Macrophotography

Sundews

| Nature on the Edge
Drosera trinervia in bloom. The flowerstems must extend some distance above the leaves to prevent the pollinators from being snared.
Macro shot showing the sticky globules on the end of the tentacles.
Sundews favour peaty or marshy sandstone conditions.
Shallow depth of field creates magical bokeh.
Capturing the early morning light.
The glistening sundew.
Insectivorous plants have evolved to supplement dietary needs in poor soils.

Macrophotography can reveal surprising details in a realm of the unseen.  Add aspects such as clarity of light and the magic of bokeh and you have a spell for enchantment.

WPC: Magic

Psychidae – Bagworm larva

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Bagworm_Larva_psychidae
Mother nature and her bags of tricks has rustled up a delicious little surprise for this macro shot.  A blob of moving twigs turns out to be a Bagworm (Psychidae).   Neat!   The larvae of this species constructs a spindle-shaped silk bag and then attaches pieces of twigs and leaves as a protective covering.  This one is hungry extending it’s head through it’s covering and making good headway along the petals of this Moraea ochroleuca (aas-uintjie).
Bagmoth_larva
It senses my intrusion and withdraws behind it’s defensive bulwark, though you can still see it’s whiskery antennae.
Bagworm_Psychidae_on Moraea_ochroleuca

September: Flower Portrait

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Jude is calling for flower portraiture this month – capturing the beauty of a single bloom and she kicks off the challenge with the stunningly beautiful Turquoise Ixia (Ixia viridiflora).

It’s worth taking a peek at her blog post as it is quite the most gorgeous colours.  She describes the bloom as having  “one of the rarest and most beautiful colours in the plant world. The satiny purple centres and yellow anthers contrast beautifully with the turquoise petals. This one is flowering in the garden at St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall. It took my breath away when I first saw it.”

I’ve chosen to showcase the strelizia, or as it is commonly known, the Bird of Paradise plant.  They do well in our garden holding up in galeforce wind and they’re popular too in the nectar stakes.  I’ve gone for a different approach dissecting a flower to abstract it’s hidden beauty.   I hope to show up it’s striking form and various colours.  I enjoyed experimenting with different camera techniques – double exposure in camera and ICM; then did a bit of editing using filters.  I look forward to reading comments on the overall effect and hope it’s not all a bit OTT.

Visit Jude’s Garden photography page here  to see further examples of prized blooms.

Future: metamorphosis

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Mesocelis monticola larva

An active little critter, this is the larval stage of a Mountain White spot moth.  Researching it’s identification, I came across the description –  a “ginger fuzzy-wuzzy”.    It transforms through pupation into a gorgeously couture’d furry moth.

Take a peek at the “Future”  here.