Flowers 2015

[Birma]

The start of the annual wildflower season for me is all about Snowdrops. Doesn't seem to be a great year for them; I think they like a colder winter than we have had up to now. I found a couple of nice clumps in the woods this morning.

The first one is a close-up for the extreme shallow dof and bokeh. The second is a more standard view of how they grow together in small clumps.

2015 The Knapp - Snowdrop 1 by Birm, on Flickr

2015 The Knapp - Snowdrop 4 by Birm, on Flickr

Both A99. First with Tamron 90mm macro and extension tube. Second with the SAL 135 STF.

[Birma]

This pictures with the A900 are wonderful, JBTaylor! Great colours

[jbtaylor]

Thank you Birma.
Your closeup above is a dream. I love it. Would cropping at the top just a little help it? I can't see the entire image on my screen.
JT

[the_hefay]

JT and Andy those are some great shots. JT, I really like that first shot; something about the horizontal layout just grabs my attention. Andy, I like your second one best because of the natural surroundings. The leaves and moss on the forest floor really complete that shot.

[Birma]

Thanks JT. I'll have s think about the crop.

Thanks The Hefay. I like to try both approaches to see what I end up with

[jbtaylor]

Birma,
Trust yourself. I was just thinking.

[Pitter]

This is Brugmansia species. It has a long history possible going back ten thousand years as a psychoactive plant in South America. Scopolomine, a knock out drug used in robberies in Colombia is made from it. A curious thing I have just learned about it is that it is a cultivar and has no purely wild antecedents, occurring invariably in the presence of human populations. It is not even definitively proven what pollinates it though moths are suspected. Yet another interesting feature is that emanates a a strong "perfumed soap" aroma only at night.I have six trees on my property and they grow easily from sticks placed in the ground.

[sury]

Thank you Jeff. Great shots, Pitter, JB and Andy.


Sury

[the_hefay]

What a fascinating plant Pitter. The tendrils on the petals lend themselves nicely to its history as a psychedelic plant.

Here's a cactus in Mexico; perhaps a prickly pear variety, although the fruit and blossom are different than the prickly pear I'm familiar with.

[Pitter]

Prosthechea pamplonense. A wild orchid blooming in my woods. (a6000 & 24 1.

[Birma]

Love the wildflower pictures, The Hefay and Pitter.

[Pitter]

Love your cactus flower photo The Hefay. There are probably many species of Prickly Pear. Mexicans eat them but it's a lot of work getting rid of the spines.

[the_hefay]

Thanks Pitter and Andy. And that particular cactus is eaten there. I guess they skin it and fry it. I didn't taste this particular one but did have the opportunity to eat a different cactus a few times.

Anyways, back to the thread. There isn't much blooming this way yet so here's a columbine from 2007 with my A100.

[Pitter]

Sobralia virginalis. A large flowered orchid that grows along banks. Leaf stalks can be three meters long.

[Pitter]

A Centropogon. I don't know what species.