Pandanus in the Sun

Pandanus in the Sun, originally uploaded by Meremail.

This is the Pandanus tree, and they are very common in Australia, mostly in the beach area where they thrive.

This particular transplanted tree (about 5-6m high) is in a garden adjacent to the Brisbane River.

I wanted to capture the sun immediately behind the trunk to give it that sunblasted look, so I took 3 exposure bracketed shots (+/- 2 f-stops) and used Photomatix to generate the HDR image but didn’t want to over enhance the HDR result.

This was then edited in Photoshop Elements where the clouds were enhanced to give more contrast with the sky, and I lifted the dark light levels enough to bring some details back into the foreground of the trunk to take away the silhouette effect.

Clivea Flower

Clivea Flower, originally uploaded by Meremail.

Clivia miniata
Native to Natal, South Africa.
Clivias were named after Lady Charlotte Florentina Clive, Duchess of Northumberland, who was the granddaughter of Robert Clive, better known as Clive of India.

Enter The Dragon

Enter The Dragon, originally uploaded by Meremail.

This little Dragon Fly came to visit today, and did a pose for me.

Interesting bits from Wikipedia -

Dragonflies typically eat mosquitoes, midges, and other small insects like flies, bees, and butterflies. They are therefore valued as predators, since they help control populations of harmful insects. Dragonflies are usually found around lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands because their larvae, known as “nymphs”, are aquatic. Dragonflies do not normally bite or sting humans, though they will bite in order to escape, if grasped by the abdomen.

They capture their prey by clasping them in legs studded with spikes. Prey can not escape by diving away because dragonflies always attack from below.

The dragonfly’s marvellous ability to dart sideways, upwards, hover, and instantly change direction, is due to impressive design features. The creature has two sets of many-veined, long, rigid wings which beat alternately. (When one set is up, the other is down.) This gives it excellent aerodynamic efficiency, and the independent operation of each wing provides precise flight control. The wings beat 1,600 or more times a minute.

Not surprisingly, the muscles which operate a dragonfly’s wings comprise about one-quarter of its total weight. These powerful synchronized wings can propel the insect at speeds estimated at 50 kilometres an hour (30 miles per hour) or more, sometimes for long distances. Dragonflies have been known to migrate more than 300 kilometres across water.