Something Pretty

As I mentioned before I love flowers, so here is a picture of a flower in my mom's garden.

I love the centre of there flowers because to me it looks like little, tiny buds about to bloom into tiny flowers that are just as pretty as the larger flower.

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.

A Private Meeting

Insects fascinate me. They are so tiny, yet there is so much to them that you could easily just stare at one and  find something new.

I went out to photograph some insects and I saw these two on a lemongrass leaf.

They didn't seem too bothered with me getting close and I was able to get a few shots before my arms started aching and my back hurt from bending down.

Remember, try and get the eyes in focus. Of course there are exceptions to this so it's upto you, the photographer, to decide what works best.

A Happy Moment

Today's picture is going to be a break from the usual nature ones. No particular reason, I just felt like sharing this because I hadn't before.

This picture was part of an inter-college competition. We were forced to take pictures of people and quite frankly that isn't my cup of tea. So I had to work outside my comfort zone and to be honest it was a little weird in the beginning but I was soon able to get over it.

I wasn't very happy with the theme but now looking back I'm actually happy that I had to work outside my comfort zone because it made me think different and just look at things differently and this helped me learn a lot.

It's In The Eye

There are a few coconut trees in my mom's garden and unfortunately they haven't been yielding fruit but I still don't mind then there. Why? The truth is because they attract a lot of birds. For some reason birds love to come a rest on the branches of these trees and you know that I love birds so this also gives me an opportunity to get a few good pictures.

There is a particular branch that is drooping and I think it's time for it too fall off. Every morning I just go to the balcony and look out at the fields, the sky and just everything in general so it is a bonus when I see a bird there. This spotted dove decided to sit on the branch that was drooping and this meant that it was closer to the balcony than usual.

I was able to grab my camera before it flew off and I was able to get this close up of the bird.

Notice that the eye is in focus. If it wasn't in focus you probably wouldn't be seeing this picture today because the eyes are very important.

Make Hay In The Moonlight

I hope the quote "Make hay while the sun shines" isn't copyright or something because then I'd be in big trouble for today's title.Yeah! Yeah! It might sound cheesy but that's what I came up with.

The first proper Daily Post on this blog was when I shared a picture of a spider in its web. Some found it creepy and some loved the picture. Either way thanks for your feedback because today I'm sharing another spider picture which I don't think I've shared before.

This spider disappears during the day and magically reappears in the night. It's as if it goes into a magic portal to another dimension and then returns after it has rested because when I do see it, it is always as busy as a bee. This is cool but it also makes it difficult to capture because of the continuous movement.

Thankfully the moon was pretty bright that night and I was able to get a good silhouette of the spider. Yes, that is the moon - not a street lamp of light from a torch. Many get confused and some don't even believe me.

I hope you've had a good weekend and had loads of fun.

Make A Choice

The first time I saw this species of bird was when I was quite little. I don't think you find these birds in the city which is why I saw this only when we moved to the outskirts of the city.

I was walking down a small well-trodden lane when I saw this bird sitting high up on a branch. It seemed a little interesting to me even though I didn't know why. I just wanted to get a good shot.

I wanted to take a minimalistic image but I soon realised that I'd have to use a photo editing software if I wanted only the bird in the frame because of the other branches so I decided to take a picture in which the bird would be on one side and one branch on the other with a branch running diagonally across the top of the frame. To me it looked like the bird had a choice to make - which branch it would fly to and perch on.

How is your weekend going? I hope you are having fun :)

Blooming Glory

I really love flowers. They are really really beautiful and so pretty.

This is a dhalia from my mom's garden. As I mentioned before, I try and photograph things for uncommon (weird?) angles just to add a little interest. I could have photographed this flower straight from the top but we have all seen that angle countless times and I just wanted to try something different and see if it worked.

I quite like how this looks. Now this doesn't mean that I won't photograph flowers straight from the top, I will but I will also be taking quite a few shots from this angle. This adds a bit of variation and doesn't make things monotonous.

If you are going to try this then I suggest that you focus on the center of the flower.

Red Alert

No. This isn't going to be about the game..although that was a pretty good game. This is going to be about the Oriental Garden Lizard...again. :D

I took this image soon after the one that I posted yesterday. After its lunch it sorta went into hiding but it finally showed up. I ran up to the terrace because I knew from experience that I would get a much better angle from there. I couldn't get a shot from below the lizard because the foliage was just too thick and I would need Superman's x-ray vision to see through it.

I really like the colours on this lizard. Did you know it's also called the "changeable lizard" because it can change the colour of its skin to a certain extent to blend in with its surroundings and thus avoid predators.

Another lizard came really close to me today but unfortunately I didn't have a camera so I couldn't get a shot. I did take a picture on my phone but the camera is just hopeless and the picture is just not worth showing anyone.

Have a great day :)

Leafy Lunch

Today's picture is going to be an Oriental Garden Lizard.

I've lost count of the number of such lizards I've seen. Then again, I might just be seeing the same lizards over and over again, there is no way to know for sure.

I went to play with my dog in his kennel when I noticed something red moving in the branches above me. Sure enough it was a lizard with its red head. The males have these red heads to attract females during mating season.

I walked away quietly and slowly and then ran to get the camera. I've honestly never seen a lizard eating leaves (definitely not from this tree) so this was a first for me. It got into weird positions and started munching on some leaves. I was able to get a few good pictures before it finished its meal and wandered off and hid itself among the leaves and branches.

Hopefully I'll be able to get my laptop repaired next week and then maybe I'll post process these pictures better and then re-upload them to separate, appropriate albums on my Google+ profile and Facebook page. I'll let you know when that happens so you can check it out.

Have a great day (or night).

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

Red

No insects or other wild creatures for today's post. Just a pretty little flower. A red rose.

I really like flowers and also pictures of flowers because they are just so pretty and beautiful and can always brighten up the day.

I'm really not going to write much because there isn't much to say and besides I just want you to take in the beauty of this flower :P

Hope you all had a great day :)

Tongue Smacking

Back to Oriental Garden Lizard pictures! Yay! No? Well ok then, you'll get some other pictures tomorrow.

I was fortunate to get this shot because it hadn't noticed me and so was acting perfectly natural. I have no idea what it saw but it certainly seemed happy and seemed to be smacking its lips and tongue. Or maybe it had already had a delicious insect for lunch and was satisfied. Either way the story does have a happy ending...for the lizard, that is...not for the poor hapless insect.

If you have been reading my previous posts you would have noticed that I called this the "Indian" Garden Lizard. I apologise because I made a mistake. This is the "Oriental" Garden Lizard NOT the "Indian" Garden Lizard. I'm really sorry for that mistake.

So I hope you've had a good and relaxing weekend.
Take care.

Upside Down

Yes, yes! I know the titles are getting worse. I apologise....sincerely.

Anyway I went out to the garden to shoot this spider but it was really shy or just too scared of me to stay in one spot for more than one second. I did manage to get a few shots but I had to search for a different subject to shoot because it was soon gone. I did find this ladybird (or ladybug...whatever you want to call it) and was able to get this shot. It was really windy and that made matters worse.

Truth be told I didn't see this ladybird/bug in the beginning. I only say it after I had taken the first picture of this plant. Fortunately it didn't move too much which did help a lot especially since the plant was swaying in the breeze.

Macro photography can be frustrating but you shouldn't give up. Keep at it. You will end up throwing a lot of pictures but if you have a digital camera then there shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway hope you are having a good day :)

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!

A Private Moment

I hope these insects are reading this post because I must apologise for barging in on such a private and personal moment and then taking pictures of it. If you are reading this post, little bugs then I'm sorry if I disturbed you but I just had to take pictures. Anyway given the fact that neither of you moved when I was there or seemed even remotely bothered I guess you didn't really mind, did you?

Getting this shot was really difficult because of the wind. If you have dabbled in macro photography you know that you have to work with a really shallow depth of field which means you have to keep your camera really steady in order to get the right parts in focus. It was quite a challenge trying to get the eyes in focus. I could get both in focus because of the angle I was working at. I should try focus stacking. Is there a way to auto-align and focus stack images in Photoshop CS2?

Btw if you are on G+ let me know what you think of the changes there? I'll be writing a little about those changes when I upload this picture there shortly so you might want to check my profile as well. Basically I like what they've done. If you aren't on G+ then I suggest you create a profile immediately because you don't know what you are missing. I find myself spending more and more time there everyday. Why? Because I think it is better that Facebook in many ways - especially for photographers.

That's it for now. See you tomorrow.

Thanks a lot for all your feedback, suggestions, comments, emails and messages. I really appreciate it. Keep 'em coming! :)

Blooming Ahead

I guess I don't come up with good captions when I tired - for example today's title.

Ah well it is the picture that is more important than the title so here it is...

Yes, that is a flower :P I don't know what kind of a flower it is but it is pretty. It's a pretty small plant but with loads of flower on it which makes it pretty beautiful.

I didn't get the amazing depth of field in-camera because it is impossible with the SX50 HS so I used Photoshop. The Lens Blur filter in Photoshop does wonders. I've used it before and I love it. You should try it out too. Don't overdo it though because then it just looks fake.

All you have to do it select the area of the picture you want to add the blur to and then apply the lens blur filter to it. Try it out. If you have questions you know I'm always ready to answer them :)

A Piece From Nowhere

I admit that is another cheesy title but honestly I can't seem to come up with better ones so if you folks out there can think of something better I might even use it. I'll give you credit obviously!

I took this picture because this fungus or mushroom or whatever it is surprised me. Why? This bamboo has been in this very place and position for the past year or so and nothing has grown on it. All of a sudden when I was out shooting ants (with a camera) I noticed these red outgrowths from this bamboo. It is surprising because it happened all of a sudden after a very long time. Maybe there is a scientific explanation and maybe there isn't....either way I like the colours.

I'm going to keep today's post short because there is a power cut here and the battery on the UPS is draining...fast. Plus I think my blood is extra sweet today because the mosquitoes are having a feast!

Dancing In The Sun

I know children and quite a few adults absolutely love playing in the rain...I know I do :D
But how many enjoy the sun? I do prefer the sun to the rain because then I can actually go out and roam around taking pictures. Actually there are great pictures to be had even when it is raining so don't ever let the rain stop you - just protect yourself and your gear. Ok now I have really gone off topic and I'll stop here.

Is this a dandelion? I don't know! Why? Well simply because it grows among the grass and has way smaller leaves that what I would assume a dandelion has. So, my best guess is that this is part of a Hawkweed plant but I'm not sure.

Anyway although these aren't necessarily rare in this area they aren't very common either. So I always get really excited when I see one of these because let's admit that these really are beautiful and fun too! Blowing on them indeed is fun. I placed it against the sun and I noticed that the refracted light actually looked like arches which I thought was pretty cool.

Hope you've had a great day or are going to have a great day. Either way have fun and take care :)
Oh, and come everyday for more...obviously.

I'm also planning to write a few more tutorials so let me know what you would like and I'll see what I can do. Meanwhile you can read the tutorials that are on this blog and also watch the tutorials on my Youtube channel.

Bloody Rivers

I don't mean for the title of today's picture and post to be offensive so please don't take offence.

There is a particular plant in my mom's garden that grows wild but we never really get rid of it because it looks nice. It has no flowers but the leaves have these red vein-like things running through then. When I was younger I asked my mom what the name of the plant was and she said that they called it "bleeding heart". I thought that name was pretty cool. Of course I now know that that is NOT the correct ID but I haven't been able to ID this correctly.

Anyway today's picture is a macro (close-up) of one of the leaves on said plant. To me it looks like rivers of blood flowing across a plain. Ok maybe I have a horrible imagination so if I looks like anything else to you do let me know :D

Hope you had a great weekend :)

I'm Watching You

So we went to visit a family friend and on the way back we noticed this tree frog that was clinging on to the rear windshield. It was fairly long drive back home so I thought the frog would jump off at some point or lose its grip.

Surprisingly it didn't move at all the entire journey and reached home (well, our home) safely. I didn't want to disturb it but I did want to get a few pictures of it so I grabbed the SX50 and snapped a few shots before the mosquitoes got to me. The frog just looked at the camera after the first flash went off and just kept staring at the lens. I liked the reflection too which is one of the reasons I am sharing this picture with you today.

Have a great day (or night...in which case you can also consider this an advance greeting :D ) everyone! :)

In Full Bloom

I guess another apology is in order for the late post today. Just finished my exams today. Had to go through quite a few notifications when I logged in.

Anyway here in another flower picture. I'm guessing this is a dhalia since someone on G+ mentioned it. This is a shout out to the G+ community - it is amazing! If you aren't on G+ I highly recommend it. Honestly, I didn't want to join Google+ in the beginning but was forced to do so when I wanted to upload a video to my Youtube channel and I must admit I was a little irritated at that point. That changed when I actually started using it. I now use it more than Facebook. I could go on and on about the Google+ community but I think you should see for yourself.

Ok I'm not going to say much about today's picture because I don't know much about flowers - I just find them really beautiful and pretty and an obvious help to the environment. It just goes to proclaim how wonderful God's creation really is.

Now, I'm going to watch the latest episode of Arrow which I'm guessing is awesome.

Hope you have a great weekend :)

All Alone

We have these plants that someone told us is called the "African Bush". I was much younger when I heard that but it still sounded like a pretty weird name. Turns out that, that particular "name" is completely untrue. Unfortunately, no one here can ID the plant.

Every once in a while flowers bloom on the plant. Now these aren't your typical flowers with soft petals and all that. These are rock solid! The female flowers have a bluish colouring to them and the male flowers are larger and completely brown like dried leaves. Before you say anything - Yes! There are male and female flowers...look it up :)

Most of the time these flowers bloom in clusters but this one in particular was all alone. I wanted to portray this lonely feeling because quite frankly I was feeling quite lonely that day. All my friends were out watching movies and roaming the city and I was at home. At least I had a camera with me :D

Anyway if you folks have any suggestions - as to what kind of pictures you want to see do let me know. I apologise if yesterday's (and today's and for the next few weeks) picture wasn't really "great" and "bland". I can't post process my images because my laptop crashed so forgive me for that. Normally I add a bit of contrast and maybe dodge/burn parts of the image to bring out details but I haven't been able to do any of that since my laptop crashed.

That's it for now. I'm posting this a little early because I have to study for tomorrow's exam.

Hanging On A Leaf

Yes, I know I'm getting worse with these titles/captions. I honestly can't think of good ones...or I'm just too lazy. It's probably the latter.

Whenever I'm bored at home and can't go out I grab my camera and go out into the garden where there are these bushes/shrubs. I always (well, almost always) find a spider or some other bug to shoot and I wasn't disappointed on this visit either. I saw a spider which was really shy and then some bugs (which I'll share over the next few days) and also this little insect. I've seen the same species countless times but I can't seem to ID them.

Anyway the reason I mentioned lemongrass is because this thin, long leaf is lemongrass. You have to be careful when you are moving among these - specially when you stick your hand with the camera into the plant because the edges of the leaves are razor sharp - I've cut my fingers quite a few times in the past.

Always remember that in macro photography the depth of field is really shallow so you'll want to hold the camera as steady as possible so that what you want will be in focus and not come out blurred.

Waiting Patiently

We have a few guava trees in our garden so it's no surprise that a lot of birds are on these trees. They just love this fruit - especially the parrots and the bulbuls.

I really enjoy watching these birds because they are so beautiful. They are always the first ones to eat the ripe guavas and leave only a few for us humans to eat. I'm completely fine with that because I really enjoy watching these birds so it more than makes up for that.

Although there are no ripe guavas on the tree now I still notice these bulbuls visiting the tree as if waiting for the flowers to magically turn into ripe guavas.

Ordinary Pickings

Please don't ask me why I went with that title because I honestly don't know!

Anyway this is a break from the lizard pictures...but not for long :P
I had to be really quiet and still while taking these pictures because this bird was really sensitive. I don't think I've seen one like this before. I mean I have seen egrets but never a bird with a ponytail! Plus this one also happens to have yellow feet. Isn't that cool?

It had a good feast before it flew off. Unfortunately the water wasn't still so I couldn't get a good reflection. i would have loved to convert this to black and white but as you know my laptop is down so I couldn't do that  but I like it as it is.

Here is another "bonus" picture. This was taken when it was shaking itself. Probably because it go wet...I don't know.

That's it for today. I now have to go and prepare for tomorrow's exam.

Take care :)

Almost There

I sure hope you are not tired of the Oriental Garden Lizard posts by now because here is another one.

This picture was taken shortly after yesterday's picture. The old skin is almost completely gone, with only a few pieces remaining that will soon fall off.

In all honesty I didn't expect yesterday's picture to get as much attention as it did on my G+ profile. So, thanks too all those who share, plus one'd and of course commented. I really appreciate that :)

Someone wanted to know if I had a picture of the entire lizard in that position. Well I found one and I'm sharing that here today.

Btw I have a visitor here. A visitor who many people find creepy but I find to be kinda cute. It sits right above my monitor and looks at me. It's a tree frog. I'm just waiting for it to spook me by jumping on me :P

Hope you had a great weekend :)

Crouching Lizard

I wanted to title today's post "Crouching Dragon" but decided against it. Seriously, I now can't get the whole "this looks like a dragon" thing out of my head.

Anyway this shot was taken a few minutes after this particular Oriental Garden Lizard had shed its skin. It stayed still for hours while its skin came off and then it slowly moved away. Every species of lizard that I have noticed till now is really still and docile while it is shedding its skin. I'll have to do some research to find out why they stay so still.

As a matter of fact you can still see a few pieces of its old skin near its left eye.

In this particular pose it almost looks like a snake - a snake with legs! At least to me it does.

Have a great Saturday/Sunday (depending on your time zone) :)

A Bright One

Now for a break (a short one) from the Lizard posts. Before I move on I must make a correction. In one (or more) of my previous posts about the Lizard I said it was the "Indian" Garden Lizard...I made a mistake...it's the "Oriental" Garden Lizard. Thanks to whoever pointed it out :)

So for today's post I wanted something different. Why? I just thought everyone would be bored with the lizard pictures. So here is a flower for you to feast your eyes on.

I apologise for the horrible post processing. My laptop isn't fixed yet so I'm not able to get the exact results I want since I have Photoshop installed in that.

This is another flower from my mom's garden. I love spring when all these flowers bloom. You also get to see so many birds, animals and other creatures. The variety is just amazing!

Have a great weekend :)

The Dragon Lives

I'd never really looked at the Oriental Garden Lizard as a dragon until someone on Google+ mentioned it. I think in this picture the lizard has a resemblance to an actual dragon...no offence to the Komodo Dragon though.

The lizard was shot against the setting sun which is why this image has such warm tones in it. I could have changed the sky but I decided against it since this is exactly how I want to remember it.

I seems to be on a mountain top looking at an enormous kingdom which it rules over :P

Seems like the "one-picture-a-day" thing will have to be on hiatus for a while since I won't be getting my laptop repaired for at least 3 weeks now.

Take care :)

What Are You Looking At?

I was out shooting flowers in my mom's garden one day when I came across this little insect. It went so well with the flower and I wasn't even looking for it.

It kept moving around the flower for sometime before looking up at the camera as if to say "He! What are you looking at?" Maybe it did say that in its own language or maybe it's just my imagination.

It didn't move one bit while I took a few pictures of it. This is one of the few times when an insect has actually stayed still while I'm taking pictures, the others just seem paranoid. Never saw this tiny one again but it would be great to make friends :P

Another tip when shooting insects - keep the eyes in focus...always! You might have to use your LCD screen to get the focus right so it might take a while but it will be worth it...trust me.

I might not be able to post everyday for the next few weeks - it all depends on how soon I can get my laptop fixed. If I get it fixed by next week then I think I'll be able to maintain the "one picture a day" thing.

Take care.