Category: HDR

The Four Seasons – Autumn

The next in the series of sculptures by Philip Haas is Autumn. Autumn is characterised by ripe fruit (grapes, apples, blackberries) and vegetables (pumpkins, barley) ready for the picking.

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Autumn by Philip Haas

These sculptures are inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo‘s paintings of “The Four Seasons”. Arcimboldo used fruits, vegetables and grains to creative identifiable and imaginative portraits.

Technical Details
Photographed using Nikon D7000 with a 18-250mm F4.5/6.3 Lens
Autobracketed at -2, 0 and +2 in aperture priority mode (f/6.3 ISO 200)
Processed in Photomatix Pro and Adobe Lightroom
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The Four Seasons – Winter

In the New York Botanical Gardens stand 4 imposing 15 foot tall painted fibre glass statues sculpted by the famous Philip Haas. Each statue represents a particular season of the year, and have been inspired by the renaissance artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. The picture is of Winter, a foreboding season of creeping ivy, mossy scarred bark and bare branches.

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Winter – by Philip Haas

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Winter – by Arcimboldo

This picture is a HDR composite of 3 bracketed photographs at -2, 0 and +2, processed first in Photomatix Pro and then in onOne picture perfect suite for final adjustments.  Please click on the image to see the picture in large size.

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Agave – the “fake” cactus plants

Agaves are commonly mistaken to be cacti due to their appearance – spiny thick succulent leaves etc. However, Agaves are not related to cacti or Aloe, with whom they share a passing resemblance. The agave plants are monocarpic, which means that they flower only once in their lifetimes after which they die. As the flowering cycle could be decades, some species of Agave are also known as century plants.

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Agave bovicornuta

The photograph above is that of Agave bovicornuta from the New York Botanical gardens taken with an iPhone 4S and post-processed in Adobe Light 5.0.

 

Pineapple!

Please raise your hand if you are one of those (like me) who always thought pineapple fruits hung from a plant upside down. For a long time I had this vision of a pineapple tree with many pineapples hanging downwards from branches (like that in an apple tree). The first time I saw a pineapple on the plant many years ago, it was, needless to say, a moment for pause and surprise.

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Pineapples belong to the Bromeliad family, and like other bromeliads, are low growing plants with tough waxy leaves. This particular specimen was seen at the New York Botanical Gardens and photographed with an iPhone 4s.

 

Reach for the sky…

Just outside the popular Prudential Center in Boston stands a tall bronze statue seemingly reaching for the sky. This statue, by Donald De Lue, was cast in Italy and installed in 1967.

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Aiming high.. Prudential Center towering over the bronze statue by Donald De Lue. 

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The backdrop of the Prudential Center made an interesting backdrop/canvas for the dramatic pose struck by the quest eternal statue.
Technical Details
Nikon D7000 with a Tamron 18-200mm lens
Autobracket at -2, 0 +2 in Aperture Priority
Processed in Photomatix Pro and Adobe Lightroom 5.0
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The First Church of Christ, Scientist

My recent travels in the US took me to Boston and past this imposing church. The first church of Christ in Boston is the mother church of the Christian Science Movement and was built at the end of the 19th century.

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The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston

This HDR image above is a composite of 3 bracketed shots processed in Photomatix Pro and Adobe Lightroom 5.0. Please view a larger image by clicking on the photograph above. Any comments/criticisms/observations welcome as always.

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Under the highway!!

The runnymead bridge on the notorious M25 motoway in London runs over the Thames near Staines. I wonder how many of the thousands of cars, vans and trucks that use the M25 daily have drivers who are aware of the river just beneath them.

The lines on this bridge were wonder to photograph, as were the effects of light reflecting from the Thames.

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Shadow and Light.
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Runnymead Bridge M25.

These pictures are from my iPhone, post-processed in Photomatix Pro and Adobe Lightroom 5.0

Standing tall…

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An english redwood tree

At the Anglesey Abbey, a national trust property in Cambridgeshire. Home to some interesting trees and landscapes, and vast grounds for walking or even a picnic. See some related articles below.

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