Respect the thorns..

He who wants a rose must respect the thorn – Persian Proverb

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Click on the photograph for a larger version on Flickr

Such a simple proverb but with such deep meaning!

Photographed in 2009 at Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire, a property of the National Trust.

 

Begonia (at length)

Lacking any suitable objects to photograph today, I turned to the Begonia plant on the kitchen sill. These photographs all use long exposures (up to 50 seconds) and no flash, using nothing but ambient kitchen light.

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f/11 19 seconds. Click on the photograph to see a larger version on Flickr.
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f/16 22 seconds. Click on photograph for a larger version in Flickr
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f/16 40 seconds. Click on photograph for a larger version.
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f/16 50 seconds. 32mm extension tube used. Click on photograph for a larger version on Flickr.

 

The idea behind these photographs were ostensibly to test out the new shutter release cable I purchased a few days ago. I was also experimenting with the use of cool white LED lights and their effect on the overall white balance of the photographs.

Technical Details:
Nikon D7000 with Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens
ISO 100
Processed in Adobe Lightroom 5.3
Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with Giotto MH5011 head

 

Winter Rose

It is a sign of the mild winter here in Cambridge so far. I photographed this rose in my garden over the weekend (14 December, 2013). It is rather strange to see a bright rose at this time of the year, and therefore merits a blog post of its own!

A rose in winter!!
A rose in winter!! Click on picture for a larger image..

Three-shot bracketed HDR processed in Photomatix and Adobe Lightroom.

Gnarled and twisted..

A tree at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Park in Glen Rose, Texas. Handheld HDR of 3-bracketed exposures merged in Photomatix Pro.

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Click on the photo for a larger version on Flickr

A Demoiselle (not in distress) fly

Earlier this summer, I spotted this beautiful banded demoiselle fly (female) perched on a flower bud. And it just so happened that I had my camera with macro lens! Some results are below.

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Banded Demoiselle (Female). Click on picture for a larger version on Flickr
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Banded Demoiselle (Female). Click on picture for a larger version on Flickr

There are, according to this handy website, only two species of demoiselles in the United Kingdom, of which I have now photographed one. The other I have seen on occasion in the west country but never been close enough to take a decent photograph. Demoiselles belong to the same family as the dragonflies but are more closely related to the damselflies.

Technical Details:
Nikon D700 with a Sigma f2.8 105mm macro lens
ISO 200 with f8.0 aperture priority
Nikon D600 speedlight flash
Processed in Adobe Lightroom 5.2