Holiday Time Again!

Yellow Flower Macro

I'm going to be heading off on holidays shortly. I probably won't be posting anything here for the next 2 weeks at least. Hope you enjoy your Easter break, and feel free to browse the archives while I'm away. There are 256 posts to date - if you run out of pictures, let me know!

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Golden Flower - He is Risen! (Happy Easter)

Happy Easter!

(Yellow-Gold Flower Macro)

Happy Easter everyone! For anyone who's have been fasting throughout Lent, Easter is a double celebration - no more penance! Well, not quite. There's still plenty of opportunity for good works, but now is the time to rejoice in the Resurrection of The Lord.

I can tell you that one of the things I'm personally looking forward to is being able to eat chocolate! Of course, everyone eats chocolate. "Easter Eggs" are perhaps the best-known symbol of Easter, at least in Western society. But have you ever wondered why? Is there a reason for eggs on easter, or is it just a chance to eat lot's of chocolate without feeling guilty?

I mentioned this last year in my Easter post. Easter Eggs are firstly a symbol of new life, which is the key message of Easter. But they are also tied closely to the traditional observance of Lent. NewAdvent.org explains:

Because the use of eggs was forbidden during Lent, they were brought to the table on Easter Day, coloured red to symbolize the Easter joy.

So there is a reason for eating eggs at easter! It's meant to symbolize both joy, and new life. When somebody points out that you're eating too many eggs this year, you'll be able to tell them exactly why. Try it - you might surprise someone with your knowledge!

But most of all, I hope you will be able to spend this Easter with your family and friends, and experience a truly joyful season, for it is a season of joy.

Happy Easter!

More information:
Easter on Wikipedia
Easter on NewAdvent

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Dandelion Flowers

Dandelion Flowers

It's been quite rainy here recently. This has given the grass - and weeds - a chance to grow. Dandelions in particular have taken over our lawn. This picture shows two dandelion flowers - one open, and one closed. You might also like to check out my picture of the next stage in a dandelion's life.

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Submission - Growing up in the Rainforest

"Submission"
Leaves sprouting from tree stump in the rainforest

"Submission" is the title I chose for this photo in a recent photography competition. I don't know exactly why, but it seems to fit the photo somehow. Perhaps it's the modest curve of the leaves, which give it a rather frail and gentle air. This is another one of my Goomburra shots, taken while walking to the Cascades.

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Spring has come!

We're well into Spring now. In the back yard the peach and apricot flowers are blossoming, and the sun's daily path is approaching the zenith again. The familiar sound of bees buzzing can be heard whenever you step out the door, and butterflies are floating everywhere on the warm breeze. As Wordsworth says in his "Lines written in early Spring":

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of Spring here, wherever you are in the world!

These photos taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Dandelion "Clock" - Wordless Wednesday

Dandelion "Clock"
Wordless Wednesday

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

"A rose by any other name...." - Wordless Wednesday

"A rose by any other name...."
Pink rose flower blooming
Wordless Wednesday

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Curly Vine Tendril - Wordless Wednesday

Curly Green Vine Tendril
Wordless Wednesday

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Mother's Day

"Happy Mother's Day!"
Native Australian Bee with White Flower
Mothers Day

Today is Mother's Day, as you probably already know. People across the globe are honouring the dedication and value of mothers by giving gifts and other signs of appreciation. And with good reason - after all, without mothers none of us would have ever been born!

I'd like to share with you today a little bit of history about Mother's Day that you might not have heard before.

Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia, whose mother had organized women’s groups to promote friendship and health, originated Mother’s Day. On May 12, 1907, she held a memorial service at her late mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia. Within five years virtually every state was observing the day, and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson made it a national holiday. Over time, what had originally been primarily a day of honour became associated with the sending of cards and the giving of gifts, however, and, in protest against its commercialization, Jarvis spent the last years of her life trying to abolish the holiday she had brought into being.

I'd also like to say a big "Thank you" and "Happy Mother's Day" to my own mother today. I know you are reading, so thanks for all you've done!

Information from Britannica Online: Mother’s Day
This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Pumpkin Flower - Wordless Wednesday

Yellow Pumpkin Flower with Radiating Spines
Wordless Wednesday

This Wordless Wednesday photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Green Grass - Wordless Wednesday

Green Grass
Wordless Wednesday

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Green Grass waving in the Breeze - Wordless Wednesday

Grass and Seed Heads waving in the breeze
Wordless Wednesday

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.

Three Leaf Clover (Shamrock) - St. Patrick's Day

Three-leafed Clover (also called a Shamrock)
St. Patrick's Day

March 17th - St. Patrick's Day. Today I thought I'd share with you a short history of St. Patrick. Some of you might know this already, but a lot of people haven't actually heard the reason we remember him on this day.

Patrick was born in Roman Britain. When he was about sixteen he was captured by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. He entered the church, as his father and grandfather had before him, becoming a deacon and a bishop. He later returned to Ireland as a missionary, working in the north and west of the island. Legend credits Patrick with teaching the Irish about the concept of the Trinity by showing people the shamrock, a 3-leaved clover, using it to highlight the Christian belief of 'three divine persons in the one God'. St. Patrick died in 493, and by the eighth century he had become the patron saint of Ireland.

In Australia we celebrate St. Patrick's day by wearing a Shamrock or green clothes, as many of the early inhabitants of Australia were from Ireland. If you come from another country, do you celebrate St. Pat's day as well?

This photo taken with the Kodak C330 digital camera.

Purple Garden Flowers - Purple Sunday

Purple Garden Flowers

Here we are at the last Purple Sunday in Advent. It's now only two days until Christmas, and the celebrations are already beginning. These next few days are an exciting time, especially for children, and we reach a culmination point on Christmas day, when gifts are exchanged and presents unwrapped, and everyone can feel the joy of the season. Although we don't get to see Santa riding through the snow here in Australia, we do get to enjoy all the colours and life of Summer in full bloom.

The flowers in this picture are a garden variety grown in the Spring to add a bit of colour to the area. Right now they are flowering profusely, probably helped by the recent rain, allowing me to capture this shot of a group of them growing together. As always, I would greatly appreciate it if anyone can identify the flowers, as I bought these in a "colour mix" packet of seeds and therfore don't know what they're called.

And now, I would like to set a question to you:
What would you like to see a photo of on this blog for Christmas?
Keep in mind that it's Summer here, so I'm not going to be able to get and winter-like shots, but send in your suggestions and I'll try to get a photo as a Christmas present for you all!

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.
Shutter speed: 1/340, F5.7, ISO 100

Pink Tulip Flower - "Purple" Sunday

Pink "Purple Prince" Tulip Flower - "Purple" Sunday

Now for the surprise.......

Yes, you read it right. Pink Tulip flower. Not Purple. Well, I said I had a surprise in store for this Sunday. This Sunday is not actually Purple! As the wikipedia article about Advent says: "On the 3rd Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, a rose [colour] is used since this Sunday takes on a more joyous tone." So, this being the 3rd "Purple" Sunday, I have a pink, or rose coloured picture for you today.

I got this photo of a pink Tulip blossom at a flower festival earlier this year. We were just entering Spring at the time, and you can see many other brightly coloured flowers in the background of this picture. I used a low aperture (F4.3) while taking this photo to ensure that the flower remained in focus while the background was blurred. I think this is actually a "Tulipa Purple Prince" flower, but it looks pink to me! Please tell me if you know the proper name of this flower, it would be a great help.

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.
Shutter speed: 1/120, F4.3, ISO 200

Purple Weed (Wildflower) - Purple Sunday

Purple Wild Flower - Purple Sunday

Well, it's come round to Sunday again, only 2 Sundays to go until Christmas. As some of you will remember I have started a "Purple Sunday" series of posts, where I choose a purple subject for each Sunday until Christmas (although I'll have a surprise for you next Sunday, check out the wikipedia article for a hint!) Today I've got a photo of some purple wildflowers. I spotted these as I was getting a photo of an Agapantha flower, and snapped a few quick shots as I was passing. I used a low aperture to get the flowers in focus, while blurring the background.

This picture has an interesting pattern of drawing your eyes between the flowers themselves, and the base of the stem. The radiating stems then send your eyes back to the top of the picture again. Try it - it's amazing how much these little things affect the composition of the picture.

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.
Shutter speed: 1/450, F3.7, ISO 100

Agapantha Flower - Purple Sunday

Agapantha Flower - Purple Sunday

Purple is the colour of royalty. As we approach Christmas, we enter the 4 week period traditionally known as "Advent" (from the Latin "to come"). The colour purple, or violet, is used to symbolize joy and expectant hope as we wait for the royal King to come at Christmas.

In keeping with this tradition, I have chosen the purple Agapantha (agapanthus africanus) flower for today's post. Last month you saw an unopened bud, but today the flower is fully open and blooming. The stamen are clearly visible, and the small yellow bunches of pollen at their tip are sharply in focus. The green stems in the background also provide a contrasting relief from the soft purple and white of the petals.

As we enter Summer here in Australia, and America enters Winter, everyone is preparing for Christmas. But I hope that amongst your shopping and decorating, you can also take time to experience the "joy" of the season, and have a look at the wonder of nature around you.

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.
Shutter speed: 1/89, F8.0, ISO 100

Thistle Spikes - Wordless Wednesday

Wordless WednesdayThistle Spikes - an Unopened Flower

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.
Shutter speed: 1/56, F8.0, ISO 100

Daisy Flower Close Up - Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Close up photo of a Daisy Flower's Center

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.
Shutter speed 1/30, F8.0, ISO 200

Purple Agapantha Flower (Agapanthus africanus)

Purple Agapantha Flower Blooming

As it's Spring time here in Australia, all the flowers are blossoming and the trees are growing fruit. One of the variety of flowers blooming here at the moment is the Agapantha flower, properly called the Agapanthus africanus. These purple flowers are just starting to bud - when they have opened they will turn into a loosely hanging bunch of bright purple blossoms.

The photo shown above depicts an agapantha flower that is just beginning to blossom - the left half has started to unfold while the right section is still a bud. The green of the flower blend in with the green grass in the background, and contrasts nicely with the purple blossoms just beginning to peek out of the flower. A this photo was taken with an aperture of F4.9, the background remains out of focus, thus keeping the attention drawn to the flower itself.

It was overcast when I took this photo, so the picture has a very soft look to it. There was still enough sunlight available for me to avoid using a tripod, but there weren't any hard shadows on the underside of the flower - perfect lighting conditions. I'll try to track this flower for you and get some pictures of it when it's fully developed - in the meantime you might want to check out last Summer's agapantha shots.

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.
Shutter speed 1/280, F4.9, ISO 100