Friday Photos

I usually post most of my photographs on my photo blog, but here are some for today – all are macro shots of insects taken in the garden this morning …….if you click on any photo it will be enlarged, and then all become a slideshow.

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Australian Native Grevillea

I recently visited a bush garden on the other side of Melbourne, primarily to see the native orchids that were growing naturally by the hundreds.  I was also impressed by the cultivated garden around the house, all native plants, it was full of birds feeding on the flowers.  Photographer that I am, the long drive home was filled with thoughts of where I could put some of these bird attracting plants in my garden and eventually, with luck,  have a wider variety of birds to photograph.  Those than know this garden will realise that this is a radical step for this once keen gardener, having spent years developing a garden with mostly deciduous trees and shrubs, camellias, roses, perennials and other non-Australian plants!  Anyway, for those readers not familiar with the exotic beauty of some natives, here are some shots of Grevillea that I purchased during the week.  I think they will be a very satisfactory addition.
PS – Folk from overseas are asking if these are orchids – no they are not.  Grevillea are native evergreen flowering shrubs which vary in size from small and low prostrate growing plants to many metres tall like trees.  Check the Grevillea link here for more info.

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Photo Book

I have recently published a book of photographs using the online company called Blurb with which I am very pleased.  They are all photos taken in my garden, mostly macros of flowers, insects and frogs, and the book may be previewed via the link above, or the side widget.  It is also available for purchase, but may I assure you that I have not put any mark-up on the price, it is exactly what it cost me -  it is a large landscape book 13 x 11 inches with 80 pages with quality papers, so it is not cheap.  I really do not expect anyone to purchase it, but you might enjoy having a look!

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Petals

 

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First for the Season

I seem to have been away from these pages for a while – just doing other things, nothing special but lots of photography some of which has made it to Fractions in Time and Flickr, so do have a look if you are interested.  I’m busy with the Indian purse stitching, and have made a couple of other small items but have nothing to show at the moment.

There have been butterflies around for a while, but these are the first photos for the season…I found this one just sitting on a leaf – probably trying to warm up or dry out.  The weather here has been cold and wet for days!  I have tried to identify the species, but cannot find anything that looks quite like it.  I love the blue eyes!

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It’s been raining again…..

Round the garden, between the showers……..I do love those drops!

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New Leaves

The internet is awash with beautiful photographs of Northern Hemisphere Autumn colours in all their riotous glory, while down under Spring is well on its way – but where I live has a cool climate, and so Spring comes a little later and more slowly.  The new growth on my trees has a more gentle beauty, particularly when shot in the early morning light.  Enjoy……….

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Sunday Market….

Despite the threat of rain this morning,  I went to the Daylesford Market, as I often do on Sundays.  It was much quieter than usual, with fewer stalls and people – I guess because it is Father’s Day and folk were indulging their Fathers for breakfast in bed or somewhere special.

This is the what I found, and just had to bring home.  Isn’t it lovely?

It is a Brownie No 2 Folding Autographic camera from about 1916, when it cost $10.13, with an additional $1.25 for the leather case.  This sort of camera was made by Kodak between 1916 and 1926 when production ceased, and newer models were developed.   I even managed to find a contemporary advertisment for them – on an eBay listing where the ad was for sale.

I plan to use it as a photo prop in future photography, creating images such as this one.

They say that three of anything makes a collection……..I now have two vintage cameras………and on the look-out for more??  Maybe.

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Magic Mushroom

Autumn is such a wonderful season for finding fungi of different types…..so you can look forward to more pictures as they pop up.

This is the first of these for this year – Amantia muscaria or Fly Agaric they are poisonous but rarely fatal, and known for having hallucinogenic properties.  Pretty, the stuff of fairy tale illustrations and apparently well loved by slugs and snails as it is sometimes difficult to find one which has not been nibbled.

(This photo has been photoshopped and has some added texture.)

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Some Shots on Sunday…

Still no stitching to show, but the garden at long last is as good as it is going to be for the local garden club…..they come on Tuesday so then I can relax again and get going on something textile instead of weedy!  I have taken a total of ten trailer loads of rubbish to the tip, and it is a good feeling to know most things are now done – in good time too, as it has rained for the last couple of days.

Some recent photos though, these are possibly the last dragonfly hatchings for the season.  I took these three days ago and there have been none since.

And a few from the garden, there are not many flowers left now, particularly after all the cutting back – these were taken early in the morning when drenched with dew.

 

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