Friday 24 August 2007

Saturday morning

I am staying in today to pack for my trip to France. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day that'll leave me with no time to do any packing.

It's also time to try out my new camera! I traded in my Olympus Stylus 410 for the Stylus 760 and honestly, the picture quality leaves much to be desired. The photos below are unadulterated. They're ok I guess but the old one would have done a better job for sure!
The best place to try it out is in the garden. I'm always anxious to know how the close up shots will turn out. This camera does a pretty decent job on the black-hearted flowers that are in full bloom today.
The details on the rose don't show up very well here. In cases like this, I'll have to run it through the software to sharpen the image.
The golden dewdrop's rich colour and shiny hue is not quite visible in this photo either.
The bauhenia flower looks pretty natural, quite close to the real thing.
The milkweed is a favourite butterfly food plant as the leaves are always nibbled away by caterpillars. The picture appears dull but then again, the real thing is somewhat dull too.
A close up shot of the tiny passion flower. This is the species that produces little round seed pods containing sweet succulent seeds that are a favourite with birds.
The delicate pink lantana flowers in soft, pastel hues. These are hardy plants that thrive in poor soil conditions.
This picture here doesn't do enough justice to the bright red flowers of the Ixora plant.
Another lantana flower being eaten away by the bug. Can you see it?
This is exactly how the blue-pea flower looks in my rock garden. Because of it's bright iridescent colour, it is commonly used as a food colouring in our local cakes.
Part of my rock garden. Oops, looks like it's time to do some weeding again!
I found the beautiful pagoda flower hidden under the shady mango tree. Because it doesn't get enough sunlight, it is growing at an angle towards the light.
I'm surprised to see my neglected water lily producing flowers despite the lack of fertiliser and attention.
I've cut down the cassia tree many times, yet it continues to grow profusely, towering over the other plants in the garden. You can find big bumble bees hovering over the attractive yellow flowers all the time.
Faithful Cookie followed me around the garden. You can see from his shadow that it's a hot and sunny morning!
That's my niece's slippers. Yup, she's still around! She's going home today.
Our jackfruit tree is laden with so many fruits, we don't quite know what to do with them. They simply fall onto the ground and rot!

I step into the house to find a sobbing Ting being comforted by her nanny. Poor nanny has her hands full!

Verdict - The pictures appear natural but are surprisingly lacking in lustre despite the bright sunny weather. I've always trusted Olympus lens and have been very pleased with the older one. I hope this new camera grows on me though.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I still think the pictures are good, Blur. What beautiful flowers you have in your garden. They must be stunning to behold all at once.

Have a great time in France - and don't forget to take lots of pictures (like you will!) for those of us who have to live vicariously through you!! :)

Unknown said...

You have a beautiful garden.
I was working on my 'Saturday morning' post late this morning, but never got around to finishing it.
Cookie is one handsome dog.

Blur Ting said...

Yes ladies, I'm so lucky to have a large yard. When the flowers are all blooming at once, it is really a lovely sight.

Seagrape, yes Cookie has such a nice face and colour. You wouldn't believe we found wandering around in our tutor's residential estate. Apparently he didn't belong to all the houses in that estate and he happily got into our car and followed us home!

SOUL said...

i love the pics, they are very clear to me.never heard of jackfruit btw.. what is it like?

Blur Ting said...

Hi Soul, when the jackfruit is ripe, it produces a very strong fragrant smell though it's an acquired taste. You've got to open up the tough skin and eat the sweet fruit inside. The texture of the fruit is somewhat crunchy and juicy.

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