My experimentation with HDR photography continues. Over the lovely weekend we had here in Cambridge I visited Anglesey Abbey and Lode Mill in Cambridgeshire. This picture is a composite of 3 photographs at -2, 0 and 2ev of a backlit tree. The images were processed in PhotoMatix Pro using the Painterly 2 filter with further adjustments.
Shadows and Light
Click on the picture for a larger version. Thank you for stopping by!
Narcissus jonquil and Narciuss tazetta are two daffodil cultivars endowed with flowers that have a heady perfume. These members of the Amaryllislily family are probably hybrids of Japanese daffodils. Each flower in the pictures below is about 1.8cm in diameter, but their heady fragrance can be felt metres away.
Any picture can be clicked upon to see a larger version.
Technical Details:
Nikon D700 with Speedlight SB-600 external flash
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 lens
Post-Processed in Adobe LightRoom 4.3 and NIK Color Efex Pro 4
I chanced upon this piece of farming equipment on a farm in Cambridgeshire last week while on a walk. The paint has peeled away and the equipment is rusty, but I’m sure this is still in use today. If I were to hazard a guess, this is probably used on a tractor to turn the soil, but not being a farmer, this is at best just a guess.
And what about the farm, a panoramic shot with the iPhone below.
All pictures from the iPhone 4S. Processed in NIK snapseed software on the phone. Click on any picture for a larger version.
Snowdrops traditionally herald the beginning of the end of winter. Delicate white flowers peeking out from a modest plant that is often overlooked when the other plants wake up from their winter slumber.
Hibiscus is a great flower to photograph. The contrast between the green sepals and bracts, showy red petals (this particular variety), deep red pistils surrounded by bright yellow stamens make a great study in contrast especially against a dark background. You may not enjoy the botany below, but I’m sure you’ll agree that nature truly offers a marvelous spectacle in the microscopic.
Click on any picture to see a larger version!!
A fully open hibiscus flower
We all learned in school botany (well some of us!) about the various parts that make up a flower. Generally, flowers have 3 components –
Calyx – made up of sepals that protect the bud in infancy and form the base of the flower
A hibiscus bud showing bracts and the calyx (which are both modified leaves!)
Corolla – made up of showy petals that encase the reproductive organs
A hibiscus petal
Reproductive parts (Corolla, Stamen) that are in turn
Detail of a hibiscus stamen (male) and pistil (female)Close-up of the reproductive organs of a Hibiscus flower. The yellow stamens and the red pistils.
Stamen – that make up the male reproductive parts – in turn made up of the filament that holds up the pollen sac or anther. The anther releases pollen when open.
Detail of a Hibiscus flower stamen.Even closer. Glittering Hibiscus pollen on anthers held up by the filament – forming the stamen of the Hibiscus flower.
Pistil – The female reproductive parts of a flower. These are also made up of three components
Ovary – that finally forms the seed after fertilization
Style – a stalk above the ovary
Stigma – the farthest extend of the female part of the flower which receives the pollen for fertilization. This is usually sticky and allows pollen to attach.
The stigma of a Hibiscus flower, with pollen on them.
The pollen in the above picture look spherical, don’t they? But in the picture below, which is a crop of the above, you can see that the pollen grains are spiky, thereby allowing them to stick to the stigma surface.
100% crop of a stigma showing the real structure of pollen.
Well, that’s my botany lesson! Thanks for stopping by….
The name dog rose conjures up images either roses for dogs, or rose in the shape of dogs. This is neither! Dog rose or Rosa canina is a common species of climbing wild rose native to Europe.
The seeds (hips) of this rose are very rich in vitamin C and used in the preparation of rose-hip tea (see my post Hip Hip Rose). As for the name of this rose, Wikipedia lists two possibilities – common or worthless or as a treatment for the bite from rabid dogs. I think the former is more likely etymology for this plant as it is genuinely common along hedgerows in England. The flowers are pink, have little or no fragrance.
Photographed on one of my summer walks using a Panasonic TZ30 compact camera.
Juridicious 