When I looked at the photos I took yesterday, I discovered that plants and flowers stood out:
We grow dandelions in our back garden. The Sony autofocus did exactly what I wanted in this case. I chose to shoot it with lots of bokeh, with the aim of achieving the softness around the image. The centre is sharp.
Just above the dandelion is ceanaothus:
As well as sage and hebe, only one of which is for the pot:
And I am not sure whether I like this or not. I'm playing with Adobe Lightroom to learn just what it can do. PSR, on this blog, encouraged me to do so. Nature (at Welney) provided the natural colour palette:
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Lovely photos.
You might want to consider buying (I resisted the urge to say investing) in a dedicated macro lens. Suddenly everything around you is more interesting but be warned it is challenging as the depth of field is very thin.
Ultimately you need a camera flash (even in the day) and some sort of diffuser right near the end of the lens. It looks ridiculous but it allows you to shoot at narrow apertures and low iso.
Not yet, but noted. I have a lot more to learn with what I have first.
🙂 dandelion haloed by baby blue ground ivy? speckled with bugs – a lovely composition.
Thanks
‘Serendipity’ and thank you for beautiful photos. The northern part of the Peak District is higher and colder than where you live, and so trees, bushes and flora are only just beginning to show their colours. On Thursday, in glorious sunshine, I had a 2-hour stroll with a friend above Lathkil Dale in the White Peak area. Blackthorn is in flower, celandine is showing, only a few dandelions, and thistles barely in evidence as yet. There are few trees up there, but in the Dale there is still evidence of the blight of ash dieback. Skylarks were swooping around, but few sheep out as yet. A few butterflies were around including an orange-tip. This was followed by pub lunch then speedy return to hometown (in the Dark Peak) to watch the film ‘Flow’. There is no proper cinema, but the Pavilion Arts Centre doubles as such, and I recommend this film, even on a small screen – it is a Latvian, French, and Belgian co-production, it follows a cat trying to survive along with other animals after a massive flood, flood presumably as a result of global warming. No humans are seen, and the animals have taken over – there is no dialogue, just music and animal noises – meows, woofs, grunts, tweets and splashing – the story is really of animals learning to get by together (as an example to some humans?) – a cat starts the tale, and is joined by a golden retriever, a capybara, a lemur and a secretary bird. The film has won an Oscar and is, I believe, up for a BAFTA. It is made with animation (not cartoon) and took five-and-a-half years to complete, with the animation (for those interested in such) done using the free and open-source software Blender. Then yesterday an early walk within the local park and gardens, where water buttercups have suddenly blossomed in huge clumps by the river – no rhododendrons out yet, the daffodils almost over, bluebells and wild garlic just beginning to bloom, and an area of Snake’s Head Fritillary waving in the breeze. Moles erupting much to the annoyance of farmers (they bring stones to the surface which can damage farm/field machinery).
All of this ‘serendipity’ accompanied by an amateur production of ‘Jesus Christ Super Star’ at our Matcham Opera House. Directed by the CEO of the Opera House, Paul Kerrison (himself an actor and respected director of many professional productions), he provides a platform for local talent, as ‘a vital aspect of the learning and participatory activities’. I thoroughly enjoyed the first night performance which, to my mind, was of professional standard (the production and creative team are professional, as is the orchestra), giving people of all ages, people who may have had some experience of acting in school or college, who may have been in amateur productions, or who have had no experience at all, the chance to showcase their talent in a large-scale production on a professional stage in a Grade II listed theatre which first opened on 1st June 1903 – you can imagine the thrill to perform in such an historic theatre. I attend another performance of it this evening – I know I will enjoy it again, and notice and admire even more of the talent on stage – singers and dancers alike. Fortunately there are good outlets around here for people to join in with music, theatre and arts programmes, from brass bands, youth theatre, the Peak District Music Centres, Buxton Opera House Young Company and many more.
All of this is serendipity indeed, and nature, the Arts, culture and education must be valued and enjoyed in these days of world crisis – so much of which crisis is caused by greed and lack of empathy.
Thanks
The gap between Lightroom and Photoshop (for photographers) has narrowed a lot over the years I have used it and it can do most of what Photoshop can with single layer images. A lot of the latest Lightroom features (masking, AI assisted functions and so on are more or less identical to those available in Photoshop Camera Raw. I use LightRoom (Classic) for most of my photo tasks these days and seldom find the need to invoke Photoshop from Lightroom to process images unless I am doing complex image manipulation. (I photograph mainly wildlife and cakes).
I’ve used quite a few image manager/editor products over the years and although there are a couple of features I use from other tools, that LightRoom doesn’t duplicate, I find LightRoom to be the best of the bunch these days.
Thanks
I have not tried Photoshop.
I am only scratching Lightroom as yet. It is not as unapproachable as I had somehow assumed.
Anyone who takes a moment to look at a dew starred dandelion in the morning light can never ever call it a ‘weed’ again!
A ‘Weed’ after all, is only a plant in the wrong place.
Beautiful pictures – I love dandelions:) Put in the category of weeds… they are amazing and make me smile as they manage to seed and come up between cracks in pavements… ha! There is hope the plants will survive us humans as we busily hasten our demise as the planet heats up…
…Blow a dandelion and make a wish, Richard.
Have a good day today and bank holiday tomorrow.
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A quote I just read and seems apt to put here:
After all, I don’t see why I am always asking for private, individual, selfish miracles when every year there are miracles like white dogwood.
ANNE MORROW LINDBERGH
🙂