May 2014 – Juridicious

The Food Chain..

One thing they teach in school biology is the concept of food chains and food webs – the links that show interdependence of organisms based on the foods they eat. The photo below shows one such food chain starting with the rose (the producer) providing nourishment in the form of sap for aphids. In turn aphids are milked by ants for honeydew, a secretion that aphids produce. Ants are also known to “farm” aphids storing their eggs over winter and then carrying newly hatched aphids to emerging plant shoots in spring (called a mutualistic relationship).

Nikon D7000 with a 105mm Sigma f/2.8 macro lens
ISO200, f/22, 1/60 with remote slave flash to give a natural black background
Processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Granny’s Bonnet – Aquilegia

This year has been very good for the aquilegia plants growing in my garden. This must have something to do with the mild wet winter we’ve just had here in Cambridge. Below is a photograph of a single aquilegia flower. These hardy, and highly toxic perennials also go by the names Columbine ( which comes from the Latin for “dove”, due to their resemblance to five doves clustered together – Wikipedia).

Aquilegia sp. — Aquilegia. Please click on the photo for more viewing options in Flickr.

Technical

Nikon D7000 with 105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens

f/22, 1/60 with remote slave flash fired from underneath

Processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and NIK Color Efex Pro.

Like a Swan over choppy waters!

On a windy day at the Staines Reservoirs. This swan made a perfect contrast to the choppy waters in which it was swimming. I was reminded of the song “Like a bridge over troubled water” except with the words “Like a swan over choppy waters”! 🙂

Mute Swan — Like a swan over choppy waters (with apologies to Simon and Garfunkel)

Technical

Nikon D7000 with a 105mm f/2.8 sigma lens.
ISO200, 1/3200, f/5.6
Processed in Adobe Lightroom

Forget-Me-Not!

In a German legend, when god had finished naming all plants, a small unnamed plant cried out “Forget-me-not, my lord”. Then god said “That shall be your name”. Another legend claims that after the Creator thought he had finished giving the flowers their colours, he heard one whisper “Forget me not!” There was nothing left but a very small amount of blue, but the forget-me-not was delighted to wear such a light blue shade.

The tiny, cheerful blue flowers of Myosotis have played an important part in European folklore and history – from being used as a symbol by Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) after being exiled by Richard II to its adoption by the Freemasons during the Nazi regime across Europe. The flowers of forget-me-not are no more than 1cm in diameter and grow in long thin stalks bearing many flowers. They are popular in gardens and grow on the side of river banks and streams throughout Europe.

Technical Details

Nikon D7000 camera with a 105mm macro lens with extension tubes
ISO 200, f/18, 1/250 with external remote slave flash
processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Fuchsia – vibrant and lovely!

_DSC4661-Edit — Please click on the photo for a larger version in Flickr.

Technical

Nikon D7000 with 105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens
ISO200, 1/250, f/14 with slave remote flash
Processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and NIK Color Efex Pro.

Strawberry Blossom – extreme macro

For all the beauty and colour of the strawberry fruit, the Fragaria blossoms are small, white flowers with a yellow centre (about a centimetre across). The following photo is of a wild strawberry flower shot with a macro lens with extension tube attachments (hence extreme macro). Strawberries below to the rose family and have 5 sepals, 5 petals and many stamens arranged spherically.

: Click on the photo for a larger version on Flickr.

Technical Details

Nikon D7000 camera
105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens with extension tubes
1/250, f/18, ISO 200
External slave flash at right angles
Processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Azalea!

Shot using a Nikon D700 with a Sigma 105mm, f/2.8 lens. Slave flash at right angles to the camera. Photographed at ISO200, f/18 and 1/250 exposure to achieve under-exposed background.

Tranquility #4

Sometimes a picture looks better than the real thing. When I shot this, I didn’t think it looked all that impressive. Processing the bracketed shots as HDR makes this scene of a path lined with trees look serene and tranquil. The noisy tourists were all behind me at this stage :).

Shot using a 28-70mm Sigma f/2.8 lens on a Nikon D7000. Processed in Adobe Lightroom, Photomatix Pro and NIK Color Efex Pro.

Its a large world!

The world must seem enormous to this small insect on a fruit!

_DSC4530-Edit — A large world for small things. Tiny beetle on a fruit. Click on the picture for a larger version on Flickr.

Photographed at the Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas. Please drop me a line if you know what this fruit it (about 2cm across).

A black tulip

_DSC4639-Edit — Black Tulip. Click to see a larger version on Flickr.