Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Indoor plants

The crocus are reluctant to bloom in the cold or cloudy days so I took some indoor pictures instead. We have some African violets in bloom. I used my homemade lens setup and took some macro photos. I wasn't even aware of the aphid on the light blue flower. Pretty cool what a macro photo can reveal!

The petals of the African violets appear to be made of sugar crystals. If you look closely with your naked eyes, tiny specks of light glisten all over the petals. Begonia flowers have a similar crystalline look.

I also added a photo of a primrose blossom.

















Please click on photos to enlarge.

18 Comments:

Blogger Rey said...

love those macro shots. really reveal the real beauty it when you look up close. what camera and lenses are you using?


-=rey=-

7:17 PM  
Blogger Carol Soules said...

Oooooo...what greta pictures. Lovely colors too!!
Carol

8:17 PM  
Blogger Ki said...

Hi Rey,
Thanks. I was using a little Panasonic FX3 with homemade macro lens made from binocular lenses. I posted a detailed article about this on my other blog Micro Macro. If this link doesn't work just look on my list of links - it's listed there.

I use the FX3 because its small size makes it very portable and easy to carry anywhere. The extra macro lens is small too so everything is easily pocketable. Thanks for visiting.

-----------------------------------

Hi Carol,
Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by. Hope to have more pictures from outdoors when spring finally arrives.

4:12 AM  
Blogger Entangled said...

The African violets look like they'd be good on top of a cake - they really do look like sugar crystals. It must be time for breakfast ;-)

4:25 AM  
Blogger Ki said...

Entangled,
Yeah, that's it, those sugar flowers on cakes. Gee I never thought looking at flowers could make you hungry! :)

5:29 AM  
Blogger joey said...

Beautiful photos, Ki. It's amazing how beautiful African Violets are captured with a macro lens. I bought several similar ones yesterday along with a Lady Slipper orchid, dying to be photographed!

7:37 AM  
Blogger Ki said...

Hi Joey,
Thanks. The paphs. are wonderfully sculptural flowers to photograph especially when you isolate the flower with a black background like you do. I can't wait to see the pictures! The african violets are also very nice to photograph with their dark green almost black leaves. Now that I think of it, I should have drawn the gauzy material drapes we have in front of the violets to diffuse the direct rays of sunlight. Would probably have made the colors a bit more saturated. Oh well, I'll have to remember that the next time.

8:26 AM  
Blogger Robin's Nesting Place said...

Those are great macro pictures!

9:20 AM  
Blogger Jessica said...

Love the pictures...I've always been fascinated by the shimmer on their petals...you captured them so well!

12:48 PM  
Blogger Ki said...

Thank you, Robin's nesting place. It was fun taking the photos in the comfort of a warm home especially when fiddling with the macro focus. ;) Thanks for stopping by.

------------------------------------

Hi Jessica,
I wonder why some flowers display the shimmering quality but others don't? I think the raking light made the crystalline quality even more pronounced. Thank you for your kind words.

6:33 PM  
Blogger Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Great macro pics Ki. I love African violets, especially the shimmering ice crystals in the flowers, so very pretty. Unfortunately my Maine Coon Vita loves the flowers too and pulls them out one by one.

11:48 PM  
Blogger Ki said...

Thanks Yolanda Elizabet. Our dofus cat ran right through the African violets dumping several and ripped out many leaves. I'm about ready to kill that devil. He's the strangest cat we've every had. Not catlike at all.

3:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love you photographs. I wish you'd come over and take a photo of my butterfly amaryllis. It really deserves to photographed by someone who does more than point and shoot. I tried taking some close ups of it and they just doesn't have the pizzazz of your photos.

6:28 AM  
Blogger Ki said...

Thank you MSS!
Your photographs of flowers are also quite lovely. The one of the California poppy is especially nice so I don't think you need me as a photographer. I actually pretty much just point and shoot anyway. I just take a lot of pictures and pick the best ones. ;) I would be more than glad to take a trip to Austin to visit with all the many bloggers there (or is is y'all). To escape the cold and dreariness would be a treat but too many things occupy my time now. Perhaps one day soon we'll take a trip out west and swing on by. Thank you for your generous comment.

12:46 PM  
Blogger kate said...

Your African violet photographs are beautiful ... perfect for studying the flower in greater detail. I love the range of colours ...

Your photographs continue to get better and better!

8:36 AM  
Blogger Ki said...

Thank you Kate. What a very nice compliment. Hopefully soon, I'll have more outdoor flowers to photograph. I sound like a complaining wimp when you've had a really tough winter. Thanks for stopping by.

8:45 AM  
Blogger Gotta Garden said...

Love those African Violets!

Had to stop over after reading about your squirrel eating over on Entangled/Cultivated! You are an adventurous eater for sure!

So, tell me about the writing.com link up there...Do you like it/use it?

Looks like spring is coming along for you as well. I thought we also had a pretty mild winter. Probably shouldn't say that as a storm could still zip in and spoil everything!

8:08 PM  
Blogger Ki said...

Thanks Gotta Garden,

I will try almost anything once but there are limits. However a caterer once supplied a party with a cheese that looked positively rotten and smelled like it too. The color was a dirty yellow and it was oozing a foul colored brown liquid.

I looked at the writing.com site but don't have time to participate. I thought it might be interesting for others so I added the link which was offered by adsense.

This winter was definitely mild but the plants are reluctant to burst forth. Even the forsythia a harbinger of spring is only just starting to flower despite days in the high 50's.

5:28 AM  

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