To stand out from the crowd [Red and Green Asparagus Vine Berries]

Green and Red Asparagus vine berries

Green Asparagus vine berries with a single red berry

This is a nice fresh close-up I took on one of these cold winter mornings we've been having lately. The berries of the "Asparagus Vine" in the picture are mostly green, except for one red berry near the center of the photo. This is another example of how just those little everyday things that we don't notice much can feature in some great photos.

This photo has a slightly different composition to most of the photos I have posted recently. It's major "eye-grabber" is the red berry in the center, which stands out from the rest of the berries scattered over the picture. The vine's stems all lead downwards from the top of the picture, and help to "cement" the berries together. The sharper section near the red berry also helps to draw attention to the subject of the photo.

This photo taken with the Kodak C330 camera.

Related Photos:
Odd One Out - Camphor-laurel leaves in contrast
Balloon Vine flower with water droplets

Death of a Gum Tree

"Blood" (sap) pouring out of a dying Eucalyptus tree

Sap flowing from a dying Eucalyptus tree

This close-up photo of a dying Eucalyptus ("Gum") tree provides the most vivid contrast I have seen in any of my photos so far. The deep red sap oozing from the side of the tree is it's equivalent to blood - the tree is slowly dying, as many of the gum trees around our place are now. In fact, this is the third tree in our 1.5 acre block to go, one by fire, the other by drought, and now this tree.

The two halves of this photo provide a stunning example of contrast, with the vivid red and brown on one side and the pale white on the other. This naturally-occurring phenomena has created an excellent contrast in this picture, and also helps to draw the focus to the right hand side of the image, where the bleeding sap forms one of the principle subjects of the photo.

The photo has 3 primary components:

1. The white section
2. The brown bark section
3. The bleeding sap

These are the most important parts of this picture, and combine to create the whole image. Another part which could be included separately is the set of 2 small indentations in the center of the photo - they also provide a resting point which the eye is drawn to while scanning the photo.

This photo taken with the Kodak C330 camera.

Related Photos:
Odd One Out - Camphor-laurel leaves in contrast
Prawns Anyone? (Prawn Heads)
Prickle Resting on a Leaf - A sign of contradiction

The Egg Plant shows it's true colours... [Purple Egg Plant Flower]

Purple Egg Plant Flower

Close-up of a purple Egg plant flower

Here's an interesting question for you: Who knew that the Egg Plant has purple flowers? I didn't until I saw the small plant springing out with lot's of small buds, which grew into flowers. This photo is a close-up of one such flower.

This photo has an unusual composition, although all the elements have been seen in other pictures. The flower itself is plainly the focus of the photo, occupying about 1/3rd of the image in the very center. The stems of the egg plant, however, are adding an interesting touch to the picture by creating a "funnel" converging on a point just below and to the left of the flower. This focus point is offset by the yellow center of the flower which points to the opposite lower corner, thus creating a harmony which keeps the focus on the egg plant flower.

Again, this photo only has three major colours - green, purple and yellow. Note that although yellow occupies only a small section of the image, it is nonetheless one of the major features of the picture from an observer's perspective.

Photo taken with the Kodak C330 camera.

Related Posts:
Bee landing on lavender flower
Hairy Processionary Caterpillar photo
Close-up of yellow Pak-Choy flowers
Balloon vine flower with water droplets

Best Bits - The best of Nature Photography on Davids-Pics

Best Bits is finally here! This collection is a selection of the best photos posted to this blog in the past 2 months as selected by viewers. The ratings were gathered from a combination of the rating bar at the bottom of each post, and emailed submissions. There were a few firm favourites, especially the Odd one Out - Camphor-laurel leaves post, and others varied between submissions. I would like to thank all who submitted their favourites to this collection, especially Stephanie who made the first submission. Also thanks to those who use the rating bar below each post - this system has been a great success. Well, without any further ado, here are the best photos:

Odd one out - Camphor-laurel leaves in contrast

This one was a firm favourite. The single green camphor-laurel leaf in the middle of the photo provides a stark contrast to the dead brown leaves surrounding it.
9 votes

Hairy Processionary Caterpillar Photo

This photo of a single "Processionary Caterpillar" was taken during the popular "Caterpillar Migration" episode. The photo is sharp and clear - definitely one of the best.
5 votes

Balloon vine flower with water droplets

A great close-up of a balloon vine flower with water droplets resting on it's petals. Also see the ordinary Balloon Vine Flower
3 votes

Sunset vista

This landscape photo was taken in the Australian bush. It depicts a spectacular sunset, with a bright blaze of sunlight showing through the trees and clouds.
1 vote

Prawns anyone? (Prawn Heads)

Here's a different perspective on your favourite seafood - these tiny creatures certainly merit a closer examination...
5 votes

These are the 5 best pictures from David's Nature Photography Gallery in the past 2 months, as selected by viewers. I hope you enjoy them, and feel free to send in your own favourite photos for inclusion in the next "best bits" collection!

Close-up of a hen-pecked Chook's feathers

Hen-pecked chook's feathers

Stumps of feathers from a hen-pecked chook

Our 12 laying hens have recently been attacking each other to various degrees, and this is the result of a few close encounters with sharp beaks. It's an unusual subject for a photo, but that's a big part of photography - taking a different view at everyday things. This photo was just taken on the spur of the moment when I saw one of the hens being transferred to a new cage.

The curves of the feather stems concentrate towards the middle-right section of the image.
They form a sort of recurring pattern which does seem to have some order about it. The single remaining feather in the middle of the bunch of short "stumps" brings the sense of contrast in again. The whole picture centers on the basis of curves and two colors - blue/gray and brown/orange.

Well, it's already the 14th - entries to the "best bits" survey closed yesterday. I'm sorting through the entries and creating a collection of the best photos from the past 45 days, so look out for a post soon with the results!

This photo taken with the Kodak C330 camera.

Related Posts:
Prawns Anyone? (Prawn Heads)
Bee landing on lavender flower
Hairy Processionary Caterpillar

Close-up of yellow Pak-Choy flowers

Yellow Pak-Choy flowers close-up

Pak-Choy plant with yellow flowers

This photo shows the flowers of the "Pak-Choy" plant, of which the leaves are edible and taste like spicy lettuce. We've had quite a bit of rain here lately (over 20mls, which is a lot in the current drought conditions!), so the lower leaves of the plant are sprinkled with water droplets.

Notice that there are only two major colours in this picture - yellow and green. This is an interesting method of drawing the subject out from the background - the simple colour scheme helps to keep the eye attracted to the essential elements of the photo.

The closing date of the "best bits" survey is approaching - I've only got 2 submissions so far, so please send in your favourite photos soon! See details in the "Alerts" section on the right. Thank you!

This photo taken with the Kodak C330 camera.

Related Posts:
Blade of grass with water droplets
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Flower with water droplets

Twisting jungle of "Mother-in-law's Tongue"

Twisting jungle of "Mother-in-law's Tongue" plant

Twisting jungle of leaves

Here is another picture with a lot of repetitive patterns in it. I just saw this mini-jungle of tall, twisting leaves and shot a photo of it on the spur of the moment - it just goes to show how not all good photos are "set up".

Somewhat unkindly, the plant featured in this photo is commonly known as "Mother-in-law's Tongue", due to the fact that is is nearly impossible to get rid of! I'm not sure of it's real name, but I'll try to track it down soon. The leaves, although all very similar, also contrast in their details. The repetitive pattern on each leaf is slightly different from one to the other, defining the edges of the leaves and breaking up the visual "flow".

This photo was taken with the Kodak C330 camera.

Related Posts:
Blade of grass with water droplets
Odd one out - Camphor-laurel leaves in contrast

Blade of grass with water droplets

Blade of Grass with small water droplets

I'm back! I've finally got openSUSE Linux installed and functioning properly, so this blog is now officially live again!

This is an extreme close-up photo of a single blade of grass covered in small droplets of water. The photo was taken from about 1-2 cm away from the piece of grass - the closest focus range that the Sony DSC-H1 could achieve, and indeed the closest any camera could get without touching the subject!

Looking at the composition again, the eye is immediately drawn to the sharply focused water droplets in the middle of the picture. The image gives the impression of freshness and beauty, and the crisp edges of the blade of grass in the middle also add a sense of capturing the moment. The deep green of the grass stands out clearly against the rich brown of the undergrowth in the background.

This image is yet another "post-rain" photograph - the high saturation and the presence of water droplets are typical of this style of photo.
This photo was taken with the Sony DSC-H1 camera on macro mode, high aperture.

Attention all visitors:
To celebrate the 2,000th visitor to this blog, I am going to post a "best bits" collection of the best photos from the past 45 days. It would be great if I could get some feedback about which pictures are the favourites from this time period. I'm looking for about 5 selections, so have a browse through the old posts, and email me (davids-pics at temporaryforwarding dot com) with your picks from the past 45 days. Thank you!
P.S. Entries close 13th June

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Balloon vine flower with water droplets
Flower with water droplets
Prickle Resting on a leaf - a sign of contradiction