Jack Holloway
Passionate Gardener
SEQUOIA FARM Haenertsburg South Africa
Jack's Frost
9 Jun '07 7:26 am Time to start the winter diary!
This morning I was up very early. (Well I was awake, you see...) So there was time to go out with the camera and take a few shots. Then this afternoon on returning from my weekly visit to my aunt (see my new post on Garden Tours), I took the camera and tripod and some lovely shots are the result. So you will see - this aint no 'dark, dead and dreary' approach to winter. In fact in many ways it is my favourite season!
9 Jun '07 9:35 am Just splendid, Jack! I really like the one of the wheelbarrow. Frost is an amazing subject for photos. How do you deal with your camera and the cold. Do you condition the camera to the cold before you go out for a shoot or do you try and keep it warm. I was told to keep my camera in a zip-lock bag to keep it from condensation. In other words, moving the camera from a warm indoors to the cold can cause moisture to form on the inside of the camera and this can short things out.
Perhaps it's not so bad where you are because here it goes to -30c all the time in winter.
Christopher
Jack Holloway
Passionate Gardener
SEQUOIA FARM Haenertsburg South Africa
More of yesterday's walk
9 Jun '07 6:42 pm Christopher - when it is really cold I watch out for a too quick temperature change on my camera. But remember that the coldest air temperature my camera has ever dealt with is perhaps -3 degrees C. Usually we have a ground frost only, and at head height one is above freezing.
Having said that, I've just photographed the morning frost from the window, and taken a archive shot to show the cold scorch to the very top leaves of the 25m plus bluegums behind the arboritum. Perhaps I'll post them. The severe - and more important, early and unexpected - cold of two weeks ago has done some amazing damage: like the gumtrees, but also bananaplants frosted to the ground down the valley where frost is unheard of, and huge damage to avocado crops as they were being picked for export.
Jack Holloway
Passionate Gardener
SEQUOIA FARM Haenertsburg South Africa
Saturday morning
9 Jun '07 7:59 pm A serene winter morning, and a photo opportunity from the window. Also: the decision that my avatar will be counter-seasonal from now on. So I took the summer avatar this morning, and dredged up a December shot for the winter avatar.
Mark
Home gardener & plant fetishist
Berkeley, California, USA
Through the looking glass.
10 Jun '07 4:02 am I'm still getting used to the idea that as warm weather becomes more established here that of course colder weather is settling in there. I'm guessing that a peak growing time there would be around winter/Christmas break, somewhat like late spring here.
I'd never seen fall color in a water lilly before. Beautiful shot. Very tranquil.
Anna
Gone to seed
Hamilton, New Zealand
12 Jun '07 1:17 pm All the shots are beautiful, only thing is, they're making me cold just looking at them.
Must confess, I'm not much of a fan of winter. I plan to hibernate til spring.
jacqueline
Thankful Gardener
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
15 Jun '07 3:21 am Gorgeous wintery pictures! So wonderful following the seasonal impact on your fantastic garden with your skillful photography, Jack! My favourites pictures are Morning mist (so mystical and enchanting), Winter floral art (awesome colors and contrast), Saturday sunrise (fantastic lighting, colors and reflections) and Doggie pose (so adorably sweet)! Thanks for sharing!
Jack Holloway
Passionate Gardener
SEQUOIA FARM Haenertsburg South Africa
A white chameleon is a cold one
16 Jun '07 7:49 am Hi All,
and thanks for the compliments. This has been a hectic week, but I have one winter photo to share (actually I am wrong - I think there are still a whole lot from last Sunday!)
Any way here it is. Every night I check how many chameleons are sleeping in the Clematis montana that grows in under my entrance roof: every night - at least one. Record this winter: four.
This chap must be pretty cold to have turned this white - it is one of the ways I can tell in the morning how cold it is - how white is the chameleon!
