Dots and Drums

Macro image of printed text.  Nikon D80

17th May 2014

The human eye is a wonderful thing as it presents us with images that look great, yet are often only based on an approximation of the reality we are perceiving.

The text on this piece of paper is a good example as the letters look smooth and well formed from a distance, with smooth shades of grey on parts of the paper.

The wonders of printing however and a macro lens reveal that it is really mostly an illusion; the text and images are truly black-or white with no shades of grey in reality.

Today was also carnival day here in town.   The procession was fun, however some of the sights were a little perturbing and I wished my eyes had provided me with just a pleasant illusion of the true reality!

Carnival.  Nikon D7000

Carnival.  Nikon D7000

Tick Tock

Dandelion Clock.  Nikon D7000

16th May 2014

I have not done any serious macro photography for a while so I thought I may try to capture a few close-ups of some interesting structures.

It has been a few days since we have had any serious wind or rain and so the Dandelion seed heads have had a chance to form without getting dispersed straight away.

I carefully picked this one and dumped it in a bucket however after I photographed it as I do not want a garden full of the weeds later in the year!

Colours: In the Pink

Pink in the Garden.  Nikon D7000

15th May 2014

The Spring flowers in the garden are looking really quite spectacular at the moment.  These flowers are providing a good show of pink on the patio at the moment.

The bees are going mad over them and the bush seemed to be alive and in motion; until I tried to get one of the bees to stay long enough to pose for a decent picture that is!

Colours: Not Purple

White Lilac Flowers.  Fuji F10

14th May 2014

The lilac trees are well in bloom now.   I thought for a change I would capture some of the white lilac flowers instead of the usual purple ones.

No matter what the colour though, the scent they are giving out is really strong!

Fresh Greens

Hawthorne in Flower.  Fuji F10

13th May 2014

The Hawthorne is well in flower now and a nice sight for Spring.

The flowers have been showing a brilliant white when the sun catches them, and a wonderful pale green for the leaves.

There are bees around too and they seem to be appreciating the abundance of flowers as well.

Not So Shy

Deer hiding in the grass.  Nikon D7000

12th May 2014

Last week we saw a deer in the field on the walk back from school most mornings.  Today I thought I would take a better camera with a 300mm lens on it, just in case a deer pitches up again.

Previously, the deer has been very shy and runs as soon as it sees us.  Today it seemed much more relaxed and almost as if it wanted its photo taken.

I approached slowly and it kept looking across at me, and then continued to graze on the fresh shoots on the Hawthorne trees.

I got much closer than I expected before it turned and walked casually through the hedge into the next field to chomp on the new shoots on the other side of the bushes.

Bluebells

Bluebell woods.  Nikon D7000

11th May 2014

The bluebells in West Woods are putting on a good show again this year.   Jo and I had a nice walk today through the wood; the sun was shining and the haze of blue seemed to run on forever into the distance through the trees.