A prickly feeling….

Maybe it is post-christmas blues, or that we’ve all had to come back to work after a long break! The dried teasel below mirrors my feelings exactly!!

A prickly feeling..
Teasel (Dipsacus sp.). Click on the photograph for a larger image.

Photographed on 7th January, 2014 using an iPhone and processed in Adobe Lightroom with Photomatix Pro.

Bougainvillea – closer still

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Bougainvillea. Click on photograph for a larger version.
Nikon D7000, with a 105mm/f.2.8 Sigma macro lens with extension tubes. 
ISO 100, f/18, 1.6 seconds
Processed in Adobe Lightroom

 

Bougainvillea – up close and personal

A cheery tropical bougainvillea lights up an otherwise dull, cold and rainy day here in Cambridge!

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Bougainvillea. Click on the photograph for a larger version on Flickr
Technical Details:
Nikon D7000 with 105mm f/2.8 Sigma Macro lens and extension tubes
f/18, 3.3 seconds, ISO 100
Processed in Adobe Lightroom

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

 

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)