There has been art, but there has been no completion of any one art piece for over a month, so yeah, a little frustrated. So here is something a little different.
The other day as I was picking my daughter up from school, I noticed a patch of moss on the sidewalk. It is the middle of winter here and all the boggy lowgrowers are up and happy. This particular patch of moss had an array of species sharing the spot, so I made a note to grab my camera at some point and take some piccies. I’ve always been fascinated by the small, lots of overlooked snatches of beauty very few see.
Anyways, today I remembered and took the camera. After dropping off my eldest and herding my youngest, I knelt down on the sidewalk and took a few shots. I’m sure the other parents thought I was a kook, but at this point, I am beyond caring.
Unfortunately none of the photos really came out well, so I’ll have to venture forth again. However it wasn’t a wasted endeavour, because I found these on the school grounds.
Flowers of one of the Ironbark gums. I just fell in love with the colours and there may be a painting in my future. I’m thinking that I might get out with the camera more. Inspiration is out there, I can find it anywhere.
When I got home, I scrounged around my backyard for moss to give the photos another attempt.
This is all I could get at hal reasonable focus. I think I’ll be visiting a nearby national park to see if I can get some better shots. Or just practise in the backyard some more 😀 I see moss paintings in my future too 😀
Then, of course, I went for a wander in the front garden.
Winter is a time of growing in Adelaide. growing weeds, mostly, but in amongst the soursobs, my Australian native garden still has some beautiful moments to reveal. The above is a Grevillea banksii flower just opening. This small tree (ours is a dwarf form, so it won’t become much of a tree, but in its native environment, this is normally a tree) is a native to Queensland where they sometimes use it for a street tree. It battles the lower temperatures down here, but ours is a survivor (everything in our garden is a survivor otherwise it would be dead from neglect).
And our dryandra, after suffering from weed invasion for many years has once again flowered.
So the signs say I should get out and photograph more. Sunny winter days are brilliant for photography because the lighting can be excellent. Summer sun is far too bright, but winter sun can be lovely. Not to mention the fantastic displays the sky puts on in winter with roiling clouds and dramatic washes of rain. What more could an artist ask for?
Best wishes,
Liz
Comments
13 responses to “A little photography”
Beautiful flowers in winter… ahh…. maybe I should emigrate!
Most of Australia has a mild or non-existent winter. Where I am we have a mediterranean clime – hot summers, cool winters with rain (in theory). It rarely drops below 0C here ever and it does not snow (I’ve never seen the stuff). There is always something in flower, supports all the nectar feeding birds and mammals 😀
Surely something is in flower in winter over there? Or do you have snow (which pretty much precludes anything growing at all)?
Liz
Liz, you’ve captured some lovely photos you’ve showing that here, in Australia winter can be a time of colour. Photographing macro can be frustrating sometimes, but the flowering gum is gorgeous.
Thankyou, Suzi 😀
Follow the gums, the birds do. There is always a gum flowering somewhere at any time of the year. They keep our nectar feeders fed 😀
I love macro, but I guess I’m asking too much of my camera (it’s getting old). I might have to see if Hubby’s fancy smancy camera can do better.
Liz
Fancy schmancy sounds good to me! Sometimes I have to refocus on a distant object to recalibrate the macro so it can understand which part of the plant I want in focus. Also changing the settings can help so that the camera starts thinking again! Wish we humans were the same or could say to others in our lives “not focussing well today!” or “camera upload full” or even “Battery empty”!!! Enjoy it, as an artist who paints so well you have a lovely eye for photography. 😀
Have you tried Instagram?
Hi, Shay. No I haven’t as yet. Recommend it?
Liz
Definitely! Love that it is so simple and straightforward! My username is shaynola.
I am lucky as I have seen the art you have been doing lately and it is wonderful.
The gum flowers are gorgeous. I love the colours
Thanks, hon. You are too kind to me 😀
Wow that last shot is stunning!
Thankyou! I checked out your website, I love the fly shot and the bay with the ferries/boat trails across it. I’ve taken photos of flies. They are a hidden beauty – piccies here . I don’t have the equipment to get quite as close as you have, but the colours are worth the attempt. Would be easier if the subject stayed still too!
Thanks for taking the time to see and comment on my work 😀
Best wishes,
Liz
Hi Liz,
Hope you’re travelling well and 2013 has been good to you so far. You sure have an amazing eye, your photos are simply exquisite!
I’m just popping in to let you know about a little #reverb-like blog challenge my friend Meredith and I are offering from August 21 to 31. It’s called August Moon and it looks all set to be magic!
We’d be so excited if you joined us. You can find out more here: http://www.katmcnally.com/p/august-moon-13.html
Take care,
Kat xx