The Author – Bart Busschots
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Dec
21
Photo of the Week 44 – Amphibious Bistort
Filed Under Photography on December 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’m not even sure this is a good photo technically, I think the depth of field is actually too shallow, but I’ve always liked the composition and the green of the bokeh, so I’m counting it as one of my best regardless.
The flower is a somewhat strange one that grows on both land and water, hence it’s name, Amphibious Bistort (Persicaria amphibia). I really like it’s spikes of pinky-white flowers, and it’s very common in Cavan where we have no shortage of either wet soil or water for it to thrive in!
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Exposure: 1/500 sec
- Focal Length: 55mm
- Focal Ratio: F8
- ISO: 200
- Camera Mode: Auto
Nov
16
Photo of the Week 39 – Autumn Butterfly
Filed Under Photography on November 16, 2008 | 1 Comment
When you think of butterflies you generally think of bright colours and pretty patterns. The Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) certainly doesn’t spring to mind, what with it being small and brown. However, I’ve developed a real soft spot for these little fellas. There is something about the texture of their wings that I really like, and the patterns on their mostly brown wings can be very pleasing. They are also among the smallest of the butterflies we have in Ireland. As their name suggests they tend to hang out in wooded areas where they are very well camouflaged. I got a lot of pictures of these guys that I really like but this one is my very favourite because to me it just captures the spirit of autumn perfectly (even if I do say so myself).
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 55-200mm
- Exposure: 1/500 sec
- Focal Length: 200mm
- Focal Ratio: F11
- ISO: 400
- Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
- Exposure Compensation: -1.0
Aug
31
Photo of the Week 28 – Hawthorn Blossoms
Filed Under Photography on August 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Each year in May Irish hedgerows get painted white by Hawthorn blossoms. Each flower is tiny, but a few million of them soon add up! This is a close-up shot of a small bunch of blossoms near the start of the season.
For those of you interested in such things here are some of the technical details of this 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: -0.33
[tags]Maynooth, Kildare, Ireland, Hawthorn, flower, blossom, white, photography[/tags]
Aug
17
Photo of the Week 26 – Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly
Filed Under Photography on August 17, 2008 | 1 Comment
Just because something is common, doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful. After the Cabbage White the Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is probably our most common butterfly, but I also think it’s one of our most beautiful. You can’t miss the lovely reds, but look closer and you’ll also see wonderful bright blue spots along the edges of the wings. These guys are strongly attracted to a lot of garden flowers so keep an eye out for them in your back yards! I snapped this one while it was feeding on some Thyme that was flowering.
For those of you interested in such things here are some of the technical details of this shot:
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Exposure: 1/160 sec
- Focal Length: 55mm
- Focal Ratio: F8
- ISO: 200
- Camera Mode: Auto
- Exposure Compensation: 0.0
[tags]butterfly, Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae, Cavan, Ireland, photography[/tags]
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]