Leaf Eater

We've had this cherry tree in our front garden for a few years now and one of the best things about it is the wildlife it attracts. There are loads of birds, bats and Oriental Garden Lizards that love this tree.

I've seen birds and bats eating the fruit but I've never seen an Oriental Garden Lizard eating one so I was curious when I noticed this little lizard munching on something. Turns out it was eating the leaves.

It was completely engrossed in what it was doing that it didn't even notice me sneaking up on it to get a picture. This has got to be one of my favourite pictures of this beautiful creature.

You can find this picture and more in my new "Best of 2013" video on my Youtube channel.

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.

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.

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

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! :)

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 :)