Nature pictures by me

This time around, I’m trying my hand on taking nature-related pictures. Here’s an orchid that can be found in the middle of the Makati Greenbelt park. I noticed this orchid before from afar, and thought to myself that I should have brought my camera. Naturally, the next time I went – armed with my camera, I looked for this orchid and took one shot.

I hardly had to make any changes to the image. You might say, this is one picture that I am proud of – the subject is very much in focus and does not get smothered by its surroundings – and the surroundings are not exactly something to ignore either. Its just that the orchid seems to naturally stand out – it was begging to be taken.

A friend and colleague of mine (Mon Villar) commented that I should have taken the picture much closer – thus making the orchid the real main subject of the picture. It also makes the focus zoom into the flower and sort of zoom out (defocus) the background. This is something his wife did.

Sound advice… problem was I couldn’t go nearer said orchid anymore, as there were other natural and man-made barriers between the flower and me. Good thing too… I suspect that the flower might not have been there long had it been easy to access.

Still, I will try out said advice come the next time.

Here’s a nice looking scene with bamboo on the side of a pond. Some people say that a great photographer should have the eye for beauty – maybe similar to how a cinematographer sees things. I’m not sure I’m there yet… but I hope my eyes can catch some beauties in the middle of the Metro… and show that there are spots of paradise in the city… if only people take the time out from their busy schedule to notice these.

Oh well… should that be the case, hopefully they’ll discover this blog, become curious about the pictures and wonder – where exactly did these scenes come from? That said, these people would surely consider revisiting said place and look for these locations. If they’re lucky, it’ll still be there – though flowers by then, may have been wilted or cut or refurbished together with the rest of the garden.

What do I like about this? Bamboo gives off a sense of Zen – tranquility and relaxation. So definitely, this image exudes just that. Tranquility in the middle of a very busy metropolis. Unique indeed.

Talking about ponds – what’s a pond without fishes… and when we think of fishes and ponds, what comes to mind are Koi. This has been a dream of mine… owning a place where I can afford to build a pond, and in that pond… a school of magnificent Koi.

Until that day becomes a reality, I’ll just have to contend myself with taking pictures of such ponds and Koi – and continue dreaming of the day I can afford to set up my very own Koi pond. BTW – it’ll have to be deeper than the Greenbelt pond which, as far as articles I’ve read indicate as too shallow for the Koi to really live well and happily.

About this picture? I was slightly worried about taking a picture of the fishes, as they were moving. I had little success with my fishes in the aquarium (still do, actually) – but I guess, that was because I set my speed to a slower option to compensate for less light – end result was a blurry pictures of my fishes. On the other hand, these seemed to turn out right. But I guess, I can thank the sunny day for this. I took it using natural speed and light absorption – and the camera did not need a flashbulb, since the outdoors were really bright.

Once again, Mon had something to comment about this picture – not regarding quality, but to ensure that my picture would possibly have as many Koi as possible. How so? Simple… you need to tap the water – assuming you can reach it, with your foot. The ripples or noise will be heard or flet by the Koi who would then possibly interpret this to be food falling form above – then you’ll see these fishes crown around, thus leaving you with more than enough subject for a picture. Great tip, huh? I obviously have not tried it yet, as I walk this route rarely these days.

There’s something to be said about a well-maintained lawn, or garden. This may very well be the best spot to look at in Greenbelt. Where others may be beauty in isolated cases, this presents beauty in its totality or its collective effect.

I like this view – the seeming artistic sculpture of the plants positioning and if you just focus on these – leaving out the building in the background… one can forget (for a brief moment) that they are in the heat of the city. Behind me is a restaurant, and I must say, this view; while eating your meal in the evening, can be very enticing to relaxing and enjoying said meal – specially with good company… be it a loved-one or friends. I would not be surprised if said view can be alluring enough to make people stay in said restaurant to order a few rounds of drinks, specially after a hard day. On a weekend, it would be a perfect spot for a picnic – though I tend to think that this would be frowned upon by the restaurants in its immediate surroundings… guess that would be for the better, because said picnics could spoil the serenity and cleanliness of such a place.

What is not too evident about the picture is that the shaded area in the middle can actually seem like an alcove – a naturally made one, that can shade people caught in light rain.  Also, from a religious (Roman Catholic) viewpoint, I’d say it would be perfect to place a statue of the Virgin Mary… but it can easily be as perfect for, say any religious statue, like say Buddha, since the place can definitely promote tranquility.

Note: These pictures, and the articles (as they were originally separated from each other, as I was learning the ropes of attaching pictures back then – ans still am. now) first appeared in my Blogger site last May 2008.

~ by Butch Syyap on August 8, 2008.