Pretty In Pink

This rose didn't look like it was going to be more than a pretty little pink rose but when it bloomed it turned out to one of the most beautiful roses I've seen.

It has these white streaks and dots that just make it so much more beautiful.

Pretty In Pink

Remember the picture I posted the day before yesterday? That was just the bud. This is the flower in full bloom!

Just Hiding

I love a surprise and I was really surprised when I saw this spider. The rose looked pretty so I wanted to photograph it but when I went close to it I saw this tiny little spider. I didn't expect to see an insect there let alone a spider so that was a pleasant surprise.

Anyway I had to take a quick shot because the camera (look at me blaming the camera when it was actually me) spooked it and it kept moving around really really quick. I was quite pleased with what I was able to finally get after many blurred pictures.

I Don't Fit In

I'm sure most of you have seen this quite a few times. Did you know that the pink/white/orange (or whatever colour) "flowers" of the Bougainvillea are not the actual flowers? Those are just coloured petals! The actual flowers are the tiny white ones in between the larger coloured petals. Isn't that interesting? I know I found it really interesting (and probably a little weird) when my science teacher taught us this fact.

Have you ever felt like you don't fit into the world or in a certain place or among a group of people? The answer for most of us is "Yes"...plenty of times. This is an unfortunate fact and one that can make you sad. At least I feel sad and feel that I should change and become like everyone else but I stop myself just in time. Never try to fit in - you are who you are...you are unique! Just like this tiny, little, white flower in the sea of pink. You too stand out from the crowd! :)

On a more photography related note - are you on Flickr? Flickr just made a few changes. They are now giving free users 1Tb of storage for free. This is pretty cool but it does have a catch - ads. If you want to get rid of ads you have to pay. They also changed their entire layout. I feel that this layout is tons of times better than the old, out-dated layout. If you are interested here is a link to my Flickr stream.

I haven't changed anything from the default layout - I didn't even change the cover picture that Flickr choose because I think it made a pretty good choice. Anyway head over there yourself and tell me what you think.

Have a great day folks!

Keep the feedback, questions, comments coming :D

After The Thorns

The thorns on a plant always (I think) come before the flowers. Take a rose for example. The thorns are there long before you even see the first bud on the plant. Take today's picture....it's the same thing.

Basically when you are going through a tough time in life just tell yourself that good times will surely follow. That's what I tell myself. I had to constantly remind myself that today (and also for the past few weeks/months). It's funny that I should be telling you this because quite frankly I have tons of doubts :P

As for the picture. A few weeks back I uploaded a picture of two flowers from a similar plant in my mom's garden. These flowers are pretty amazing because they last for a really long time! I've honestly never seen a flower that hasn't dried in such a long time. They still look like they bloomed only yesterday.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Get In There

Another flower picture. I hope you are not getting tired of these pictures.
This is another flower that bloomed on the same plant yesterday's picture.

I choose this particular caption because of the inset on the flower. Yes! There is an insect there if you look closely. It's a tiny green one. If you didn't notice it the first time, you are not alone. Most people who saw the image never noticed the insect until I pointed it out. This to me is a little strange because the green really stands out from the pink of the flower.

If you look at the labels that I've assigned to this post you'll notice that this picture was taken using Canon's latest superzoom camera - the PowerShot SX50 HS. This is a pretty good camera but it doesn't have a wide aperture and so you can't really get a shallow depth of field. So, how did I get such a shallow depth of field in this picture? One word - Photoshop. I used the "lens blur" filter. If this spoils the image in your opinion then I'm fine with that because everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that as well. I think it made this look better. The background was already blurred but certain stems near the petals of the flower weren't as blurred as you see them now so I think the filter enabled the flower to really stand out. This is another tip so you can try it out on some of your pictures. Don't overdo the blur though because it WILL ruin the picture and make it seem unrealistic.

That's it for today. Hope you liked the picture and learned something as well.

Take care :)