From earlier this summer (or whatever that passed for that term this year!). A few years ago I wouldn’t have known what Aquiligea was, but my knowledge of these plants has increased after the purchase of a few plants.
Apparently the name Aquilegia comes from the latin aquila, or eagles claw based on the shape of the petals.
At the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, a male chaffinch showed great interest in carrot cake crumbs, appearing to within a foot of where we were sitting.
Chaffinches are common to the British Isles although reports suggest that their numbers are dwindling in suburban gardens and inner cities due to a loss of suitable nesting habitat.
This is certainly not in the same rank as of Carvaggio (Basket of Fruit) or Fede Galizia!! Just a plain old bowl of fruit photographed using a iPhone 4S and then post-processed in Adobe LightRoom 4 to make the image look more stark.
Do photographs look better when selectively colored? Selective coloring involves painfully desaturating a picture to leave only the portions that need highlighting. There are many ways to desaturate a photograph, and I use Adobe Lightroom adjustment brush to remove colour from portions of a picture. The pictures below show both the original picture and my selectively colored version. Which one do you prefer?
One method of removing colors from a picture is by desaturating color groups. In the picture below, I removed all the greens, blues and yellow. This has the desired effect of making all the leaves and sky become monochrome while leaving just the flowers with color.
The above makes the picture look a little artificial due to removal of the yellow-green components from the petals too, as well as with other flowers in the background showing through the foliage. I then attempted to use the adjustment brush to remove all color from the picture except for the two flowers in the foreground (as below).
Personally I’m pleased with my selective desaturation as this brought out the vibrant colors of the flower, which were otherwise lost in the bright greens of the leaves and the blue of the sky.
Technical Details: Nikon D80 with Tamron 18-250mm f3.5/6.3 Lens 1/640 f/8.0 55mm Location: Araku Valley, Visakhapatnam Processed with Adobe Lightroom 4.1
The Borra Caves are located in the Eastern Ghats mountain range of India in the state of Andhra Pradesh. These caves lie in the scenic Araku valley of Visakhapatnam district. The caves are possibly one of the largest in the country and have an impressive display of stalactites and stalagmites.
Travel from Visakhapatnam (about 90Km) takes around 3+ hours by road but a whopping 4+ hours by train. The train ride is scenic and includes more than 30 tunnels en route from Visakhapatnam.
The lighting inside the cave brings out the beauty of the geological formations, but it was extremely difficult to set up a tripod due to the sheer number of visitors.
The speleothems are still being formed inside these caves, and there is a constant drip of water from the roof of the caves. The picture below shows some of the drip points on the roof of the cave.
All said, a visit to Borra caves is highly recommended if you are anywhere close to Visakhapatnam. The natural beauty of the surrounding Araku valley, with its own distinctive coffee beans, and indigenous tribals, make this spot an ideal day trip.
From many years ago that I found looking at my pictures on Flickr. And on dull and depressing days like these, nothing like bright roses to bring back the feeling of summer!
These pictures were shot using a Olympus C750UZ camera 7 years ago!!
I am fortunate to work within walking distance of two English villages (Ickleton and Hinxton). The parish church of St. Mary Magdalene in Ickleton dates back to the 11th century and is a fine example of a medieval Norman church. A serious fire in 1979 exposed wall paintings from the 12th century. The following picture is from my walk yesterday when exactly at 1PM, the church bell tolled!
Photo from an iPhone 4S with no adjustments or post-processing.
Winters are well and truly here in the United Kingdom. The weather changes in a matter of minutes going from bright blue skies to dark thundery clouds and cold winds to rain. These pictures are from last friday near Hinxton, Cambridgeshire and show how the weather changed in about 20 minutes.
All pictures shot with an iPhone 4S using the Camera! Awesome App. These images were then post-processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.1 to adjust white balance and contrast as necessary.
As I wasn’t close to my computer today, I decided to post a picture of stuffed red pepper that was my dinner yesterday. I am also posting this via the phone so I’ve no idea how this may look on a larger screen.
Image originally taken using iPhone 4S, then processed in snapseed and camera awesome. The contrast between the reds of the pepper against the steel and black of the over made it an interesting exercise.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the recipe – you can find it here.
October gets over today, and cold rain and winds lash Cambridge. The nights come early. In the midst of all this, a single rose valiantly blooms for the last time in 2012.
Technical Details:
Nikon D80 with external Speedlight SB-600 flash Tamron 18-250 f/3.6-6.3 Lens 1/60 at f/6.0 130mm ISO200 Post-processed using Adobe Lightroom 4.1
Juridicious 