A Small Part

Here is another extreme macro shot. This time of a really tiny flower.

The entire flower itself couldn't have a diameter larger than 2 centimetres and it's stamens (the male part of the flower) is really tiny. So tiny infact that you wouldn't notice it unless you were really really close to the flower.

I had noticed it before when I'd shot it but never really got to get so close. I absolutely love this. It's like a whole new world.

It's Fly Time

Yup. Another extreme macro shot. This is of a common housefly.

It really surprised me. Not the fly but the picture. They are actually quite beautiful. God's creation truly is amazing!

Flies are a nuisance but they sure are pretty. Look at those massive compound eyes!

Mosquitoes Are Beautiful

Before you say I'm crazy just look at today's picture.

So I just got a DSLR - a Canon T4i aka 650D - as a very generous gift from a couple in USA. It has got to be one of the best presents I've ever received.

So I've always wanted to try out taking extreme macro shots and I wasn't disappointed. Sure it's really difficult and you have to shoot a tons of images just to get a handful that you can actually use, it's really rewarding because you get to see the world like never before.

This picture of the mosquito was really surprising. I actually said "Wow!" out loud when I saw it on my camera's LCD screen. It was the first time I've seen a mosquito like that and it blew me away.

I'll still swat at mosquitoes when they irritate me but they are beautiful!

Also a BIG Thank You for the camera :)

The Dry Bed

We recently went for a picnic with the other members of the church here. The place was really nice and not crowded since we reached early.

The sun was bright and there were no clouds which was just perfect because it would have been freezing otherwise.

The river was almost completely dry expect for a small stream running through a massive river bed. It was kinda sad to see but come the rains, it'll be full again.

Before The Dip

I decided to test out CHDK (that's Canon Hack Development Kit). It's a hack of sorts for Canon point and shoot cameras that allows you to do things that would otherwise not be possible.

For example shooting timelapses would require extra gear but CHDK enables you to shoot timelapses without extra gear. It's just great. Plus it doesn't make any permanent changes to your camera so you warranty is still valid.

Anyway this is one of the still from a timelapse I shot.

Looking Up

I took pictures after a very long time today. Although it wasn't something I'm used to shooting it was fun and pretty good.

It reminded me of this because I always turn to God and His amazing creation for inspiration because that is an infinite source.

This was taken the last time we had a good sunset with clouds.

Sun Burst

This was one massive cloud in the sky. So big in fact that just one picture didn't do it justice and couldn't capture the cloud along with those amazing beams of light emanating from it.

It had to take four pictures of it just to get a something worth posting.

My computer is super slow so it took me more than half an hour just to stitch it. It was worth it though. This reminds me of Psalm 36:9 "For with Thee is the fountain is life: in Thy light shall we see light."

A Brief Stare

This juvenile Oriental Garden Lizard was very difficult to shoot.

It kept hiding. I'm sure if it plays hide-and-seek with it's friends it'll beat them every single time. The fact that they can change their skin colour to a certain extent doesn't help either.

I had to search for quite a while just to find it and get this shot.

The Other Way

I wonder what it would be like to eat or drink when upside down. I'm sure it would be really uncomfortable and probably even dangerous. Butterflies fascinate me because they get into weird angles to suck the nectar out of the flowers.

This particular butterfly was all over the place. To start off the flower points at the ground probably because the plant can't support it so the butterfly just casually landed on it upside down and stayed there for a while before trying new angles.

Looming Large

I saw this massive cloud just before it rained heavily. It actually looked beautiful.

Usually when it rains the sky is covered by clouds that have no texture and so it's just one colour throughout which is quite boring. I love seeing clouds like this one as they are really uncommon in this area.

Ready For Takeoff

This dragonfly was rather uncooperative. It kept flying around.

For a few seconds it seemed fine and that is when I took this shot. As soon as I took this photograph it took off and landed far away.

I'm going to start doing tutorials for my Youtube channel again. If any of you have any suggestions and/or topics I'd be happy to hear them.

Dry Eyes

I came across this Indian Bullfrog because of my dog. He hates it for some reason but I love it.

The pattern on its body is amazing and beautiful. The day this was taken it was raining heavily. There was a puddle right outside my dog's kennel and that is where this frog decided to hide.

Its entire body was under the water with just its eyes above it.

Red Alert

These birds are honestly amazing. They aren't very big but you can hear them a mile away.

Their beaks are massive. They ram their entire beaks into the ground and somehow manage to find stuff to eat.

Their eyes are lined with red and look like they could pierce through your very soul. But they are beautiful.

Too bad they are also hunted and their numbers are fast reducing :(

The Flower In Pink

I am amazed by the number of days some flowers last. They just don't seem to fade.

Which is a really good thing. This is one of those flowers. There are so very many on one single plant and it looks beautiful. You can hardly see any leaves - just flowers.

Far Away

Honestly I'm so tried right now that my head hurts. It's been a long and tiring day but a good one.

We went for this film appreciate course which was pretty good.

Anyway one of the scenes in a film we were shown reminded me of this picture.

We went on a short trip to a nearby hill station and I was able to get this picture just before the fog completely blocked our view.

Looking Down

There are some awesome flowers in my mom's garden and this particular plant has a unique pattern.

The largest flowers are always on top and the newer, smaller ones are lower down.

I decided to use this perspective because it looks like the flowers are looking down on the others. That's kinda pessimistic I know but the opposite "looking up" perspective wasn't working out.

Cloud Cover

We've basically had cloudless skies for a very long time now and that's not really a bad thing in winter because that allows the sun to shine bright and keep us warm.

About two days back we had a really overcast sky and it was beautiful. The clouds looked amazing and I just had to take a panorama of it to get the whole thing in.

I did shoot a small timelapse as well but haven't shared it yet.

Behind The Weeds

The sunset that day was just perfect. I might even go so far as to say that it was one of the best sunsets I've ever seen.

These weeds were just begging to be photographed so I obliged. I got had to literally lie down flat on the grass to get this perspective.

I must say my back was aching by the time I was done photographing this scene but it was totally worth it.

Choices

This butterfly was really pretty and although we were in a hurry I just had to get a shot of it.

The day was perfect too. The sun was bright and the clouds looked amazing. I couldn't go close to the butterfly because the plant was in an enclosure.

This is where the massive zoom on the SX50 HS helped.

It seemed like this pretty little creature was having a hard time making up its mind because there were so many flowers to choose from. It finally picked this one.

Playful

This is the juvenile Oriental Garden Lizard that I spoke of in my previous blog post about these lizards. This is only one I've seen that's this tiny.

It was thinner than my little finger - and that's really ting because I'm pretty thin myself. It was tiny but it's tail just stretched on forever.

It was beautiful though and I wish I had more time photographing it. It was really shy and kept jumping everywhere. It just wouldn't stay still. But it was worth it. I hope I get to see more of these this year.