Spring finally arrived in Cambridge this week. The garden suddenly woke up from its long winter slumber and burst into colour. Daffodils, Crocuses and now tulips are in bloom.
Looking down the lock. The water inside the lock is at a higher level
The lock is on the right of the picture just beyond the island. The broad stretch of river in the centre flows by a mini-waterfall due to differences in level.
HDR generated by bracketing 3 photos in Photomatix Pro.
This is a HDR representation of early evening on the River Cam near Jesus Green, Cambridge. This view shows direction of flow of the river which ultimately joins up with the Great Ouse near Ely. This section of the Cam is wide enough for boats to navigate (a few can be seen in this photograph).
The Cam near Jesus Green, Cambridge
This photograph is a HDR of 3 bracketed shots at -2, 0 and 2 ev post-processed in Photomatix Pro.
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
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.
This looks likely to be the most christmas-like Easter here in England this year. Snowfall this week and more expected over the Easter weekend make it hard to believe that spring is actually here. These daffodils from my garden are proof that, whilst we may not think of spring, the plants have certainly made up their minds.
External SB600 flash from left of picture. 1/250 f/3.3 ISO200External flash from underneath. 1/250, f/14, ISO200Closer still. External SB600 flash under-lit. 1/160, f/14, ISO200. Sharpened with NIK Software.
All these pictures taken outside at dusk. The black background in the photographs are a result of using an external flash combined with a high aperture setting. Final black corrections in Adobe LightRoom applied to create a fully dark background.
I don’t intend to flood my blog and bore you with HDRs of punting pictures from Cambridge, but I had to share this with you. The following two pictures were taken immediately after my last post and so they are slightly different in composition. However, they’ve been processed using two different software (NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Photomatix).
HDR Processed using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 (Deep 1)HDR processed with Photomatix (Evaluation License)
I liked the output from Photomatix as it was more intuitive to use and seem to allow a greater range of adjustments without making the images look grungy.
The three original images that went into making these HDRs are below (bracketed at -1, 0 and +1), and merged in either HDR Efex Pro or Photomatix.
Image 1 of 3 – At normal exposureImage 2 of 3 – At -1 eVImage 3 of 3 – At +1 eV
All images taken in Nikon RAW mode – Nikon D7000, Tamron 18-250mm Lens at 23mm f/4.0 1/640, 1/1250, 1/320 exposures.
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….
Juridicious 