Magdeline Lum » Australian wildflower

An Aussie Orchid

Magdeline Lum — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:21:22 +0000

While meandering my way through Kings Park, I spotted a native Australian orchid. It wasn’t as large as its Asiatic cousins and perhaps only 4cm in diameter.

Spider of Surprises

Magdeline Lum — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:07:45 +0000

Spider of Surprises

Magdeline Lum — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:07:36 +0000

It’s no secret. I don’t like spiders. I have the propensity to scream upon seeing one. I really do. The bigger they are, the louder the scream. The more unexpected they are, the louder the scream. You could do a linear regression on this and the correlation would be 1. Well, that was the case until yesterday. There is now one outlier because of this little guy.

I noticed a small delicate pink flower about to bloom. It was the only one on a spindly bush. And that’s when I saw a head with eyes attached looking at me down the lens. I exhaled sharply and swore. After a couple of seconds I composed myself and took a couple of shots. I had read about spiders living in amongst flowers but I’ve never seen one until now.

The Back of a Bee

Magdeline Lum — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:41:06 +0000

Sometimes I like it better when the animal of interest isn’t looking down my lens. They never seem to smile anyway and most of the time look annoyed while attempting interspecies telepathy messaging of, “Don’t you photographers have something better to do with your time?” Frankly, to be honest dear animals, no.

Busy Bee

Magdeline Lum — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:12:53 +0000

Often I’m asked just how close I can get to something with my AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED. Well, this close. It’s not often I get the opportunity to get this close or feel foolhardy enough to do so.

There is no cropping in this shot. I did perform photographer’s yoga to get this shot. Bonus points for not falling into a bush being tended by several bees. I’m not 100% happy with this shot but I hope it does give some idea how close I can get to a subject of interest.

Swollen Fruit Daisy

Magdeline Lum — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:53:59 +0000

And occasionally, botanists tell it like it is, either that or they ran out of flowery terminology at the time of naming.

Bloom of Blue

Magdeline Lum — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:30:02 +0000

There is something unnatural about blue flowers. They are rare and most often upon closer inspection, turn out to be purple flowers in disguise. This one wasn’t one of them and surprised me. It attracted my attention because it was in the middle of mauve blooms. The contrast was striking. I probably should have taken a shot of this against the contrasting blooms but I didn’t think of it at the time.

This shot is cropped ever so slightly but other than that it is straight out of the camera.

Bee Platform

Magdeline Lum — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:14:04 +0000

I went out to Kings Park yesterday to shoot wildflowers. It didn’t work out as planned as there were many bees about. Not surprising as it was one of the few days where it wasn’t raining and the blue sky was visible. While I was walking amongst the wildflower display, the sweet scent of nectar lingered in the air. It was like walking through a vat of WA wildflower honey.

Bee Platform

Magdeline Lum — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:14:29 +0000

Two by Two

Magdeline Lum — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:41:49 +0000

There is an abundance of banksia around my workplace. As a child, I had an irrational fear of them thanks to My Gibbs’ Snugglepot and Cuddlepie where Banksia Men were wicked and prone to bouts of kidnapping. I spent years avoiding banksia trees in case a Banksia Man would emerge to kidnap me. It took a great many years until I felt comfortable around them though I can’t say I feel at ease around them. They still unsettle me.