May 1st
Hydrangea Petiolaris
Week 18, Bees and Botanicals dominate this weeks selection. The weather has been variable but I was able to find subjects in the garden like this Hydrangea petiolaris. It grows up a somewhat crumbling boundary by the well in the back garden. I went for a twilight look for this shot and I expect I will be adding it to the Submerged Garden gallery on my site in due course. Now the days are stretching out there are more opportunities to explore the twilight zone with the camera.
May 2nd
Chalk Hand
Having lugged the Pentax K1 mkii around on a country walk hoping to find a breath taking landscape in the end this simple outline of a child’s hand grabbed my attention, often less is more. Getting the black black and white of the outline white was a bit of a challenge. The exposure software insisted that the black should be grey. However applying a bit of zone metering solved that problem. Locked the exposure on a mid tone reading and ping, black is black and white is white.
May 3rd
Blue and Green
Travelling can present new images but it can also squeeze the time to make a photograph. A trip to Oxford to see family meant I had to grab what I could. I am rather pleased with this shot of an ornament hanging in the room we were staying in.
I don’t expect it will win any prizes but there is a calm abstract quality to it.
May 4th
Heron
Walking around the city of Oxford can offer surprises and this Heron was one. At first I thought it was a statue as it was so still in the rushing water. However it moved its head slightly so I knew it was alive. It also remained in this position for several minutes and I was able to take a number of shots. I wished I had a longer lens on but I still got something.
May 5th
Tulip, Oxford Botanical Gardens
For me no trip to anywhere with a botanical garden would be complete without a visit. The day we visited the Oxford botanic gardens the sun was out and shining through the petals of the tulips.
The visit to the gardens made me think I need to get up to the Bristol botanical gardens with the camera and a tripod. That would allow me more time and could present a project to photograph the gardens over a period.
We of course went into all the hot houses and I got this shot.
May 6th
Phlomis fruticosa
I took a shot of this flower in week 17 but didn’t know the plant’s name. While at the Oxford botanic gardens I saw it growing and took a note of the latin name that it had been labled with. When I returned the flower that I had left in my photo bench had opened some more. The shape of the petals from this angle reminds me of a nose.
May 7th
Cerinthe major
Had a bit of a play around with this flower. Its been a subject a number of times. I wanted to do something a bit more creative and came up with this image.
And finally as the post title suggests here is a bee.
Bee on White Borage.
The borage plant had self sown into a bed right by the garden path and the bees love it. Getting a shot of a bee is however a challenge as they don’t stay long on the flowers. Fortunately there is ahandy piece of wall to sit on while framing up a shot. I took quite a few but they are largely out of focus, this one worked.
OK that is it for week 18, I hope you enjoyed the pictures, now I need to find the first one for week 19.
