Tag: Photo

Mirabilis jalapa – Marvel of Peru

I bought 4 tubers of Mirabilis jalapa (4 o’clock flower, marvel of Peru) at the Bloemenmarkt (flower market) in Amsterdam. I wasn’t expecting much from these plants, given that they are really for warm temperate regions and not the United Kingdom. To my surprise, they have taken well to the local conditions (even the miserable summer) we’ve had.

I’m not really sure what to do with these plants now that winter is soon approaching. The advice appears to be divided between leaving them in place with mulch and hope for the best year to digging the tubers up till the next year. Since I do have two in the ground and two in pots, I’ll probably try different methods and see which one works best! A proper scientific process!

Evening Primrose – on black

Oenothera’s are a genus of plants native to the America‘s. In the United Kingdom they are grown as annuals, but due to their self-seeding nature, they come back year on year. These are some of the last flowers for this year.

Two pictures: The top one focussing on the petals to bring out the delicate veins, the bottom one to focus more on the stamens and carpel of the flower. In order to achieve a dark background, a flash was used with high shutter speeds. The blacks and shadows were adjusted in Lightroom 4.1 to give a complete black background.
Technical details:

Nikon D80
SB-600 Speedlight Flash
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens
Post-Processed with Adobe LightRoom 4.1
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Study of a Rose

As autumn draws ever closer here in the United Kingdom, the last of the summer roses go out in a blaze of colour for a final time in 2012. The following pictures are of one such rose in my garden. I would be interested in knowing which one of the four you like best, or none as well!

Please click on each picture to view a full size version. In order to achieve a dark background, I have used a flash and post-processed to cut darks and shadows.

Technical Details:

Nikon D80
SB600 Speedlight Flash
1/125 to 1/40 f/7.1 ISO200
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens
Post-processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.1

 

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Goa – a beach experience

 

Goa is probably best known around the world for its beaches and beach resorts. Here are a few shots from beaches in North Goa from my visit January 2012.

Vagator Beach, Goa.
A moored boat on Vagator Beach, Goa
A shrine on a rock outcrop on Vagator Beach. A little more than a quarter of Goa’s population are christian.
Anjuna Beach, Goa – Allegedly famous for trance music, which was thankfully absent on the day I visited!
A beached boat at Baga. This was possibly the best beach I visited in Goa.
Pushing out to sea! Baga, Goa
The blues and turquoise of the Arabian Sea. Baga, Goa

I think we chose a great time to visit Goa and a good time of the day to be at the beaches. There were few people about and that made for a relaxing walk in the balmy waters. Calangute beach was possibly the most crowded beach of all. We couldn’t see the sea given the sheer number of people!

Technical Details:

Nikon D80
Tamron 18-250 f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens

 

Gazania – on black

Gazania‘s are native to south africa and are commonly grown in the UK as an annual. The lovely flowers light up any border with their profuse blooms and long flowering season. These gazania’s are from my garden in Cambridge.


Technical details:

Nikon D80
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 Macro Lens
1/100 f/18 with flash.
post-processed with Adobe Lightroom 4.1
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Daffodil on black

I know it is strange to talk about spring blooms in the dreary days of autumn! I came across this picture in my collection taken earlier this year and thought it would offer a chance for us facing shorter days, cold and rain to cheer up with thoughts of spring!

Daffodil against a dark background. Click to see a larger image.

Technical details:

Nikon D80
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens
1/3200 f/7.1
External SB-600 speedlight flash used.
post-processed in Adobe LightRoom 4.1

Yellow-on-monochrome

 

Nothing probably gives a better contrast and highlights a picture, like something yellow on black on monochrome background. To test this hypothesis, I put forward this picture of a yellow flower against a desaturated background.

Yellow on grayscale.

Really interested in your thoughts!

Technical Details:

Nikon D80 
Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens
1/300 f/4.5
Processed with Adobe Lightroom 4.1

 

Meadow Brown Butterfly

 

Meadow Brown Butterfly. Commonly found in the UK and Ireland.

I came across this meadow brown butterfly basking in the sunlight earlier this week. As such, these butterflies are nervous and don’t allow you to come close. This one, however, let me get to within a foot before deciding I could be a threat!