Author: glenys mahler

I live in Patho, Australia.

Beginning macro

September 16, 2020

Tulips became the subjects for my mucking around. I got some very unusual views.

Loving the water drops from the hose, just before I took the pictures.

The white ones also had a shower.

Closer up, you might not recognise the flowers as tulips.

For Cee’s Flower of the Day

Sweet new toy.

September 15, 2020

Playing around with macro photography

My new extension tubes arrived in the mail. They were the cheap plastic variety, but I was still thrilled. I found the first sweet pea of the season also today. It made sense that I played around with both. I have only used the first one so far. Two more to play with later.

I love this shot. I tried to move the camera so that the tendril underlined the curve of the flower.

I’m also playing around with different feels to my pictures. In the shot below I experimented to see if I could get a romantic soft fuzzy feel. I used some paper around the lens to confuse the camera. It’s like looking through the fuzz to see the sweet pea. I was annoyed that I cut off just a little too much of the stem, I wanted more. Maybe if I had a fancier program I could post edit it back. No, that’s too much of a challenge just yet.

I forced myself to NOT use auto focus. That’s a whole new learning experience. I moved around the subjects, and that makes everything much more complicated.

The shot below isn’t quite right. If only I could reverse the flower into the light. Maybe one day I’ll save up and buy Lightroom.

I got carried away with this last shot. Maybe there’s too much drama with the dark surround. Sweet Peas are too delicate for such a dramatic pose. But….I have just discovered vignettes. And I learnt how to use them, even if it’s only in paint. Maybe one day I’ll have Photoshop???

I’d love to know your thoughts. Which pictures do you prefer?

Grey birds

September 13, 2020

Did you know some birds use their wings to make sound?

This is a crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes). It uses its feathers to communicate with other birds. They make noises when they fly, sometimes being called whistle-winged pigeons. The wings can make different notes, high notes signal danger. For more information click here.

Here’s another visitor. I need help identifying it.

It is a Noisy Miner. Eliza Waters, on the other side of the globe in Massachusetts, US, identified it from another Australian blogger’s site.

Red Tulip

September 12, 2020

But I have always thought that these tulips must have had names. They were red, and orange and red, and red and orange and yellow, like the ember in a nursery fire of a winter’s evening. I remember them.
― Neil Gaiman,”Coraline”

Red tulips represent true love. Red evokes passion and romance.

For Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.

Rock Lily

September 11, 2020

Rock lily (dendrobium speciosum ) is a small orchid native to Australia.

Photo from Carol Hall.

It is found growing on rocks in southern half of eastern coast. It flowers in spring with sprays of graceful blooms. This one originated from her mother in law and she had it for 40 years, growing in pots.

For Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge

More Paradise

September 11, 2020

Did you know that there are different colored bird of paradise plants?

This flower is also known as the crane flower because of its distinctive shape. Apparently there are 5 species of Strelitzia but I think I’ve only ever seen this one. I really want the white one, but they grow much, much larger. I read somewhere you have to wait for years for the plant to flower.

I tried to take some photos from more unconventional angles. From underneath….

and then there’s this one….

My ‘arty’ shot click here