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 comment
I 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
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 Comments
I 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
Catching Up
Posted: March 18, 2017 Filed under: effects, Fine Art, Flowers, macro, manipulations, Nature, photography | Tags: botanical, close up, colourful, creativity, Flowers, hawthorn, Plant Portraits, tulips 2 Comments
I must admit I was quite shocked to see how many months have gone by since I last posted here – so now I must catch up and will start with some Hawthorn blossom.
I went over to the Pond last week , but it was very cold and very lean pickings for any water birds etc. The saving grace were lots of blossoms on the many Hawthorn trees around. They were actually all white but I fancied doing something different with them and discovered a set of ‘Retro’ effects in my PSP that I haven’t used before. I was pleased with the lovely pink colours and that it harmonised the background colours too….
I bought myself some tulips – I love their sculptural qualities and strong colours. The black background suited them very well I thought.
Other tools I haven’t really used are the Dodge and the Smudge Brushes. I really enjoyed using them to get these blending , softening effects.
I will endeavour to post again soon. blessings, Eileen
The Ifield Mill
Posted: September 21, 2016 Filed under: Flowers, History, macro, Nature, photography, Roses | Tags: Buildings, close up, colourful, nature, outdoors, photography 3 Comments
The Ifield Mill
Here are some more pics from my visit to the Mill. I’ve converted this one to a black and white image – it seems to suit this old Mill which dates back to the 1840’s. However – the first mention of a mill in Ifield was in 1274. I can’t quite make out from the Brochure exactly when the present [restored] Mill was built, but there are recorded mentioned owners throughout the 1600’s and 1700’s. Volunteers have done a wonderful job of restoring it from 1973 onwards , with the waterwheel being restored in 2008.
The next few pics are from the hedgerows along the path leading to the Mill.
Wild Rosehips
Wild Rose
Time to say au revoir and see you soon dv, Eileen
Macroland
Posted: June 9, 2016 Filed under: digital, Flowers, macro, Nature, photography, Roses | Tags: colourful, creative, Flowers, macro, nature, photography, water drops 4 Comments
I’m loving using my new camera and lens and the hours fly by as I get lost in my happy Macroland. Been experimenting a bit with back-lighting etc. – all indoors of course!
These are pics of a shrub rose called Rhapsody in Blue that’s growing in my patio garden. Friends bought it for me a couple of years ago – it always makes a lovely show.
This is a Lisianthus from a bunch of flowers I bought … gave it the ‘soft’ treatment.
Till next time …. Eileen
Macro Spree – part two
Posted: April 29, 2016 Filed under: Flowers, macro, Nature, photography, Plant Portraits, Uncategorized | Tags: colourful, Flowers, macro, nature, photography 3 Comments
Yellow Chrysanthemum
with water drops
more water drops
Lemon Drops
More to come ….. well – I said it was a spree! Eileen
Tulip Portrait
Posted: April 1, 2016 Filed under: digital, Flowers, macro, Nature, photography, Plant Portraits | Tags: botanical, close up, colourful, Flowers, image background, macro, nature, photography, sculptural quality, tulips 6 Comments
I love the sculptural quality of tulips because they make such clean, simple images … you can’t go wrong really, can you? I find this type of flower lends itself well to using a black background. Removing a petal allowed the stamen etc to be photographed from the front instead of from above.
One of the challenges of photography is to present something that is a common and favourite subject for photographers in a fresh way – otherwise it can be a case of ‘if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all’. As with all ‘Art’ – in the end it’s all about Ideas.
Could have been a little bit sharper, but I quite liked the softer look – a bit more dreamy perhaps ….
That’s all for now folks, see you again soon I hope. Your ‘likes’ and comments are always very appreciated, Eileen
Swans
Posted: March 30, 2016 Filed under: effects, Landscape, manipulations, Nature, photography, wildlife | Tags: colourful, lake, nature, outdoors, photography, swans, water 6 Comments
These images are all of the same swan. His mate was on the far side of the lake sitting on their nest and he had conveniently come alongside the walkway. I always feel slightly guilty that I never take any bread with me because he obviously thinks he’s going to get some …. but I can’t juggle bread as well as the camera. Usually there are other people feeding them, but not today.
I made a huge mistake in not watching out for my shadow falling across him so when I got home I had to delete a lot of the pics. Not only was it my shadow, but the metal mesh at either side of the walkway cast shadows too. Some of them I was able to rescue with a little bit of ‘cloning’. Anyway – I still had plenty that I was pleased with and again – I enjoyed making them look a bit different with my PSP and ON1 plugin.
More From the Pond
Posted: March 29, 2016 Filed under: effects, Landscape, Nature, photography | Tags: birds, colourful, lake, nature, outdoors, photography, water 6 Comments
I’ve taken so many photos over at the Pond now so I thought I would get a bit of ‘creativity’ going by using some ON1 effects on these. Normally I don’t like images to look too unreal/unbelievable, but I think I can get away with these … not to the purists’ taste of course, but I’m all for a bit of experimentation! How wonderful that our Creator has given us the ability to create from His originals!
Please leave any comments or constructive criticisms …. I’ll be posting some swan pictures later today/tomorrow. Take care, Eileen
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