Nature – Page 3 – Juridicious

The one that got away!

Spotted in a freshly harvested wheat field, a lonely ear of wheat that escaped! Photographed with an iPhone.

This sunset over Morecambe Bay was just too good to record using a single exposure. So I bracketed 5 shots and merger them. The slight fuzziness of the clouds nicely compliments that sharp inky blues of the beach!

Ocean Edge Leisure Park, Heysham, Morecambe Bay, England.

A blue rose

I purchased the rose “blue for you” last year as I was intrigued by the colour advertised. This rose is one of a few varieties of genetically engineered roses to produce delphidin – the compound that imparts blue colour to violets and other blue flowers. Finally spring arrived and the rose has flowered. It is not strictly blue but more a lavender/purple but is the closest I have seen any rose come to the as yet impossible “blue” colour.

Larger versions of these photos are available from Flickr by clicking on the photos. Comments welcome!

Joys of a revived one!

My pot bound Chinese rose (Hibiscus rosa sinensis) almost died last year due to a nasty mealy bug infestation. In desperation I chopped the branches down till I was left with a few stalks and no leaves. I left it undisturbed over the winter in the conservatory with minimal watering. This year the plant is back and has set buds like the one shown below. Needless to say, I’m extremely pleased!

Best appreciated in large size. Shot with a Nikon D7000 and a 105mm Sigma f2.8 macro lens. ISO 320, 1/250, f/4.5.

Bleeding Hearts!

A friend gifted us this plant many years ago, and it makes its yearly appearance every spring in one corner of our garden. The flowers are beautiful pink and white and arranged in long pendants. The bleeding heart plant (Lamprocapnos spectabilis) has other common names including “lady in a bath”.

_DSC5622 — Lamprocapnos spectabilis (Bleeding heart)

Please click on the picture for more options to see this photo on Flickr.

The future is…Orange!

This a Ranunculus plant I found growing in a weed patch and rescued! The plant has settled in nicely in a pot and has provided me with these large glorious bright orange flowers.
View in large format by clicking on the photograph. Shot with a Nikon D7000 with a 105mm f/2.8 lens. 1/125 f/11.

Wicken Fen #1

Wicken Fen is the oldest nature reserve managed by the National Trust. The nature reserve preserves some of the last remaining wetlands in Europe and is home to many species of plants, birds and insects. The following picture is of the Wicken Fen wind pump, the last surviving wooden wind powered wind pump used to drain the Fens. Click on the picture for a larger version on Flickr, and best appreciated in large size!

Nikon D7000 with a Sigma 105mm, f/2.8 lens
Bracketed 3 shot HDR merged in Photomatix Pro and processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Winter blossom!

Happy New Year all! I’ve spent almost 2 months without taking a single photograph but have resolved to change this in 2015! First up, an unusual bloom for this of the year in England. These flowers are those of the Kalanchoe genus, succulent tropical species from the old world which decided to bloom in January here in Cambridge (I suppose that being on a window sill in the bathroom helped!).

Kalanchoe sp. — ISO 200, f/22, 21 second exposure. Click on the photo for a larger version on Flickr.

Photographed using a Nikon D7000 Camera with a Sigma 105mm f/2.8 lens. ISO 200, f/22, 21 second exposure using a remote shutter release cable. Post-processed in Adobe Lightroom 5.7.

Vibrant Rose!

There is this rose bush in my garden which struggles to survive every year regardless of what I try to do make it feel happy. But year on year it produces one or two of these really vibrant flowers in autumn! Just one of two roses sadly before the winter frosts kick in.

Technical Details:

Nikon D7000 with a 105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens

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f/18, 1/250 second, ISO200
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Remote slave flash SB800
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Cosmos – on blue

This year I grew cosmos plants for the first time (from seed that too).. and they’ve now grown to a height of about 2 metres!! Lovely pink flowers held up on thin stalks. The height of these flowers means that they’ve opened themselves up to being photographed from underneath against the backdrop of the blue sky (as below).