Nikon D7000 – Page 2

Nature’s Tiny Beauty – Anatomy of a small flower

Capturing this photograph gave me no end of satisfaction. It was a very small flower (< 5mm diameter) to work with and it was a windy day and getting focus and framing right using increased magnification from extension tube attachments on the lens was a challenge. Finally getting the black background using a remote flash was also difficult. In the end, the results showed a beautiful, almost hand painted flower with flecks of yellow, magenta and crimson on the petals. There is truly beauty in small things!!

Miniature beauty.. — Small flower from a Sempervium. Click on the photo for more viewing options on Flickr!

Nikon D7000 with a 105mm Sigma macro lens with extension tubes.

ISO200, f/18, 1/250 with remote slave flash

No post-processing!

Granny’s Bonnet – Aquilegia

This year has been very good for the aquilegia plants growing in my garden. This must have something to do with the mild wet winter we’ve just had here in Cambridge. Below is a photograph of a single aquilegia flower. These hardy, and highly toxic perennials also go by the names Columbine ( which comes from the Latin for “dove”, due to their resemblance to five doves clustered together – Wikipedia).

Aquilegia sp. — Aquilegia. Please click on the photo for more viewing options in Flickr.

Technical

Nikon D7000 with 105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens

f/22, 1/60 with remote slave flash fired from underneath

Processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and NIK Color Efex Pro.

Like a Swan over choppy waters!

On a windy day at the Staines Reservoirs. This swan made a perfect contrast to the choppy waters in which it was swimming. I was reminded of the song “Like a bridge over troubled water” except with the words “Like a swan over choppy waters”! 🙂

Mute Swan — Like a swan over choppy waters (with apologies to Simon and Garfunkel)

Technical

Nikon D7000 with a 105mm f/2.8 sigma lens.
ISO200, 1/3200, f/5.6
Processed in Adobe Lightroom

Forget-Me-Not!

In a German legend, when god had finished naming all plants, a small unnamed plant cried out “Forget-me-not, my lord”. Then god said “That shall be your name”. Another legend claims that after the Creator thought he had finished giving the flowers their colours, he heard one whisper “Forget me not!” There was nothing left but a very small amount of blue, but the forget-me-not was delighted to wear such a light blue shade.

The tiny, cheerful blue flowers of Myosotis have played an important part in European folklore and history – from being used as a symbol by Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) after being exiled by Richard II to its adoption by the Freemasons during the Nazi regime across Europe. The flowers of forget-me-not are no more than 1cm in diameter and grow in long thin stalks bearing many flowers. They are popular in gardens and grow on the side of river banks and streams throughout Europe.

Technical Details

Nikon D7000 camera with a 105mm macro lens with extension tubes
ISO 200, f/18, 1/250 with external remote slave flash
processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Fuchsia – vibrant and lovely!

_DSC4661-Edit — Please click on the photo for a larger version in Flickr.

Technical

Nikon D7000 with 105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens
ISO200, 1/250, f/14 with slave remote flash
Processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and NIK Color Efex Pro.

Strawberry Blossom – extreme macro

For all the beauty and colour of the strawberry fruit, the Fragaria blossoms are small, white flowers with a yellow centre (about a centimetre across). The following photo is of a wild strawberry flower shot with a macro lens with extension tube attachments (hence extreme macro). Strawberries below to the rose family and have 5 sepals, 5 petals and many stamens arranged spherically.

: Click on the photo for a larger version on Flickr.

Technical Details

Nikon D7000 camera
105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens with extension tubes
1/250, f/18, ISO 200
External slave flash at right angles
Processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Spring is in the air!

Spring is definitely in the air here in Cambridge. The daffodils and crocuses are flowering! Surely it won’t snow now?

Bougainvillea – closer still

_DSC4017 — 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

Ely Cathedral

_DSC3990, a photo by Jawahar1 on Flickr.

The Ely Catherdral is a towering structure that can be seen for miles around the fens! Photographed in natural light at ISO 100, f/7.1, 54 second exposure with a Nikon 35mm lens on a D7000.

Bougainvillea – up close and personal

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

_DSC4012 — 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