The Lookout

Today started off in an interesting way. Just as I was getting ready to leave for classes I got a phone call saying that out results for the previous semester were out. That made me really nervous. Unfortunately the university server was down and that just added to the tension. I got to class and everyone was sombre and quiet. We were all anxious.

Anyway, God has been really merciful and graceful again (as He always is) and enabled me to get through with fairly good grades.

Now for today's picture. As with most self-portraits this has a very personal message. I have a little over a year to finish the course I'm currently studying and then I'll have to look for something else. I still don't know what that's going to be or how God is going to lead me into the future but I have to always be on the lookout for His guidance and help.

This is a composite (obviously) of two pictures. The base image of the flower and flora is light painted. If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen a BTS (Behind The Scenes) photograph of this that I shared recently.

The Core

I've been noticing these flowers in the garden and almost always the centre seems to decay and die last. That's what stays till the very end. It stays attached to the plant for quite a while even after it has completely dried up.

Maybe it's the same with us as well. The real us always survives no matter what experiences we have and no matter what we go through. I came across this quote recently "We are who we are...eventually". That's what got me thinking.

The Loner

In keeping with my recent black and white photographs here is another one.
Once I started editing in black and white I just kept going. Revisited some photographs that I had archived because they looked amazing in black and white.

I have no idea what this flower is called but I do remember that we would fight for this when we were younger. You don't get a lot of nectar out of it but what you do get is really sweet and will leave you wanting more.

Day 3 - Future Hope

Today is Day 3 of the Black and White Photo Challenge.

I'm actually running out of people to nominate since most people have already completely the challenge.

This is a macro shot of the centre of a rose. God's creation is so amazingly detailed and always so interesting. I didn't intend to convert this to black and white but once I did I just loved the feel of the photograph.

In Between

In our garden we have a plant with some amazing yellow-red flowers. The ants love them and you'll never see one of these flowers without ants on it. It's just beautiful and really amazing.

They start off all bunched together and as they blossom they move farther apart and stay that way.

Some say the flower resembles a parrot's beak.

This ant seemed content with staying here. It was perfectly still while all the other ants were moving about and having a nice time. Maybe it was just tired.

Tiny Beauty

This particular flower is probably less than a centimetre long - they're really tiny which makes photographing them a challenge.

I used the reverse-lens technique for this one and it is focus stacked - there is no other way you're going to a better DOF.

Together

First shot at photographing the reproductive parts of the Hibiscus flower. I have to admit that I find the macro world really fascinating. The closer you go the better it gets.

Just goes to prove that God's creation is indeed marvellous!

Almost Dry

Looks like the monsoons are early this year. We've been having rains for a few days straight with little or no direct sunlight. I personally prefer the sunlight to the rain but I just can't complain when we get a stunning sunset because of the clouds.

This particular insect didn't seem to mind the rain and it most certainly didn't mind the water on it. Fortunately it was pretty still so I could get two shots before it flew off.

Why two shots? Well two shots with different parts of the insect in focus can be used for focus stacking.

The Core

Summer vacations have finally started!
This also means I can get back to using my camera :D
Which is exactly what I did today. I went out into the garden in search of something interesting to photograph and found this rose.

Unfortunately it had already started drying up but the centre seemed to be intact. So I thought an extreme macro shot would be good and the beauty just blew me away.

True Flower

Most people confuse the coloured petals of a bougainvillea for the flower. Those are not the flowers - they're just leaves. The flowers are actually really tiny and don't really stand out.

Here is one flower.

Cricket

Found another dead insect and decided to shoot it. Unfortunately I'm busy with exams and completely forgot about it until I noticed a really bad stench in my room. Turns out it was the cricket so I sprayed some deodorant on it and then took a few pictures before throwing it out.

Also, I didn't use the usual reverse-lens technique. Instead I used a few extension tubes. Not much of a difference except for the fact that I have to get closer to the subject with these tubes which can be a big disadvantage as it'll spook most subjects. However, it's not too close and I don't have to hold the lens. I can now hold an external flash which should make lighting a whole lot easier and better.

Thankfully my room isn't stinking now.

Food Fight

Found these ants searching for food. Not sure they found a lot because they didn't seem to be in any one place for long.

Hornet

I recently found this dead hornet in the garden and it looked like it would be a good opportunity to try focus stacking for the first time.

Turns out it's actually tough, specially when you're holding the lens, the flash and the subject. Anyway I managed to get the required shots and then had to run it through Photoshop which took a very long time. Photoshop crashed a few times on my computer but after multiple tries it finally worked.

Patience

The title must seem a little weird since this is a picture of a bug but it's a really important quality.

Especially if you're going to get really close to these beautiful creatures.
Hope you had a great weekend! :)

Tiny Blooms

I'm really enjoying shooting reverse lens macro. It is challenging and you do end up deleting most of the images but the ones that you do get to keep are just great.

It's as if the closer you go, the better it gets. This, I'm guessing, is the female part of the flower.

Underlying

It had just rained and the colours in the flowers looked really good so I decided to take a few shot of the flowers in the garden but I ended up taking a shot of bugs and spiders instead.

Out On A Leaf

It's been a while since I've take extreme macro shots. Photography has been put on hold ever since my exams started but when I saw these flowers and the bugs that they attracted I just couldn't help myself.

This particular one didn't like me getting close so a good detailed shot of its eyes and everything wasn't going to happen. However it did allow me to get this shot before flying off.

Yes, I use the reverse-lens technique. It's challenging (as is all extreme macro stuff) but it's worth it.

Food Hunt

When it rains these massive black ants come out and it's actually fun to watch them because they always travel in a straight line and never waver.
Their bites can be quite painful but I thought I'd get up close and try and take a few photographs.

The fact that they move really fast doesn't really help but I was able to get a few good ones. This is the one of the smaller ants - yes, smaller. There are ants twice their size but they were moving just too fast.
This one stopped for a moment to pick up something and gave me my shot.
Just look at those compound eyes!

The Hive

This is not a beehive or anything like that although it might be related to bees. This is the inside of a relatively large flower.

Tentacles

These are flower tentacles. Well sort of. This is another extreme macro flower shot. Hope you like it.