This lovely photograph is from a close friend of mine who sent it to me a couple of weeks ago. I think this picture covers everything that is beautiful about a rose. I share it here with you with her permission. I have post-processed the picture to get a perfect dark background and remove noise from the photograph.
A begonia flower. My begonia’s grow from these funny looking corms that I have to dig up every winter after the first frosts and then replant them the next year. These have been going on strong for 3 years now.
The first image was processed in Colour Effex Pro. The bottom image is unprocessed.
I went back to my Oenothera plant over the weekend and experimented with my SB600 speedlight in slave mode. These pictures were shot with the external flash roughly at right angles to the camera. The results are interesting!!
I didn’t have to work too hard to get a black background in either of these pictures due to the positioning of the external flash. I also notice that the colours are less harsh now that the light is not parallel to the lens. Compare with the earlier post on the same flowers.
Technical Data
1/160 f/9.0 (Top) 1/200 f/9.0 Nikon D80 105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens SB-600 Speedlight Flash Post-Processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.1
I suppose I was hoping to have identified relatively rare species of these, but as their names suggest, they are both ‘common’! Nevertheless it was great to have had that extra moment to focus on these before they flew away.
For a comprehensive list of dragonflies, please see the British Dragonfly Society webpage.
Technical Data
Panasonic TZ30 Camera on (I'm sorry to say) on iAuto Mode
I bought 4 tubers of Mirabilis jalapa (4 o’clock flower, marvel of Peru) at the Bloemenmarkt (flower market) in Amsterdam. I wasn’t expecting much from these plants, given that they are really for warm temperate regions and not the United Kingdom. To my surprise, they have taken well to the local conditions (even the miserable summer) we’ve had.
I’m not really sure what to do with these plants now that winter is soon approaching. The advice appears to be divided between leaving them in place with mulch and hope for the best year to digging the tubers up till the next year. Since I do have two in the ground and two in pots, I’ll probably try different methods and see which one works best! A proper scientific process!
Oenothera’s are a genus of plants native to the America‘s. In the United Kingdom they are grown as annuals, but due to their self-seeding nature, they come back year on year. These are some of the last flowers for this year.
Two pictures: The top one focussing on the petals to bring out the delicate veins, the bottom one to focus more on the stamens and carpel of the flower. In order to achieve a dark background, a flash was used with high shutter speeds. The blacks and shadows were adjusted in Lightroom 4.1 to give a complete black background.
Technical details:
Nikon D80 SB-600 Speedlight Flash Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens Post-Processed with Adobe LightRoom 4.1
As autumn draws ever closer here in the United Kingdom, the last of the summer roses go out in a blaze of colour for a final time in 2012. The following pictures are of one such rose in my garden. I would be interested in knowing which one of the four you like best, or none as well!
Please click on each picture to view a full size version. In order to achieve a dark background, I have used a flash and post-processed to cut darks and shadows.
Technical Details:
Nikon D80 SB600 Speedlight Flash 1/125 to 1/40 f/7.1 ISO200 Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens Post-processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.1
Gazania‘s are native to south africa and are commonly grown in the UK as an annual. The lovely flowers light up any border with their profuse blooms and long flowering season. These gazania’s are from my garden in Cambridge.
Technical details:
Nikon D80 Sigma 105mm f/2.8 Macro Lens 1/100 f/18 with flash. post-processed with Adobe Lightroom 4.1
I know it is strange to talk about spring blooms in the dreary days of autumn! I came across this picture in my collection taken earlier this year and thought it would offer a chance for us facing shorter days, cold and rain to cheer up with thoughts of spring!
Technical details:
Nikon D80 Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens 1/3200 f/7.1 External SB-600 speedlight flash used. post-processed in Adobe LightRoom 4.1
Juridicious 