I know that it is not very pretty but a close up look at the fly on this flower reveals some really good details (if you can bear to look) such as the speckled grey body and its spiky hairs.
It also reveals details in the centre of the flower, for example who knew that the yellow segments at the heart of a daisy actually have black tips?
Having shown the beast I had to balance that with the beauty of the daisy which seems to shine in the sunlight. Often thought of as weed, like Dandelions, Daisies are really beautiful and deserve some recognition.
Remember there is a chance to win a limited edition print by visiting my facebook page just like and share the page to be in with a chance to win. The draw will be at the end of this week.
Today I have selected two shots of an orchid which has just started to bloom in my living room. When everything has been so dull and grey outside in recent days it was nice to have some bright colour indoors.
I love the striking colours and the fascinating detail almost like a face in the central element of the flower.
So there I was sat on the harbour wall at New Quay, watching the dolphins in the bay and eating a delicious pastie and soaking up the early afternoon sun when along came this beautiful Herring Gull. Quite clearly it was looking for scraps and its friend not quite so bold hung back a little waiting to see if it was worth getting a little closer.
Although these birds are quite common and known for scavenging food from tourists there is something quite regal about them and I think the first and last of today's pictures show this in the gull's pose.
They can make a pretty fearsome noise too and as I focused trying to get a nice close up shot this chap started to screech really loudly. The second and third shots were taken seconds apart as the bird was mid screech. I have slightly cropped the second picture so it is possible to clearly see the speckled eye and the detail around the eye and inside its' mouth. I am really pleased with this particular shot and it shows that even something that may seem common and uninteresting is actually quite beautiful.
I've called today's post Blooms from Bodnant because that's exactly what these pictures are. I also don't know what this flower is so I couldn't use that as the title and I thought "yellow flower" would have been a bit lame too. I will try to identify it but if anyone knows what it is feel free to comment below.
As you will know if you have seen my previous blogs I am really interested in the finer detail of things, especially flowers, the things we very rarely notice because we look at the whole picture when the individual parts are beautiful in their own right.
The second picture shows the emerging flower which is a fascinating shape and completely different to the final bloom as seen in the final picture.
