Festive Fun
Posted: December 18, 2018 Filed under: Christmas, digital, photography | Tags: bit of fun, Christmas, digital, festive, photography, photos 3 CommentsI’ve been cheering myself up with some festive photography lately – hope you like them …. just a bit of festive fun !
Of course, the true meaning of Christmas is that God sent his Son into the world to redeem mankind and offer eternal life to those who believe in Him, not because we deserve it , but He reconciles us to Himself through His grace.
If I’m not back here before Christmas, I wish you many blessings, Eileen
Same Walk, Different Pics
Posted: October 26, 2018 Filed under: History, Landscape, Nature, photography, Uncategorized | Tags: History, leaves, nature, photography, sunshine, trees Leave a commentThis is the first lady angler that I’ve seen at the lake! Fortunately she very kindly said she didn’t mind me taking her photo. The sun was streaming across the lake behind her – back-lighting and high-lighting herself and the trees either side of her. Perfect!
This single leaf also posed perfectly for me ….
It was a really dazzling sun-shiney day with lots of high- lighty bits of nature to see … this could be titled a patchwork or an abstract I thought.
There is this huge Weeping Willow tree along the path leading to the lake and it looked magnificent on this bright, sunny day ….although the figure and dogs are the focal point of the pic.
I did some searching on line yesterday to see what I could find out about the Ifield Mill Pond and Bewbush Water Gardens and boy – what an interesting history – much too much to tell here … so, just briefly :
A park was recorded here as early as 1295. The manor of Bewbush seems to have passed down, linked with St Leonards Forest by inheritance to various Earls and Dukes, etc over the centuries, becoming known as the manor of Holmbush/ the Holmbush Estate from 1787 and being sold on to ‘humbler’ folk titled ‘Lord of Bewbush’ and eventually MPs and the like.
Lots of improvements had been done by a Thomas Broadwood after 1824 and he planted and landscaped much of the estate. Whether it was him or later owners who planted my Bald Cypresses there I don’t know, but maybe there’s a way of finding out? My source [A History of the County of Sussex] says he created a large Lake and several smaller ones – so I guess that must be more or less where we can walk now, since Crawley Borough Council bought the whole area , now known as the neighbourhood of Bewbush, in order to expand the housing requirements for all us ordinary folk. And grateful I am too!!
More of the Same, but Different
Posted: October 25, 2018 Filed under: Nature, photography, Trees | Tags: bald cypress, colourful, cones, foliage, images, nature, photography, seeds, trees Leave a commentI don’t think I’ve ever come across such an interesting tree before!
As it appears to be native to swampy areas of N.America, I wonder how it came to be here in Sussex at the Ifield Mill Pond and Bewbush Water Gardens? I wonder if, like the Tilgate Lake and Park, the place was originally part of a private estate? That would account for the trees being introduced here as a specimen no doubt…. I will have to do a spot of historical research I think. It’s brilliant that I can look stuff up on the internet!!
I took pics of other things that caught my eye at the Pond too so I will make that my follow on post. au revoir, Eileen
Bald Cypress [Taxodium distichum]
Posted: October 20, 2018 Filed under: Nature, photography, Trees, Uncategorized | Tags: autumn, colourful, nature, photography, photos, trees 5 CommentsI’ve often wondered about this tree that I’ve passed every time I’ve walked around the local lake. I obviously haven’t caught it at its most spectacular up until now! When I got back home I took the time to search on line for its name but of course, it wasn’t showing up in any British tree lists, so I widened my search and it turned out to be a conifer.
What threw me was that I didn’t class it as a conifer because I’d mistakenly thought all conifers were evergreen and this tree clearly wasn’t. Anyway – the clue was in my pics because I saw what sort of looked like clusters of tiny cones and then some larger spherical green ones hidden among the bright colourful foliage that I hadn’t noticed when I was taking the pics.
It’s a very large tree and I wonder how old it is …. maybe I will see if anyone knows on my local FB group.
Oops – maybe next time I’ll take a pic of the complete tree!!
bye for now, Eileen
Catching Up(again)
Posted: October 12, 2018 Filed under: digital, Fine Art, Flowers, macro, Nature, photography, Uncategorized | Tags: creativity, Flowers, garden, macro, photography, photos 10 CommentsYet again I find myself having to catch up with my postings here as I’ve been somewhat distracted with other things. Fortunately [for me, not necessarily you] I haven’t neglected my photography because that is the thing that keeps me happy and sane , together with the good Lord’s gracious care of me….
So, this will be a miscellany of images – hope it doesn’t all seem too disjointed!
It was only after I peered at this flower through my macro lens that I saw this tiny caterpillar popping his head in and out! The flower is a small Jacob’s Ladder.
I enjoy photographing flowers more and more these days and often wish i could get to grips with using ‘Textures’ to enhance the backgrounds. Meanwhile I’m using the usual depth of field of my lenses to achieve, or try to, a softer background and sometimes the much sought after ‘Bokeh’. I haven’t a mathematical brain and age has brought with it less stamina and patience to make the required effort to achieve what I really want – but, c’est la vie ! It was much simpler when I used to paint – no tech involved!
This was shot against the light from the window in my living room – it’s south-facing and can get extremely bright. I like the bright dazzle of a high key picture though.
Another sparkly ….
I loved the soft yellow of this Chrysanthemum ….
Take care everyone, see you soon, Eileen
Black & White
Posted: July 11, 2018 Filed under: digital, effects, Landscape, Nature, photography, Trees, Uncategorized, wildlife | Tags: black& White, creativity, infrared, photography, photos Leave a commentIn looking back over the pics I’ve posted here, I realised to my surprise, that I’ve never done a post solely of my black and white images. So, as I’ve recently gathered some black & white and infrared pics into their own folder on my computer, it seems a logical follow- on to post some here: all taken at the Ifield Mill Pond & Bewbush Water Gardens.
Well – there we are folks …. the last few I used an ‘infrared’ effect on in my Paintshop Pro software, because I love the sunny, soft look it gives !
See you soon, Eileen
Tulips and Other Flowers
Posted: May 14, 2018 Filed under: Fine Art, Flowers, photography, Plant Portraits, Still Life, Uncategorized | Tags: art, colourful, Flowers, photography, still life, tulips 4 CommentsI like the drama of a black background, it seems to make the colours more vibrant …. the light is just from a small window.
variation on the theme ….
That’s all for now folks, thank you for your visits and ‘likes’ – they are much appreciated. See you again soon I hope, Eileen
Designed From Above
Posted: April 21, 2018 Filed under: digital, macro, Nature, photography, Uncategorized | Tags: colour, design, macro, nature, peacock feathers 2 Comments
The peacock feather must be among the most beautiful of God’s creations – so obviously an intelligent ‘design’ , full of colour and grace. I was so pleased when my daughter presented me with some superb ones for my birthday.
I used my Olympus OM-DE 10 camera with 60mm macro lens attached. I played around in my PSP for a bit of drama by adding a vignette.
The last one is one of those rare occasions when adding water drops doesn’t necessarily enhance the subject, I think maybe it makes the overall effect too fussy – but no matter it’s here anyway for your opinion!
God bless, Eileen
Roses and Orchids
Posted: April 2, 2018 Filed under: Flowers, macro, Nature, photography, Plant Portraits, Roses, Uncategorized | Tags: Flowers, macro, Olympus camera, Orchids, photography, roses 1 CommentIt was my Birthday and Mothers’ Day in quick succession this year , so I had lots of flowers, of which these are a sampling, to keep me happy with my camera !
As they are all ‘cultivated’ florist flowers/plants, I can’t give their botanical names – only that they are Roses and Orchids – but you already know that …Lol!
It’s a rainy day again today, so not much hope of me venturing out , but at the moment there’s plenty to keep my interest indoors. Living in a flat can feel quite isolated at times, but the Lord always manages to lift my spirits and there’s nothing like His beautiful flower designs to do that is there? I’m so glad He made us creative beings !
See you soon, Eileen
Catching Up!
Posted: March 23, 2018 Filed under: digital, Flowers, macro, photography, Plant Portraits, Roses, Uncategorized | Tags: close up, creativity, Flowers, Lensbaby, macro, photography 3 CommentsAfter a long absence from My Photo Blog, but not my camera, I’ve quite a bit of catching up to do here!
I thought I would start with some pics taken with my new Lensbaby Composer Pro 35mm. I’ve found it difficult to get the hang of, but when I get it right I’m very pleased with the artistic results ….
The lens itself is moveable so that you can choose the part of the subject you want in sharp focus. Much depends on your distance from the subject as well as the f/ used. For ages I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t change my f/ number using the usual dial on my camera, till I realised I had to change it on the actual Lens – silly me !
It seems particularly suited to flower subjects – at least it is regarding the 35mm. Lensbaby have a whole variety of different lenses available and I’d hankered after owning one for ages, but as I can’t necessarily see the subtle differences between them and they tend to be very expensive, I don’t think it will be likely that I will buy any more – I’m very happy with what I’ve got ! I’d treated myself to this one as a Christmas pressy.
Ha ha – this looks like a rogue macro of the same rose, but no matter – I’ll need to look up the techy info to check, which I can’t seem to locate here ….
Well, I’ll leave it at that for now and will post some more macro flowers next I think. Bye for now, Eileen