Cat's Ear 'Dandelion'

Until I started taking their photographs, I did not realise that there were so many forms of 'Dandelion' plants. In our meadows we have many dandelion type plants growing. I am not an expert but, from my field guides, most appear to be the 'Cat's Ear - Hypochaeris radicata (please let me know of I am wrong!).

This particular specimen was about twice the size of the others but, from a detailed examination, still appeared to be the same plant. I took a number of photos of this plant both out in the field and the studio.

I was quite surprised how this photo of a flower bud came out - it has quite a painterly feel to it - so this picture is now available as a print from my print shop. I still need to review the rest of the pictures and place them in the Environment Gallery.


Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: older Canon 100mm macro lens
Sensitivity: ISO200
Exposure: 1/200 F16 with ETTL flashgun
Indoor Lighting: Off camera flashgun diffused through a Lastolite diffuser.
Other: Those taken indoors are in a 'studio' made from a cardboard box

Self Heal - A common lawn weed in the UK

For this week's 'Picture of the Week' I have featured the weed 'Self Heal' - Prunella vulgaris. This is a common weed of lawns in the UK and is often overlooked. I have always been struck by the colours of this plant - I love the purple and maroon of the tiny flower heads.

In the lawn, this plant grows quite short as it always getting clipped when the lawn is mown. I have seen it grow over 1ft in grass that is not mown. In this case the flower head is 2-3 times as long with many more individual flowers.


The first picture shown above shows the complete flower head of one sample taken from the lawn.

The second photograph below is an extreme close-up of one of the individual flowers



The third photo below shows a group of plants in the lawn - this helps give an idea of the size of the plant.



The full set of photographs of the Self Heal can be seen in the environment gallery.

Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: older Canon 100mm macro lens
Sensitivity: ISO200
Indoor Lighting: Off camera flashgun diffused through a Lastolite diffuser.
Outdoor Lighting: Natural light.
Other: Those taken indoors are in a 'studio' made from a cardboard box

Oxeye Daisy in the meadows

The meadows are, despite the wet weather, showing an abundance of wild flowers. The trouble is, I am having trouble keeping up with it all. The weather has been very wet so far this summer, limiting the opportunities to get out and take the photographs. But on the other hand, I have, during the drier spells, managed to take a lot of pictures - although there is lots more to take.

This week I am featuring an Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare). The flowerhead is about 2-3 inches across. It tends to grow in small groups scattered across some of our fields. It stands out because of the white petals and being taller than much of the surrounding plants.

The first picture above is a close-up of one flower heads taken in the 'studio'. I like this picture because of the strong colour and contrast with the black background. It is this week's 'Picture of the Week'.

The second photo below shows a close up of the petals. The water is actual rain as it was raining quite hard when I brought this plant inside. Many photographers 'enhance' their photos by spraying water on them with a small spray gun as used by gardeners - this is natural!





This third photograph shows a small group of plants out in one of our meadows.



The full set of photographs of the Oxeye Daisy can be seen in the environment gallery.

Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: older Canon 100mm macro lens
Sensitivity: ISO200
Indoor Lighting: Off camera flashgun diffused through a Lastolite diffuser.
Outdoor Lighting: Natural light.
Other: Those taken indoors are in a 'studio' made from a cardboard box

Butterfly Orchid

For the past few weeks the orchids have been growing well in some of our fields. A few weeks ago I wrote about the Spotted Orchid; since then I have been amazed at how far it has spread, not only in the field that I originally spotted it, but to other fields in the vicinity.

This Butterfly Orchid is not so common, but it too is spreading. Whereas last year there were only about 3 specimens that I found, this year there must be a dozen or more that are spread about. The pictures that I show here, and have loaded today into the gallery, have been taken indoors. To preserve the plant, I did not cut it but dug out a whole plant and replanted it afterwards - it doesn't appear to have suffered.

This took me a while to identify as there are two versions: the Greater and the Lesser. Research on the internet lead me to the diagram from Scottish Natural Heritage at http://213.121.208.4/orchid2007/ It appears that the difference is on the two pollinators hanging down - they are parallel in the Lesser Butterfly Orchid.

The first picture above is a close up of one of the flowers on the flower spike.

The second photo below shows a complete flower spike, including buds that are yet to open.



This third photograph shows the complete plant - it stands about a foot or so high.



You can see the complete set of photographs in the Flora section of the Environment Gallery.


Technical details:
Camera Canon EOS350D
Lens: older Canon 100mm macro lens
Sensitivity: ISO200
Lighting: Off camera flashgun diffused through a Lastolite diffuser.
Other: Taken indoors using a studio made from a cardboard box

Bettws Bledrws - a hamlet in Mid Wales

Bettws Bledrws is a small hamlet in Ceredigion, Mid-Wales that I often drive through, but rarely stop at. Last week was an exception. We were visiting a private garden in the village that was open for the day for charity under the National Gardens Scheme .

To get to the garden - attached to a small private residence, we had to park off the main road a few hundred yards away and walk back to the house. In doing so, we passed two nice looking buildings.

The first one shown above is (if I have got my translation from the Welsh Language correct) 'The Old Rectory'. I thought this was a lovely looking building with fine windows and well maintained grounds. I would have liked to take more photos, but it appeared to be a private, rather than a public building. This picture was taken from the entrance.

The second picture below shows a church at the edge of the village. Again, I would have liked to take more photographs, but the gates were locked and I do not trespass on private property. I had to take this photograph through the wrought iron gates.




You can see more photographs from the area in my Wales Gallery.

Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: Canon 17-85mm IS zoom lens
Sensitivity: ISO200
Lighting: Natural light - it was an overcast day so the shutter speeds were around 1/160 to 1/200sec, aperture F8 to F13.
Other: Handheld.