Honey been working our apricot blossoms.

Nikon D600, Nikon 24mm PCE lens

ISO 100, 24 mm, f/3.5, 1/1250 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, manual focus, hand held

Capture One Pro 8 raw conversion, import sharpen and minor lighting adjustments

Toe Toe or Toi Toi, a New Zealand native pampas grass, Cortaderias. We came across a lovely lake on Bartons Line near Alfredton on the way back to Palmerston North from the forestry out there. I grabbed some shots of swans but they were a bit far for decent photos, even with the longer lens but it was these Toi Tois that grabbed my attention.

Nikon D600, Nikon 200-400 f/4 VR2 lens

ISO 100, 200mm, f/4, 1/1250 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, auto focus,  hand held VR on

Imported and raw conversion, some minor light and colour adjustments in Capture One Pro 7

This is one of the first images with my new Nikon D600, a yellow rose with rose coloured petal tips in our own garden. A couple of evenings ago I wandered around our property taking random shots with the camera set on Auto ISO, and very impressed with the D600 ISO performance.

Nikon D6000, Nikkon 70-200 f/2.8 VR lens, Nikon TC 1.4, hand held

ISO 1400 from Camera Auto ISO, 195 mm, f/6.3, 1/200 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, auto focus

Catalogued, colour adjusted and exported from Capture One Pro 7. This is also new and like learning a new language. I used one of the Capture One Pro 7′s basic styles preset to convert the image to black and white, and bring out the red petal highlights.

Soft pastels of long Pohangina Valley summer grass

Nikon D90, Nikkon 70-200 VR  f/2.8 lens

ISO200 , 150 mm, f/2.8, 1/160 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, auto focus, hand held

Import sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 3 …

Large hydrangea floating against a white background. Image taken in light tent with one light source set at approximately 3 o’clock, forward of the subject

Nikon D7000, Nikkon 24-70 f/2.8 lens, Velbon Sherpa Pro CF 740 carbon fibre tripod, Velbon PHD-61Q tilt/pan head, 5300k tripod mounted light source, light box/tent

ISO 100, 28 mm, f/13, 1/8 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, auto focus, cable shutter release

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 3, background lightened to full white (#fffffff) in Photoshop CS5

Hydrangea with small rain drops set against a black background. Light box/tent with one light source set at approximately 3 o’clock

Nikon D7000, Nikkon 24-70 f/2.8 lens, Velbon Sherpa Pro CF 740 carbon fibre tripod, Velbon PHD-61Q tilt/pan head, light box/tent, 5300k photography light

ISO 100, 31 mm, f/13, 1.3 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, manual focus, live view mode, cable shutter release

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 3, small spots removed and background darkened to full black (#000000) in Photoshop CS5

Smaller hydrangea against white background. Image set it lightbox/tent with external light source with white backdrop with backlighting

Nikon D7000, Nikkon 24-70 f/2.8 lens, Velbon Sherpa Pro CF 740 carbon fibre tripod, Velbon PHD-61Q tilt/pan head, light box/tent, 5300k photography light

ISO 100, 29 mm, f/13, 1/10 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, manual focus, live view mode, cable shutter release

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 3, final background light and colour in Photoshop CS5

Rose set up against black background in light tent with one light source positioned approximately at 10 o’clock

Nikon D7000, Nikkon 24-70 f/2.8 lens, Velbon Sherpa Pro CF 740 carbon fibre tripod, Velbon PHD-61Q tilt/pan head, 5300k tripod mounted light source, light box/tent

ISO 100, 38mm, f/13, 1/60 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, manual focus in live view, tripod mounted, cable shutter release

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 3, background darkened and spots removed in Photoshop CS5

Coral pink rose …

Nikon D7000, Nikkon 24-70 f/2.8 lens

ISO 250, 60mm, f/9, 1/80 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, auto focus,

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 3 …

Perfect pink Dahlia shedding rain water

Nikon D90, Nikkon 24-70 f/2.8 lens

ISO 250, 60mm, f/9, 1/80 seconds exposure, aperture priority mode, auto focus, hand held

Sharpened, light and colour adjusted in Lightroom 3 …