Blossomville

[jbtaylor]

Nice color Yildiz.
Spring has not sprung in my hometown yet. Can't wait though.

[Greg Beetham]

Thanks for the link, you could very well be correct there Yildiz, I'm no expert in things botanical, (would love too know more though), I remember when a friend of mine had a hut in the rainforrest and he knew someone at the university (a botanist), they came up too the property once (he invited them too have a look around and see what they could find), i think he said they found over a hundred species of "things" in a couple of hundred meters...I walked along the same path and I saw lots of large trees, some creepers, ferns and fungus, but nowhere near a hundred different species that I could see...you have to be an expert I reckon...I did find a tiny mushroom that glowed brightly in the dark there one time, I thought that was cool.

I'll post one more, it's just a lily from the front garden....nothing extraordinary...

A100 18-200

[aster]

Bakubo; whenever you say you hardly ever shoot a certain subject, you tend to come up with something relevant out of those archives of yours! Neat close-ups bearing nice colours.

Jbtaylor; thank you and would love to see your blossoms in near future with those amazing lenses of yours: the CZ 135 F1.8 and all!

Greg; flowers are always special, and they make us pleasant and soulful humanbeings. So just keep posting!

And here's a pair of tulips that are early bloomers. While the rest of the bunch are still in their green outfits, these went ahead and now stand as the only colour-bearing tulips in the garden.

Yildiz

A100 & CZ 16-80mm

[jbtaylor]

Looks like I was wrong. Spring has sprung (a little). I just had to look close enough.
Found these in my neighbor's back yard and still had the 135mm on the camera. It's not necessarily the right lens for the job but what the heck.

[aster]

Very lovely Jbtaylor,

I always thought that CZ 135 F1.8 was one of the best for flower photography. It always delivers good and natural colours while isolating the sharp subject from the background.

Your shots are spectacular. More spring tiaras...

Yildiz

[Birma]

Here are some shots of the blossom growing in the hedgerow in one of the lanes where I live. This is partly in hommage to Allam2009's great shot which got me thinking of this, and obviously gave me some ideas on how to shoot it, thanks Allam!







All shot with the A100 and Sigma 70-300.

[jbtaylor]

Well done Birma. I got the same idea from Allam's shot as well. I think more or at least as much about the background as the foreground.
Aster, the lens does work in these situations but it does not have a very close focusing distance.

[aster]

Cheerfull blossoms Birma! Congratulations.

Especially the second shot shows a lovely 'ball' of blossoms but they are all nice.

Jbtaylor; even though the distance from the flower maybe a little over what one may wish for, there's a good chance of not disturbing the small bees and insects that visit these blossoms, which would only richen the meaning of 'sprung-spring' these photos convey so well.

Yildiz

[Dr. Harout]

Birma, well done.

[Birma]

Thanks Doc - much appreciated.

I used manual focus on some of the shots. I was trying out DK's advice of using the auto focus indicator to aid manual focusing (if that makes any sense!). I had never realised that the camera did this - not reading the manual properly I suppose .

Sorry to go a bit off topic, but there is a comment in the A100 manual that says "To obtain steady exposure in manual focus mode, the camera uses the distance information to determine the exposure. To improve the precision of the distance information, the camera resets the focal length to infinity when the POWER switch is set to ON.". Please excuse the newbie question, but does this mean that the automatic exposure metering can be compromised if making a series of manual focus shots?

Also off topic, but I have not seen any of your pictures of Armenia recently Doc. Are you and the A700 not getting out and about yet this year?

[Dr. Harout]

...Also off topic, but I have not seen any of your pictures of Armenia recently Doc. Are you and the A700 not getting out and about yet this year?

Yup, you're right, had not much time. Now I'm working extensively on my garden (sowing seeds, plants, flowers, building carcasses for my climbers, trimming (is that the word?) my trees...). On the other hand, didn't quit the photo. Not at all. Still practicing it in my office.
BTW, my apricot trees are all white and what a divine odor they spell... wish you could all breath and feel that.

[Greg Beetham]

He He! a teensy bit wrong Doc, carcasses is the cadaver/s of a/some dead body/bodies, I'm thinking maybe lattice or trellise is the word you're looking for, for your climbers, and possibly pruning instead of trimming, but we all know what you mean on that one, when some pruning takes place here I've usually got my old Landcruiser loaded too the gills with branches and foliage for the trip to the dump.
Apricot trees means apricot jam, yum! now you'll have to post a photo of the apricot flowers Doc.
Greg

[aster]

Hi Greg,

Just wished to add that the word 'carcass' also is used in architecture and construction, especially when building with wood materials or concrete as the skeleton system that actually holds the building together and intact against the vertical, lateral and diagonal forces that can deform a building and cause a collapse.
Therefore, Dr. Harout is correct in his choice of word as you are when used in the context of dead bodies.

Yildiz

Here are the definitions from a dictionary:
1. the dead body of an animal.
2. Slang. the body of a human being, whether living or dead.
3. the body of a slaughtered animal after removal of the offal.
4. anything from which life and power are gone: The mining town, now a mere carcass, is a reminder of a past era.
5. an unfinished framework or skeleton, as of a house or ship.
6. the body of a furniture piece designed for storage, as a chest of drawers or wardrobe, without the drawers, doors, hardware, etc.
7. the inner body of a pneumatic tire, resisting by its tensile strength the pressure of the air within the tire, and protected by the tread and other parts

[David Kilpatrick]

I have visions of Dr H building something like The Wicker Man for his climbers

David

[Greg Beetham]

Thanks for the English lesson Yildiz
yep I guess carcass could be used in reference too a frame-work alright, but my imagined use of the word would be to describe something in the past tense, like the hulk of an old ship on the ocean floor with the ribs exposed, or an old building that was partly demolished leaving some of the frame visible...that kind of thing, it was a little bit too much of a mental 'jump' for me too get to the fabrication of a new item like a trellis for a climber plant from the description 'carcass', but who knows, other people might have 'got it' like you did....
Greg

ps. I guess I'm off the list now, for a jar of apricot jam.

pps. Haw! I just saw David's reply when I went to post...