Golden Afternoon Light

Late afternoon, golden light, soft, diffused light, puffy clouds...

Image(s) All Rights Reserved Copyright 2010 Gena D Images and 

Gena D Photography for thinking aloud

Autumn Leaves

The title speaks for itself - a shoot of yellowing autumn leaves taken in the 

late afternoon

Image(s) All Rights Reserved Copyright 2010 Gena D Images and 

Gena D Photography for thinking aloud

Swallows

I recently captured this image of swallows gathering and preparing for their migration 

to warmer climes - a wonderful sight, although not a positive one in terms of 

temperature - we are heading towards autumn and winter ....

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Copyright 2010-2011 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

Autumn Leaves III

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Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

Autumn Berries

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Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

Autumn Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are fascinating blooms ... they appear at first quite pale and develop their individual
colour over days and weeks ...... some retaining a pale colour spectrum, whilst others
 a vivid pink, blue or even lilac/ lavender shade.
 Each flower head is massive and yet is made up of tiny inividual flowers
(click here to view my summer post of the same mydrangea).
As they age, the colour, again fades and orange/ brown tones take over .....
These hydrangea heads are what's left in our garden .... still quite vivid, but very evidently
taking on autumn/ winter shades.

View more macros here and here

and more Flowers here

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Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

Autumn Leaves II

I came across an array of Cherry Tree autumn leaves in our courtyard and

managed to capture a few worthy of keeping.

This one is my favorite of the set - I love the colour, the fine detail,

the light and shady bits .....

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Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

"Sacred Bamboo" in Autumn Splendour

Whilst the northern hemisphere is celebrating spring and all the emerging
and blooming plants, trees etc.etc., here in the Southern Hemisphere we
are deep into Autumn.

Last  week I was waxing lyrical about how photography has enhanced 
my appreciation of the seasons, well here is an example of why ..... how can
 you possibly ignore such vibrant colour?

The berries and leaves in these images belong to the Nandina Domestica
 (commonly  known as Sacred Bamboo - but not a bamboo at all) ... it's one of
the greatest plants/  shrubs to have in the garden as it tolerates heat, cold, dry
and wet weather and always has some display on the go ... if not the tiny
flowers, then the bright green new  growth, or the berries,  and then of
course the leaves, turning into all shades of vibrant orange to deep red,
whilst at the same time continuing to display green leaves too ....

Very adaptable which is why it's such a pleasure to grow .... I think there's

a lesson/ message in there for us humans too, don't you think?

We have had a very, very wet summer and autumn - unseasonally so.... when I

look around I notice that this year the autumn colours are so much more
vibrant and rich - you have to wonder if the change in the weather plays a
part in any way ... 

View more Ruby posts here

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Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

Dew

Dew on Gaura

One of the great things that photography has taught me, is to really look at

what's around you.    It's also taught me to love, enjoy and really absorb the

seasons, especially as they change.   I would have to admit that this has

 given my life a fuller perspective and appreciation.

This morning I was out early, and on my back home, I noticed a cluster of

tiny white flowers peeping out between the wild veld grasses - Gaura!!!

how did they get there?!   The contrast of the tiny, delicate white flowers

and the rougher, rugged grasses really fascinated me....

Although the sun was already well above the horizon, they were shaded

enough to enable me to capture their fine detail, which to my surprise

still included dew drops!!!

PS. for the gardeners :   Gaura doesn't normally grow amidst grasses .... evidently

someone "cleaned" out their garden and dumped enough to shoot and grow -

the wonder of nature, hey!?

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Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

The Beauty of Tulips

Still in a "spring" theme and sentiment, it's amazing how within a month the pin oak trees in our neighbourhood are totally covered with leaves..... I imagine, too that the northern hemisphere is ablaze with autumn colour, lots of burnt oranges and reds, (and I do feel for my friends and family who are about to enter their cold season). Anyway, now onto the abundantly bright topic of tulips ...

Tulips are one of those very graceful and exquisitely beautiful flowers, grown from a bulb, that come up in abundance in the early spring months. I'm comfortable with plants of all sorts, but bulbs in general give me the heebs, shall we say I am a bulb-o-phobic?! You see...I have yet to go there - tackle bulbs, that is. I find them fiddly, time consuming, fickle and tiresome. As a rule their flowers are spectacular, but short lived. This does not however, negate, the fact that I love to see a flower bed filled with them in spring - tulips or any other of the many gorgeous flowers grown from bulbs.

so in honour of the truly beautiful tulip, these are some of the pics recently taken in the gardens of the Sammy Marks Museum (South Africa).

Photo credits: Gena D Photography

South Africa in Pictures: Spring has Sprung!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everywhere I look there are peach blossoms, plum blossoms, jasmine in full bloom ... the sights are wonderful! Even our friendly Cape Robin is whistling in total contentment with the warmer weather! Not being a winter person, this is always such an exciting time of year for me - the days get longer and warmer, we enjoy langorous lunches or dinners on the patio, the clothes are lighter and brighter - so much to look forward to .. So in celebration I've posted a few pics for you to enjoy!

PS my apologies for being so quiet, but have been away for a number of weeks ...

Photo credits : Gena D Photography

Winter in Johannesburg

Another winter picture, taken on a very frosty morning last week.

For more pictures on Winter in Johannesburg : click here

Shades of Winter in South Africa

I've put together an album of some of the scenes of winter 2009 in Johannesburg, or at least in the neighbourhood and surrounds.

Winter here, is very different to what most people expect - it's normally very sunny during the day, the sky is ice blue, but the days can at times be very cold, mostly due to "wind chill factor". During the night temperatures plummet, to zero or less, especially in July, which is the coldest month for us, in effect our winter month!

Have a look at the pics on this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24592&id=1133416876&l=5f8e23c544