Cosmos

 

It is over two weeks since I posted last and it is incredible because I have so much to get through, but after long days at work mostly in front of my computer I just haven't really felt like taking more time looking at a screen and concentrating on processing images to share.

That being said today and over the next few days I can see myself spending an awful lot of time sorting through files and photos so perhaps there will be more to see. Who knows this might not even be my only post for today...

For today though I have selected two shots of a variety of Cosmos, a plant from the daisy family I believe. This one has luscious pink petals and a radiant yellow centre which really made it stand out. The texture of the petals as they curl seems to give movement to the flower even though it is perfectly still.

In the first image I just adjusted the contrast a little but in the second I wanted to try a completely different treatment, converting it to black and white, pulling up the contrast and increasing the blacks and shadows to create what I think is a really effective image. I love it, the movement in this image, to me at least, has the feel of fire and smoke. Maybe it is just me but however it looks to you I hope you will agree that it is a pretty cool photo.

Kniphofia

It is really no wonder that plants are not generally referred to by their scientific names. Take todays flower for example, Kniphofia is quite a mouthful, and if you try the family name; Asphodelaceae it all makes sense to give it an easier name, Red Hot Poker seems like quite a good name for it.

This was a nice specimen with fleshy looking flowers that open out to beautiful red bells. Quite stunning.

The first shot reminds me of a giant glass sculpture I photographed earlier this year on the Venetian island of Murano, see my post A Lotta Bottle from 10th March

Luscious Curves

Canon EF 24 - 105 mm F/4 L IS USM

ISO 2000  99 mm  F/9.0  1/400 sec

ISO 2500  105 mm  F/9.0  1/400

In the palm house as I said yesterday the heat and humidity were almost unbearable and so we didn't stay inside for very long but I spotted these beautiful leaves.

I wondered what flower might be produced by this plant but the sign that identified it was understandably written in Swedish so it meant nothing to me. It said Karambola, Averrhoa carambola, Oxalidaceae.  I could work out that the plant grows to a height of 8 - 10 metres and that it produces fruit.  So a little bit of research was necessary to discover that the Carambola plant is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philipines, Nepal and other countries in that general region with similar climate and it produces Star Fruit.

I think there is so much to like about these leaves, the texture (or different textures) as they unfurl, the rich shades of green and the curves which almost give a sense of motion.