The Author – Bart Busschots
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Aug
3
Photo of the Week 24 – Large Bindweed
Filed Under Photography on August 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Technically this flower is a terrible weed, you really don’t want this in your garden, but it’s still beautiful! This shot is clearly processed but I hope you’ll agree that it’s been done tastefully. What I’ve done is desaturate everything in the shot apart from the flowers and leaves of the Bindweed so that it stands out from the grass that it was growing amidst.
I got this shot while mountain biking along the towpath of the Royal Canal between Maynooth and Leixlip, or to be more precise, between Pike’s Bridge and Deey Bridge.
For those of you interested in such things here are some of the technical details of the original shot:
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Exposure: 1/320 sec
- Focal Length: 55mm
- Focal Ratio: F8
- ISO: 200
- Camera Mode: Auto
- Exposure Compensation: 0.0
The processing was done using the GIMP. I used this image in my tutorial demonstrating this technique.
[tags]wild flower, flower, blossom, Bindweed, photography, Maynooth, Kidlare, Ireland[/tags]
Jul
29
Photo of the Week 23 – Dog Rose
Filed Under Photography on July 29, 2008 | 1 Comment
When it comes to Irish wild flowers I’ve always considered the wild, or Dog, Rose (Rosa canina agg.) to be a real treasure. They’re quite rare, and in my mind, spectacular. They range from subtle pinks to pure white, this one is about as pink as they get. Compared to the fancy blossoms on modern garden roses the Dog Rose is exceptionally plain, but I like it’s simplicity, almost makes the modern garden varieties seem vulgar and over-the-top.
This shot was taken in the extensive grounds of what’s now the Farnham Radisson SAS hotel in Cavan. It was once the Farnham Estate and the lands contain some fabulous woodlands which are now open to the public. It’s at the edge of this woodland that I snapped this fine example of a Dog Rose.
For those of you interested in such things here are some of the technical details of the original shot:
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Exposure: 1/250 sec
- Focal Length: 55mm
- Focal Ratio: F8
- ISO: 200
- Camera Mode: Auto
- Exposure Compensation: 0.0
[tags]wild flower, flower, blossom, rose, Dog Rose, photography, Cavan, Ireland[/tags]
Jun
2
Photo of the Week 15 – Wild Cherry Blossom
Filed Under Photography on June 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment
something I’ve come to realise over the last few months is that a little cropping can make a huge difference. In particular I find that I love working with square crops. This is an example of a square crop I really love. It’s a shot of a little cluster of Cherry Blossoms on a wild Cherry tree near my parent’s house.
For those of you interested in such things here are some of the technical details of the shot:
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Exposure: 1/1600 sec
- Focal Length: 55mm
- Focal Ratio: F5.6
- ISO: 400
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
- Exposure Compensation: 0.0
[tags]Photography, Cavan, Ireland, Cherry, Wild Cherry, blossom, flower[/tags]
May
19
Photo of the Week 13 – A Horse Chestnut Blossom
Filed Under Photography on May 19, 2008 | 1 Comment
This week’s photo of the week is a little special in that it co-incides with my camera’s first birthday. Well, rather with the first anniversary of the day it arrived.
Anyhow, last week’s photo of the week served as an example of how some of your best shots come from pure chance. You see an opportunity and you shoot, no planning, no preparation just a spur of the moment capture. This week’s photo of the week is pretty much the complete opposite. This is the culmination of an extended effort to capture the beauty of the flower spikes of the Horse Chestnut tree.
These flowers proved hard to capture well because of their subtle detail and dazzling white colour. They are mostly white but the centre of each flower is either pink or yellow and you get both colours within the one flowering stalk. There is also a veritable sea of stamens sticking out at all angles which must be captured too.
I tried quite a few different approaches until I finally got this shot last Thursday. It captures all the details of the flowers as well as the wonderfully majestic leaves. You should look at the larger version to really see the detail in the flowers.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again!
For those of you interested in such things here are some of the technical details of the shot:
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 55-200mm
- Exposure: 1/1250 sec
- Focal Length: 200mm
- Focal Ratio: F8
- ISO: 400
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
- Exposure Compensation: -0.67
[tags]Photography, Maynooth, Ireland, Horse Chestnut, tree, flower[/tags]