egyptian slaves were given a daily ration of garlic, as it was believed to ward off illness and to increase strength and endurance. Greek athletes would take copious amounts of garlic before competition, and Greek soldiers would consume garlic before going into battle.

In the three photographs I have tried to create pleasing set ups using several garlic bulbs. The top two were set up against white card and lit with natural window light. The idea was to produce an image made almost entirely of tones of white. To light this it was important to use soft diffused light so that no harsh shadows were produced. 

I used a desk lamp to light the bottom image as I felt that a slight colour cast would complement the set up. I added to the colour by using a chopping board as a background and breaking open one of the bulbs to expose the red skin of the individual cloves.