This is a photo I took with my compact camera on a visit to Ryton Gardens.  I liked the sunshine-yellow of the flowers and think they are as important as the hoverfly.  The hoverfly is sharp as is the flower on which it is sitting.  I also like the fact that it is sitting on a group of three in the foreground, with the flowers repeated in the background.  The settings that the camera chose were ISO80, 1/320 secs at f/4.0 at 6mm.

A few weeks ago these were just in bud, the weather was gloomy and I had no chance of hand holding a camera attached to my macro lens.  Then the sun came out.  I like the shape of the petals and the richness of the purple contrasting with the yellow of the centre.  They are the very essence of spring.

The settings on the camera were 1/500secs at f/7.1 with the aforementioned macro lens attached at ISO200.

I felt that I needed to try and take some shots of something different, and so I have some shots of the estate and associated warehouses, but this is my favourite shot.

I took it because I was struck by the way the light was catching all of the mosses and lichens – it made them almost shine and look like crushed velvet.  However, I couldn’t seem to capture that in a picture, it just seemed to look too flat.  I therefore settled back to my natural instinct, crouched down and took a close-up shot.

I like the different textures, the soft, fluffy moss and the hard pavement.  But I also like the different colours, and the fact that lichens and mosses are taking over something so man made and hard as tarmac.  I also tried to convey how the moss just seemed to stretch away, covering quite a large area.  I think the photo also captures a little of the feeling of the light – it just doesn’t capture the feeling of the cold that came with it!

The settings on the compact were ISO80, 1/320 secs, 6mm, f/4.0.

One of the advantages to walking to work is that I get to take advantage of the frosty mornings when others are still in bed (you know who I mean!) or are sat shivering in their car.

I have taken quite a few frosty leaf pictures in the last couple of years, but I never tire of them.  This leaf was sat all on its own on the footpath – it is probably not there now, begging for its photo to be taken.  The sycamore/maple family of trees certainly provide their fair share of pretty leaves.

What I liked about this is the way that the frost had muted what are otherwise quite bright leaves, the frost on the tarmac and the contrast between nature and man-made surfaces.

I took the shot with my compact set on macro mode and the settings chosen for the early morning light were 1/30secs at ISO80, f/3.2 and 6mm.

I took the picture with my compact camera, but cropped in close as the centre seemed to be fairly sharp.  I like the brightness of the petals, and the slight clash with the yellow parts of the centre.

Taken at 1/160secs, f/4.0mm, 6mm, ISO80.

The camera was on macro setting, 1/80secs, f/4.0, 6mm, ISO80.

I found this group as I was wandering across a field after looking at some other mushrooms.  I thought that taking the group from above would make for a different shot, usually mushrooms, as with many other plants, are photographed from the side.  There were so many shapes, sizes and colours all crammed together, that I thought it was quite an interesting group – even if there are some bits of grass and dandelion leaves muscling in on the action.

The part of the picture that I am not sure about is the large mushroom in the top left hand corner, maybe it is a little too large?

I took this with my Canon Powershot S90, set at 1/30secs, f/4.0, 6mm at ISO80.

Instead of taking a picture of the lupin flowers (although I sort of did that as well- picture on Flickr ) I decided to take a picture of the leaf.

The in-your-face nature of the flowers means that the leaves are often overlooked – I have never taken a photo of them before (although I haven’t taken one of the flowers either so that just means that I don’t have any in my garden), but they are so architectural.  Just look at the shape, they seem very precise and neat, and get slowly darker from the centre to the edge.

As I was in Ryton then my macro lens came as standard, settings were ISO200, 1/125 secs, f/10.

The leaves for a silver and green matt at floor level, and the flower heads form lovely spirals before giving this lovely display, white tinged with a delicate pink – definitely need to put them on my shopping list.

I had to crouch on the fortunately dry and paved floor to get this, even better it was at the edge of the border as I am not sure Ryton Gardens would have appreciate me doing any pruning outside their restaurant windows!

I think this captures the essence of a cyclamen, there is nothing much more I can say – just a lovely plant portrait with a sufficiently subtle background.

Taken with my macro lens, ISO200, f/7.1, 1/125secs.

Although this is not compositionally great, I think I have done well to capture the sun on the seed, and the motion of the wind, blowing the fine hairs about.

The camera settings (macro lens still in place) were ISO400, 1/125secs at f/7.1.