Summer on Sequoia

7 Dec '07 11:23 am

Jack, I bet you have a ....tremendously wondrous time taking these great captures with those..."dramatic bugs"!! That capture with the exquisite blue butterfly-looking creature on the brilliant pink Achillea is just stunning! All the butterfly ones are gorgeous!! And taken by a new camera!! These automatic ones make us gain some time , before the creatures fly away...Really gorgeous captures, Jack! And your Raubritter with the cup-shaped blooms is lovely!

11 Dec '07 2:53 am

Jack, the dramatic bug you photographed is fascinating. It looks a little like a dragonfly, but it's body is too short and stubby. I have no idea what kind it might be, but the spots on the wings appear to be clear like windowpanes. That is so neat and I wonder what the purpose might be. Maybe it is a camouflage effect because when the bug sits on a plant, whatever color the plant may be shows through those spots, making the bug look almost like part of the plant. Is this as it appears, or are the spots actually white?

15 Dec '07 10:40 pm

So much for the "New Improved Jack Holloway v.2" Sad

Like most improved programs he is slower to load, all promise but less delivery Sad

Will have to do something to Jack him up Mad

YUK! Awful pun!!

I've been trying to do some research on the 'dramatic bug' which I think is a butterfly of some kind. Take a look at its stance in the 'yet again' picture. I've not had much luck, other than to discover it is not the only one. Check out the beauty pictured in the link below - a South African site I recently discovered with some amazing nature photography...
Later: I discovered a pic of it on an SA entomological site where it was called, very unscientifically, a "Splendrous Hornet Moth", but could find no other reference to the name. However my research did seem to indicate that it is a member of the clearwings, a group of moths that imitate other dangerous or poisonous insects. I can't help feeling this is a bit of a blonde version - it liked the look but missed out on the meaning. (Sorry Moosey!)

http://www.outdoorphoto.co.za/forum/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=58374&cat=548

I've been in Johannesburg, staying in the retirement village with my parents, where I took some pics of the wonderful varieties of hibiscus... and was constantly struck by the beauty of the well-grown agapanthus. The first pic is taken from their patio looking across into their neighbours' garden. Rather a nice composition I thought.

It has just occurred to me that these pics should have featured under 'garden visits', not here... oh well Laughing

16 Dec '07 1:39 am

At last, after reformating my laptop last week ( a bind, but WELL worth the effort), I have downloaded the software that came with the new camera and I can now proudly present the result of my needlework Laughing

There is a stitching program which helps you to 'connect' pictures. The panorama was built up out of 4 shots next to each other, whilst the 4x4 shot is a heavily cropped version of a two-up two-down composition. Perhaps I should have called it 'townhouse' instead of '4x4', but I'm obviously a countryboy at heart Razz

I took the pics last week already, in preparation for this game...

For comparitive purposes I include a single wide-angle pic taken from the veranda (5m to the right) of a sunny storm.

16 Dec '07 2:08 am

That particular shot which was to serve for comparisons is really quite stunning. The streaks of rain falling through patches of sunlight is beautiful. However the first shot is something else again. Wow! Compared to the last photo, the feeling is as though the blinders had just come off and I am there. Did you say the program came with the camera? One of these days I may have to get a new one.

16 Dec '07 7:00 pm

Yep,Mark. I bought a 2nd hand Canon S2 Powershot IS for the equivalent of less than $200. The current model is the S5, but I'm waiting for the S6 as reviews make it plain that the processor and pixel count (or some such) are out of alignment, and the processor needs to be upgraded to benefit from the pixel count Confused

However the S2 is still a very competitive camera.

The camera has a specific 'stitch' position for taking a series of pics, and then there is a program which you will be able to offload from any Canon owner's CD pack to stitch them. Crunch is I don't know how much 'stitching' information goes with the pic taken in the special mode. I still want to experiment with stitching ordinary pics.... I could create a chimera with five different roses growing on the same shrub and really confound the experts Shocked

17 Dec '07 3:57 am

Wow, such marvelous butterflies and bugs to see! The dramatic and captivating blue bug on the pink blooms is my favorite, wonderful color combination! Enjoyed your fabulous hibiscus shots too. Great captures, Jack and congrats on your new toy! Thanks for sharing. Very Happy

17 Dec '07 4:39 am

I have stitched two 'incompatible' pics, Mark - so far nothing worth sharing but it can be done. There's a whole new artform out there, called 'fooling the electronic eye' or footee for short... as in 'Hi, I believe you're a footee artist?' It is all about getting the program to superimpose shapes it mistakes as the same object. So one can carry a leaf... or a twig... or a fairy - and place it in each frame. Hey, this could turn into some real fun!

(Who knows Andy Warhol's '70s polaroid mosaics? Always loved that concept: establishing snapshot links between what the eye sees, what is really there, and associations made in the brain - not to mention the passage of time as e.g. someone walks across a garden or - very Warhol - dives through a swimming pool...)

In addition I have stitched 8 photos into a 200+ degree panorama, looking at my house and round to the view down Oak Avenue past the autumn set-piece. Although it is 4357 pixels long and thus hopelessly to big to load on the forum, it is only 643KB in size. Anybody wanting to see a copy - best viewed at 100% so that it fills the screen on the vertical, and then panned through from left to right - is welcome to email me on my new yahoo address: jackholloway3@yahoo.co.uk

I got the address today when I registered on flickr - where I found Liza and some other people's magnificent shots, but still have a great deal to learn... So my feeling is if this address falls into the wrong hands - no problem. However remind me on the forum if I DON'T send you the panorama, as it might be that I forget to look for incoming mails at that address!

Later: or you can see it here, unfortunately still only 1/3 the size it aught to be, so rather mail me!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21956117@N08/2116065142/

I must say I'm rather pleased with it as long as it is viewed in sections - it is distorted because of the wide angle when seen as a whole. It has added a whole new quality to my ability to share the garden... now, as I say on flickr, imagine this shot come autumn!

17 Dec '07 9:54 am

I already zipped over to flickr and marked you as a contact so I can more easily keep up with your new postings. You'll probably receive an email saying that I've added you as a contact and then offer you something to press to make me one of yours. You can do the same with Jacqueline's photos there and then you can have the system email you with all your contact's latest postings every day or every week or how ever often you prefer. I see you have Liza listed already. You can snoop around and discover other people on flickr with amazing gardens and photos by clicking on the name of the folks you already know to go to their page. Then click and hold on their avatar to bring down a menu which includes their "contacts". Then you can go to their pages and check out their photos and garden. I just helped my wife start her own account there this past week too. She is excited about being able to use it both as back up but also to draw from for her own website - which already needs updating. The community there isn't as tight as here at Moosey's and nor is there as great an exchange of ideas for the most part. However, the community is large and the navigating tools are cool. I've met two flickr friends who live in my area. One came to our last Garden/Studio party and later had me over to see his garden. He sent me home with three agave pups. The other stopped by to drop off cuttings of a succulent I'd admired in his photos. I look forward to having him over to our next party. Another friend from Los Angeles has asked to come by on his next trip to San Francisco.

I suspect you'll enjoy flickr too but it won't substitute for Moosey's.

17 Dec '07 12:35 pm

The Hibiscus are absolutely scrumptious-such brilliant colours.What you have been writing about flickr is very interesting-I have been to Liza's and Jacqeline's but not recently.
Dixie.

Summer on Sequoia

What....dramatic photos!!!!

Dramatic Bug

Stitching photos

Interesting!

Chimera Camera

Playing at stitching...

I look forward to seeing your larger creations, Jack.

Hibiscus and other things