More From The Dell

 I continued to mess about (experiment) with long exposures, these two were both 6 second exposures to see what sort of effects I could create. Fortunately down in the dell by the riverside there was not too much wind and so the foliage is still fairly sharp despite the lengthy exposure but the water has a sort of brushed on appearance which I rather like.

I like the overall feel of the setting in the first image and in the second I like the steely or leather like quality to the water. By using this technique there are so many colours visible that you would miss as the water rushes by.

The Dell

 I am sticking with a watery theme for today with this shot looking  upstream towards the waterfall at Bodnant  Gardens. I was stood on the bridge looking down at the falls for the abstract pictures I shared a few days ago. 

I knew as I walked along by the stream that I wanted to get this shot and I had to position my tripod on some stepping stones mid-stream to get it using another long exposure and my variable ND filter. I have also tweaked some of the colours in lightroom to add vibrancy to the overall image and I am very pleased with the results.

Precious Metal

 So for today I have posted a couple of abstract images and I wonder whether you can tell what they are...

It maybe a little easier from the first image because that is in its natural orientation, whereas for the second image I have rotated through 90 degrees.

Both are 6 second exposures from above a waterfall and I have focused on a small section of the falls as the water splashes onto the rocks below. I have tweaked contrast and curves to draw out the colours within the water as it passes over the top of the falls. I was surprised at how much colour is there because when standing above the water as it passes beneath you it appears murky and brown, with the odd streak of light. But here you can see gold and yellow and different shades.

I keep flipping between both images trying to decide which one I like most. I think I am going to settle on the second one because by shifting the perspective I feel I have increased the abstract feel and that is really what I was going for when I took the original photographs. The water falling upwards through the frame almost looks like flames and the dark shape appearing out of the white spray could be a monster, or perhaps something less frightening, say a bear (with a sad expression). I wonder, do you see that or do you see something entirely different? 

On An Island

 Looking across the pond to this small island I noticed a tumbledown shack which on its own, at first glance was not particularly interesting but taking a ,moment to really look I noticed the reflection in the calm water and the variety of colours illuminated by the sun.

These shots were taken from different vantage points and used 4 second exposures to enhance the reflections. 

Foraging

 

I may have gone a little overboard today posting 6 pictures of 5 different bees but hopefully they will bring a little sunshine into your day.

As I mentioned yesterday the early spring blooms combined with the sunshine certainly brought out the bees so I had some fun trying to capture some sharp images. I shot these at 1/1250s using my 100mm macro lens. A fast shutter speed was necessary to freeze the motion of the bee in flight (pic 4) where its wing almost looks like it is crafted from glass. In that image and the last one too you can see the pollen sacs beginning to fill up.

Although the bees in the other pictures appear settled on flowers they were actually constantly on the move so again the fast shutter speed was essential.

Using a macro lens also allowed me to capture lots of detail, in particular I wanted o look at the difference in their eyes. If you look at the bumble bee in the first shot his eyes are smooth, as if they have a hard black shell, I wonder how it is actually formed and what the bee can see.

In contrast the black bee in picture 5 and the honey bees in the other images all have compound eyes, if you look closely you can see they are made up of a concave array of hexagonal cells. I wonder whether this has advantages over the smooth eye of the bumble bee?

What I only spotted when I started to process these images was that the right eye of the first honey bee on the bright yellow flowers is actually damaged, it has been pushed inwards, leaving a shield shaped indentation. Perhaps he has flown into some obstacle, I am sure it must have an impact on his vision, after all, imagine what it would be like if you got hit in the eye with a big stick!!!

The Lenten Rose

 Last Saturday was a beautiful sunny spring day and I was faced with the prospect of a visit to a well know DIY/Home improvement store. For me that is akin to torture so I rebelled and proposed a day out instead. I ended up at Bodnant gardens in North Wales which is always a lovely place to visit. As it is so early in the season there was not a great variety of flowers in bloom but there were lots of buds with the promise of much more to come as spring advances. There were however some early blooms scattered around and these were inviting lots of bees which was good to see.

I have quite a few pictures to sort through and I am starting with these three shots of a Hellebore. I have to say that I am not normally a fan of hellebores however this particular variety (Helleborus x hybridus Ashwood Strain) really caught my eye with its dark edged petals and when you look below the drooping heads you find a brightly coloured centre (is it yellow or green?) holding the pollen and nectar which proved to be very attractive to several bees. 

I have learned today that Hellebores are native to Greece and Turkey and that they are part of the buttercup family.

Magnolia

 This is a good time of year to see some wonderful magnolia specimens. I have always been fascinated by the way the flowers emerge from their furry cocoons  long before the leaves develop. I love the delicate colours and what I hadn't realised until last weekend was just how fleshy the petals are.

Blooms from Bodnant 3

So having spent the last half an hour scrolling through pictures of flowers to identify the flower in these pictures I give up.  These flowers  with several blooms on each stem were growing near the edge of the meadow (see yesterdays blog) and were the tallest plant there.  It took ages getting these pictures due to the wind which as I've said before is a major challenge when taking pictures of plants outside.  Fortunately the light was just right bringing out the vivid colours.

I hope you enjoy these pictures and if you know what they are please leave a comment below...

Abstract Green

Today we are back in Bodnant and I have picked some abstract images of a couple of plants with a very green theme.  There's not a lot more I can say really other than I am always impressed by the hosters at Bodnant because they never seem to be affected by slugs or pests which means the leaves are always perfectly formed.

Wall Flower

No these are not wallflowers but they are flowers which grow on a wall. 

I am amazed at the variety of flora, the shapes, sizes and colours and also at how some can survive in the harshest environment.  Like these wonderful flowers which grew out of nothing, squeezing their roots into the cracks in the wall.

Spiderwort

Only 2 pictures today, combining the two colour themes from recent days, Purple and Yellow.

Have you any idea how difficult it is to identify flowers? I didn't want to say here's another picture of a plant I don't know so I started by googling "purple flower with yellow pollen" and the very first picture is one of these beautiful flowers but clicking on the link does not identify the plant itself; so frustrating...

An hour later after a lot of false leads I was able to find out what it is and I can tell you it is a variety of Spiderwort... but you already knew that from the title of this post.

I really love the deep purple with the contrasting golden yellow pollen, i love the fragile papery petals and the wispy, fern like stamen combining to make a really remarkable flower, enjoy!