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The sunflower that's not a Sunflower [Pumpkin Flower]
2007-07-12 03:20:00
Bright yellow Pumpkin vine flowerYellow Pumpkin Flow er Whenever I look at this flower I'm reminded of the sun. The vibrant yellow color and the flower's ray-like petals are like an ancient Greek portrayal of the sun, with it's flares of yellow shining out from the center orb. However, this flower is really only a humble Pumpkin flower, shown here in front of the Pumpkin vine's leaves.This is very much a "standard" type of shot from a compositional standpoint - the main object of the photo is centered in the frame, and the background is very plain so as not to attract attention. This photo is an example of how you don't really need any fancy framing or exposure modes and settings to take a good photo - this photo was taken in point-and-shoot mode!This photo taken with the Sony DSC-H1 camera.Related Photos:Balloon Vine flower with water dropletsThe Egg Plant shows it's true colors... [Purple Egg Plant Flower]The Modest Blossom [Violet Flower]Other blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blog...
More About: Sunflower , Lowe

A Sign of Contradiction 2 [Dead Leaves with Clover]
2007-07-10 05:37:00
A Sign of Contradiction 2 - Dead Leaves with CloverDead Leaves with CloverHere is another contrast-themed photo for today. I've found a lot of these lately, starting with A Sign of Contradiction - Prickle Resting on a Leaf. I found this close-up out on the back lawn after the gutters had been cleaned - this is certainly an unusual subject for a photo!The dead, broken Camphor-Laurel leaves in the foreground of this picture stand out both in color and meaning from the bright green, healthy Clover in the background. The dead leaves give a dull, mundane feeling; the sprouting clover conveys an expression of life and joy.In terms of composition, this picture is pretty simple. The dull brown leaves comprise the lower half of the image, while the upper portion is dominated by the green clover. The pile of leaves has no special arrangement, however the irregular shape, size, and position of each leaf does help to break up an otherwise monotonous subject.This photo taken with the Kodak C330...
More About: Aves

The Modest Blossom
2007-07-07 11:55:00
The "modest" Violet BlossomA Violet FlowerFor this picture of a Violet Flower, I think I've found a poem which pretty much describes it:The Violetby Jane TaylorDown in a green and shady bedA modest violet grew,It's stalk was bent, it hung it's head,As if to hide from view.And yet it was a lovely flower,It's color bright and fair;It might have graced a rosy bowerInstead of hiding there.Yet there it was content to bloom,In modest tints arrayed;And there diffused it's sweet perfume,Withing the silent shade.Then let me to the valley go,This pretty flower to see;That I may also learn to growIn sweet humility.Other blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blogs Internet eX-plorer 8
More About: Modest , Odes

The Autumn Spirit [Maple Leaves]
2007-07-02 06:18:00
Maple Leaves on GrassMaple Leaves on Grass - The A utumn Spirit We're midway through Winter here in Australia, so most of our trees have lost their leaves. But one of the Maple Trees we have on our 1.5 acre property was planted out of season, so it's only dropping it's leaves now, at the start of July. This is a photo of one of the Maple tree's leaves, with an array of other leaves on the grass in the background. This particular picture looks quite impressive when viewed full-screen - you can click on the picture or the text below it to view the full-size photo.This picture, like the popular "She sells Sea Shells" photo, makes effective use of the tilting method. In this method, a photo is deliberately taken at an angle to the ground or horizon, usually about 45 degrees. This creates an interesting effect which is used a lot in modern graphics work.The other striking feature of this photo is the way the single leaf in the foreground stands out in vibrant simplicity from the backgr...
More About: Autumn , Autum

To stand out from the crowd [Red and Green Asparagus Vine Berries]
2007-06-28 07:16:00
Green and Red Asparagus vine berriesGreen Asparagus vine berries with a single red berryThis 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 contrastBalloon Vine flower wi...
More About: Green , Berries , The Crowd , Stand Out

Death of a Gum Tree
2007-06-25 05:45:00
"Blood" (sap) pouring out of a dying Eucalyptus treeSap flowing from a dying Eucalyptus treeThis 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:The white sectionThe brown bark sectionThe bleeding sapThese are the most important parts of this p...
More About: Death , Tree

The Egg Plant shows it's true colours... [Purple Egg Plant Flower]
2007-06-19 12:46:00
Purple Egg Plan t Flower Close-up of a purple Egg plant flowerHere'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...
More About: Colours , Purple , True

Best Bits - The best of Nature Photography on Davids-Pics
2007-06-15 02:50:00
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 votesHairy Processionary Caterpillar PhotoThis photo of a single "Pr...
More About: Nature , Photography , Nature photography , Davi , Natur

Close-up of a hen-pecked Chook's feathers
2007-06-14 07:18:00
Hen-pecked chook's feathersStumps of feathers from a hen-pecked chookOur 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...
More About: Close , Close-up , Close up , Feathers , Feather

Close-up of yellow Pak-Choy flowers
2007-06-07 11:49:00
Yellow Pak-Choy flowers close-upPak-Choy plant with yellow flowersThis 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 dropletsBalloon vine flower with water dropletsFlower with water dropletsOther blogs: The Big Byte...
More About: Flowers , Close , Yellow , Close-up , Close up

Twisting jungle of "Mother-in-law's Tongue"
2007-06-06 09:18:00
Twisting jungle of "Mother -in-law's Tong ue " plantTwisting jungle of leavesHere 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 dropletsOdd one out - Camphor-laurel leaves in contrastOther blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blogs Internet eX-plorer 8
More About: Jungle , Jung

Blade of grass with water droplets
2007-06-03 07:41:00
Blade of Grass with small water dropletsI'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.Thi...
More About: Water , Blade , Droplet , Drop

WOW! Another Millennium already!
2007-05-30 08:59:00
Breaking news: I just got my 2,000th visitor! It's only 42 days since I got my first thousand, which was 4.5 months after my blog started, so this site has taken a huge leap in popularity since then.Again, I thank all the people who have visited my blog or posted comments to contribute to this millennium - you help keep this site alive. Any feedback is welcome, so send in your ideas about what you think could be improved. I recently installed a content rating system at the bottom of every post, so please take the time to give a rating to any pictures you find interesting.To finish, here are some statistics for my blog:Total posts: 109Total visitors: 2,000Most popular search engine query: agapantha flowerTotal comments: 45Estimated maintanance time spent: Over 2,700 minutes (about 50 hours)Average visit length: 1:52 minutesAnyway, gotta go now, I've just about set up my linux system so I'll be back posting any day now!P.S. When I get the time, I'll make a "best bits" collection o...
More About: Ready

I'm still alive!
2007-05-28 01:03:00
This is just a quick post, I'm backing up my computer and migrating to SUSE Linux at the moment, so I haven't got much time to post stuff for a while. I wanted to put a photo up with this post, but Blogger and Picasa have both crashed on me! Oh well, you might want to take a browse through some of my old photos until I've sorted all this stuff out. Just take a look 'round the "categories" (scroll down - it'll be on the right side of the page), or use the Search box at the top right to look through the 80+ photos to date.See ya soon,DavidOther blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blogs Internet eX-plorer 8
More About: Alive

Odd one out - Camphor-laurel leaves in contrast
2007-05-25 08:06:00
Single green Camphor-laurel leaf in contrast with many brown leavesGreen Camphor-laurel leaf amongst dead ones This is a very contrasting picture of a green camphor-laurel leaf resting amidst many brown leaves. It was taken with a desaturizing filter to remove some of the color from the dead leaves, but the single green leaf still stands out clearly from the rest.Related Posts:Prawns Anyone? (seafood scraps)Prickle resting on a leaf - A sign of contradictionFollowing in his footsteps... (pawprints in the sand)Drought (cracked earth)Posted to http://davids-pics.blogspot.com on 25th May 2007Other blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blogs Internet eX-plorer 8
More About: Contrast , Aurel , Leaves , Aves

Prawns anyone? (Prawn Heads)
2007-05-23 11:26:00
Prawn Heads and other scrapsLeftover prawn headsHere is a very different perspective on this well-known seafood! This is a close-up photo of the scraps left over after a meal of prawns. The prawns' heads and tails are all that is left.The large black eye is the most outstanding part of the prawn heads shown here, especially the center one. The natural body curves are also a feature of this photo, and the detailed look at this common but little-examined creature provides plenty of interesting items for examination.This is yet another example of what amazing photographic subjects can be found just by looking around us. So much of what we see is a wide-angle view of the world - sometimes we can discover many more insights when we just stop and look under our noses!This photo was taken with the Kodak C330 camera.Related Posts:Bee landing on lavender flowerHairy Processionary CaterpillarKangaroo caught mid-air during jumpNote: Remember to rate this picture (see below)!Other blogs: The B...
More About: Prawns

New Content Rating System
2007-05-21 09:07:00
I've been asked a few times whether there is any way to rate the pictures that people see on this site. So far, there hasn't been any way to rate an individual picture (apart from writing a comment), so I got working on a way to assign each picture a "star rating", giving users a chance to share their opinion on a photo.I have set up a rating system with spotback.com which does just that. At the bottom of each post, there is a small "widget" showing the overall rating of the post, and each user can simply click in their own rating if so desired.If anyone has any feedback on this rating system, you can post a comment or email me with your ideas for improvement. One major area of consideration is the page load time - does anyone find that this page loads extra slowly?DavidOther blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blogs Internet eX-plorer 8
More About: System , Content , Tent , Stem

Calm lake with green mountains in background
2007-05-20 05:00:00
Calm lake with green trees by side and mountains in backgroundRocky Creek Dam - Lake with trees and mountainThis landscape vista of a lake was taken at Rocky Creek Dam, Lismore. The area is very green, due to recent rain. A dense area of lily-pads is visible at the bottom left of the image.The composition of the photograph is such that the eye is drawn along a zig-zag path into the picture, reaching an apex at the intersection between the mountains and the cloudy sky. The areas of light and dark trees tend to alternate across the picture, combining with the curves of the lake's (or dam's) water to draw the eye from side to side into the distance.As you can see, I'm testing a post rating system. If you just choose a rating in the box below and click "Add my Rating", you'll see public rating of this post.This photo was taken with the Kodak C330 camera.Related Posts:Sunset Vista"English" Aussie CountrysideSunrise at the BeachValley Vistamore...Other blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blog...
More About: Mountains , Green , Background , Mountain , Round

Bee landing on lavender flower
2007-05-17 05:16:00
Honey Bee landing on lavender flowerClose-up of bee landing on lavender flower On the subject of lavenders, I have this photo of a bee just landing on a lavender flower. The blurred bee gives the impression of split-second motion, and the relatively high ISO gives the image a soft grainy texture. Just after I took this photo, I got another photo of the bee on the lavender flower.Photo taken with the Kodak C330 camera (4.2MP).Related Posts:Bee resting on lavender flowerAn interesting perspective on a lavender bushBalloon vine tendril grasping a lavender flowerPhoto of a lavender flowerOther blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blogs Internet eX-plorer 8
More About: Flower , Ender , Lowe , Flow , Vender

Photo of a Lavender flower
2007-05-16 01:21:00
Photo of a lavender flower with water dropletsWater droplets on a lavender blossomThe dark tones of this picture blend nicely, creating a natural over-saturated effect. The lavender blossom in the foreground has small droplets of dew on it, from some early morning rain. The flower in the background is nearly a mirror image of the foreground one, giving another interesting effect.This photo was taken with the Sony DSC-H1 camera (5.1MP, 1/500 shutter, 3.8 aperture).Related Posts:Balloon vine flower with water dropletsFlow er with water dropletsClose-up of a balloon vine flowerLavender flower with beemore...Other blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blogs Internet eX-plorer 8
More About: Photo , Ender , Lowe

Balloon vine flower with water droplets
2007-05-13 10:06:00
Balloon vine flower with water dropletsWater droplets on balloon vine flowerHere is another photo of a flower just after the rain. This one of a balloon vine flower, has water droplets on it, giving a totally different feel to the same photo taken a few days before. This photo was taken with the Sony DSC-H1, with 1/500 shutter speed and f3.2 with bright lighting, making the flower bright enough, but the background is darkened.Related Posts:Soft-focus flower (favourite)Silverbeet leaf with water dropletsPrickle Resting on LeafDandelion flowerOther blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blogs Internet eX-plorer 8
More About: Balloon , Flower , Ball , Lowe

Flower with water droplets
2007-05-13 09:46:00
Flower with water dropletsWater droplets on white flower This morning we got some rain here, so I've been out snapping some of the wonderful pictures you can get when this vitalizing event occurs. This is one of them - a small white flower covered with water droplets. The detail is amazing, and the lighting was perfect with a thick fog producing and even light with gentle shadows. This photo was taken with the Sony DSC-H1, on 1/500th second shutter speed and f2.8, focal length 6.0mm.Related Posts:Water droplets on balloon vine flower (favourite)Water droplets on flower (same as the flower in this post!)Dandelion flowerSoft Focus Flower (favourite)Silky Oak Tree flowerAgapantha flowersOther blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blogs Internet eX-plorer 8
More About: Flower , Lowe , Flow , Droplet

Prickle resting on leaf - A sign of contradiction
2007-05-10 11:37:00
Prickle Resting on a leafPrickle resting on balloon vine leafSorry for the slow update, I thought blogger had uploaded my post but it hadn't, so these past few days I haven't been able to get a post up! I think I've fixed the problem now, so here goes.This photo is an excellent example of contrasting composition being used to draw attention to the central object of the picture. The leaf in the center of the photo draws your attention toward the right hand side of the picture, while the prickle ("bindie") in the center of the leaf points it's spikes toward the left of the picture. The leaves in the background rotate around the center of the image, making the whole picture focus on the object in the center. The colors also contrast to bring out the prickle.This photo was also taken with the Sony camera, on a high shutter speed and aperture again.Related Posts:(coming soon)Other blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blogs Internet eX-plorer 8
More About: Leaf , Contradiction , Sign , Prick

Close-up of a Balloon Vine Flower
2007-05-07 05:30:00
Balloon vine flowerClose -up of a balloon vine flowerA nice close-up (macro shot) of a balloon vine flower in full bloom. This photo was taken with a high shutter speed and aperture setting, creating sharp edges on the flower while keeping the background softened.---Note:I am considering the purchase of a new digital camera - the old 4.2MP Kodak C330 point-and-shoot model is great for general-purpose shooting and landscapes, but I need something a bit more advanced to get the best shot in other situations. The camera I am thinking of is the Fujifilm F6500fd, which is designed to look and feel like and SLR, while only costing AUD$499. It features 6.1MP, 10x twist-action zoom, and manual shutter and aperture.Before buying, I have had the opportunity to try a similar camera - the Sony DSC-H1. This 5.1MP camera has 12x optical zoom, and manual features, making it comparable to the Fujifilm. This macro photo of the balloon vine flower was taken with the Sony camera.Related Posts:Soft focu...
More About: Balloon , Flower , Close-up , Close up

Tropical twilight
2007-05-06 08:31:00
"Tropical Twighlight" - Moon through palm treesPalm trees framing the moon I took this photo some time ago when I was on the East coast of Queensland. The twilight shadows and the moon framed by the palm trees combine to create a peaceful effect. Although this isn't exactly in a "tropical" location, the palm trees make it look like that!Other blogs: The Big Byte WOWebbs blogs Internet eX-plorer 8
More About: Twilight , Pica