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.

Hellebore – the non-rose Christmas Rose

What better to post with christmas around the corner but a photograph of the “Christmas Rose” (Genus: Helleborus). Hellebores flower during the coldest months of the year and are not related to the rose.

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Hellebore. Click on the picture for a larger version.

 Reprocessed from a very old photograph (2006)

Teasel – Black and white

IMG_1430-2 by Jawahar1
IMG_1430-2, a photo by Jawahar1 on Flickr.

Photographed on one of my usual lunch time walks. The teasel (Dipsacus) has dry spiny inflorescence head that make lovely additions to floral arrangements!

Via Flickr:
Teasel – Black and White

 

Ephemeral

One of the many wonders of the natural world! A dandelion seed head that requires nothing more than a puff of wind to set the winged seeds on a new journey of colonisation!

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Click on the picture for a larger version

Photographed in Staines, UK with a Nikon D7000 camera. Post-processed in Lightroom and Color Efex Pro.

 

Zinnia – From my garden

These Zinnia flowers were grown from seeds purchased on my last visit to the US. I love the detail on these flowers and have tried to capture them in this photograph.

Zinnia - Macro
Click on the photograph to see a larger version on Flickr

Photographed on 4th September, 2013 with a Nikon D7000, Sigma 105mm f/2.8 lens at ISO100, f/20, 1/250 with remote flash in slave mode.