Flowers are beautiful even in death. As the petals fade and die, they take on a beauty of their own.
Focus stacking of 8 photos. Nikon D7000 105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens
Death of a flower
Tag: Photomatix Pro
The V1 flying bomb
The Imperial War Museum in Duxford has a fantastically preserved German V1 flying bomb dating back to 1944-1945. The V1 is one of the earliest weapons to use a pulsejet engine. With an effective range of 160 miles over 9000 of these were launched at the United Kingdom between June and October 1944 till their launch sites were overrun by Allied advances.
The above photo is a composite of 3 shots bracketed at -2, 0 and 2 eV and merged in Photomatix Pro.
Once in a generation!
This week there was a surprise flowering at the Cambridge University Botanical Gardens. The plant known variously as Titan arum or Corpse flower bloomed after a gap of 11 years. Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) are native to Sumatra and are one of the worlds stinkiest and largest flowers described as rotting meat, moth balls, old socks etc.
Thankfully the worst of the smells are in the night time and I conveniently missed it! The photograph above is a HDR of 3 bracketed shots at -2, 0 and +2 stops. Shot with a 35mm f/1.8 Nikon lens on a Nikon D7000. Processed in Photomatix Pro.
Wicken Fen #1
Wicken Fen is the oldest nature reserve managed by the National Trust. The nature reserve preserves some of the last remaining wetlands in Europe and is home to many species of plants, birds and insects. The following picture is of the Wicken Fen wind pump, the last surviving wooden wind powered wind pump used to drain the Fens. Click on the picture for a larger version on Flickr, and best appreciated in large size!
Nikon D7000 with a Sigma 105mm, f/2.8 lens Bracketed 3 shot HDR merged in Photomatix Pro and processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Audley End House, Saffron Walden
Audley End house is a magnificent example of a 17th century stately home near Saffron Walden in Essex. The property was also once a royal palace in the time of Charles II (1668) who purchased the property for £5 in order to be able to attend races at Newmarket. Audley End is now managed by English Heritage but all paintings and period decorations are from the original time and form part of a private collection.
HDR composed of three bracketed shots at -2, 0 and +2 exposures and processed in Photomatix Pro. Please click on the photo for a larger version.
Tranquility #4
Sometimes a picture looks better than the real thing. When I shot this, I didn’t think it looked all that impressive. Processing the bracketed shots as HDR makes this scene of a path lined with trees look serene and tranquil. The noisy tourists were all behind me at this stage :).
Shot using a 28-70mm Sigma f/2.8 lens on a Nikon D7000. Processed in Adobe Lightroom, Photomatix Pro and NIK Color Efex Pro.
Tranquility
At the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. A HDR of 3 shots at -2, 0 and +2 merged in Photomatix Pro. I loved the tranquil moods in this part of the gardens with the flowing stream and colourful japanese maples.
You lookin’ at me?
A red-eared slider turtle basking in the Texas sun at Sea World, San Antonio.
3 -shot bracketed HDR photo merged in Photomatix Pro and processed in Adobe Lightroom.
Still life – HDR
With the weather going from bad to worse here in the UK, the scope for outdoor photography has been limited. I therefore, took to an indoor experiment using a bunch of flowers under natural lighting. Both pictures are from 3-shot bracketed exposures at -2, 0 and +2 at f/3.2 1/40, 1/1o and 0.4 second exposures. Merged in Photomatix Pro. I would love to hear from you!!
Ely Cathedral on Christmas Night
This is a photograph of the historic Ely cathedral on christmas day. 3 pictures are exposures between 14 and 52 seconds were bracketed to produce this picture.
Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photomatix Pro.
Juridicious 