photography: autumn macros



I was hoping to go out today and take some photos out in the countryside while the autumn colours are there and the fields are a patchwork of stubble, ploughed and pasture. The light wasn't good enough so I settled for having another play with my macro lenses. These are close ups from my garden. I like that little curl at the end of the leaf :)


The roses are still flowering - in a mild winter they carry on virtually all winter - and we've had a few mild winters in recent years. I hope the coming winter is the same, with the lousy summer could it mean a hard winter?

The lens as I said before, looks like a filter and simply screws on to the front of the camera - you don't need an SLR. Best of all they are pretty cheap!




Beech Leaves - these dry up but stay on until spring. The leaves come out later than most of teh other shrubs/trees in my little garden and I always worry that the frosts have killed it as it sits there covered in last years brown leaves.





I thought the squirrels had eaten all the flowers and we wouldn't have any crab apples but we do seem to have some :) .

I'm only managing to grab short spaces of time to work on the canvasses so there are no new paintings to show yet. The big canvasses take longer and need time to evolve.

Is anyone else taking any autumn photos?

link to the type of lenses I'm talking about http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MACRO-Close-Up-Lenses-4-Canon-EOS-Digital-Rebel-XTi-XT_W0QQitemZ230181216364QQihZ013QQcategoryZ106842QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

link to previous macro post http://vivienb.blogspot.com/search/label/macro

.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hedges silhouetted agains the snow, winter light: watercolour and Derwent tinted charcoal pencils in Stillmand and Birn Beta Hardback sketchbook

Image
 Detail  I have always liked the calligraphic tangle of the hedges when they are sihouetted against the sky.   Recent snowfall meant even more opportunities with amazing light and the landscape simplified and hidden by the snow, throwing hedges into relief. Above is a detail of a double page sketch in the lovely Stillman and Birn Beta A4 hardback sketchbook.  This paper is so forgiving and the watercolour works beautifully with it.  It allowed me to work through wet washes with charcoal pencil - something that tears many papers, leaving holes.  Some of the hedge is paint, some tinted charcoal. First snow, more on the way, winter light: silhouetted hedges in watercolour and Derwent tinted charcoal in a Stillman and Birn A4 beta hardback sketchbook The earlier warm golden glow of the low sun is covered by clouds, threatening more snow to come.   The spiky calligraphic marks of the hedge and the underlying form of the bank, w...
Read more

The Eye, Urban/Rural exhibition

Image
Vivien Blackburn's work in the Urban/Rural show We've just hung a group show at the The Eye Project, Urban/Rural show.  If you want to come and see it it's on for a month - well worth seeing, 11 lovely artists and some fabulous work. Those large canvasses are 40 inches square. There are rural landscapes, flowerscapes, intriguing textile work including a large knitted building, abstracts .... something for everyone. It's in the gallery below the cafe in the Adult Education Centre at the top of Wellington street, Leicester, opposite Fenwicks.  Meet the Arttists day is Saturday 1st April 10-2.  Come and have a chat with us?
Read more

looking at non traditional composition and quiet vs busy areas in paintings

Image
Paul Klee I thought I'd look at non-traditional composition - where the rule of thirds isn't the key but the painting relies on different compositional methods. in response to an excellent series of posts on the various ways of looking at composition by Katherine (link at end). These alternative considerations or breaking of rules - but making it work - appeal to me more than too heavy a reliance on the rule of thirds. The painting above, by Paul Klee is a 'field' painting' - the composition is overall, the eye travels around enjoying the glowing colour that he creates by juxtaposing complementary colours, subtle greyed greens enhancing the oranges/reds/pinks. Most of the image is composed of the various greens, greeny browns and khakis, with accents of the warm colours. When working this way it's important that the balance is unequal and that the accent colours are placed carefully to keep the eye moving in the way the artist wants. A couple of the brighter...
Read more