Pond Edge
More images from last weekend taken around the edge of Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary. Yesterday’s post was about emerging hints of spring at Swan Lake, mostly macro shots. Today is about how it looks in broader views at and near the wet edge.
My emphasis today is mostly on the subtle colours and the textures in dense vegetation. I have always wanted to take successful pictures of this subject. I did not get there this weekend; I put that down in part to mid-day low and very flat light. As a result many of my shots are more successful in monochrome – but I will deal with those later this week. I hope you find one or two here that please you. The first one above pleases me, though it could probably be improved with a wider lens and a closer view.
It feels like bedtime, so I am going the easy route and putting my shots up as a gallery.
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- Boardwalk Tunnel
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- Distant Cattail Fringe
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- Cattail Fringe near and far
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- Cattail fringe near
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- Cattail green base and yellow twigs
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- Cattail? leaves yellowed
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- Grass leaves spotlight
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- Red brown seeds
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- Evergreen and twigs
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- Evergreen and twig bokeh
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- Hawthorn berries
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- Snowberry
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- Macro of Small Fungus on Shrub
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Canon EOS 5D mkii, SMC Takumar 100/f4 macro, ISO 1250, various shutter and aperture settings.
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burnt embers 
Ehpem, This is such a peaceful place… I love the variety of grasses and their colors, the reflections, the lighting…your photos are always beautiful.
PS…I’m going to subscribe to your blog, even though I’m following you already. That way I’ll get notifications of your posts.
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Hi Judy – thank you again! The pond is a special place, its always great to visit there. I miss my lunch time walks there from when my office was close by. I know what you mean about subscribing – I do look at all the email subscriptions that I have, but I often miss the ones that come up on WP read blogs list – there are too many and I don’t check often enough.
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Exactly! That’s why I wanted to subscribe. I’ve missed your blog and I apologize.
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No need for apologies. I am missing blogs that I want to visit more often, including yours. It’s just the way it is.
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I think that photo (along with those magic sea photos of yours) is one of my favourites! So rustic and elegant 🙂
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Hi Anne – thank you very much. Now, if only I were both rustic and elegant as well – that would be something 🙂
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I really like EVERGREEN AND TWIGS…but I would have to say my fav is certainly BOARDWALK TUNNEL! Love the colours, the canopy, it’s really a great image!
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Thanks David – boardwalk tunnel does it for me more than the evergreen shots, which are a bit abrupt (colour wise) amongst all the other softer colours. Tomorrow you will see that I have banished the colour entirely. Makes for a different feel entirely.
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Beautiful !!
I also have my favorites 🙂
DISTANT CATTAIL FRINGE and RED BROWN SEEDS
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Hi Mathias – thanks so much. I am glad that people are finding different ones to like, a bit of something for everyone in this post from the looks of it.
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Spectacular series. The Boardwalk tunnel is stunning: the colors and tones just took my breath away. The composition and colors of the distant Cattail fringe is brilliant. And the snowberry is utterly exquisite. Wonderful, wonderful!
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Hi Lemony – welcome to Burnt Embers, I have noticed you around the past while and appreciate that you are coming back. And thanks so much for commenting, I really appreciate your thoughts. Glad that you are finding things to enjoy 🙂
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Beautiful photos! Really transports the viewer.
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Hi Mia – welcome to my blog, I hope to see you again :). And thank you for your comments!
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Nicely done Ehpem!
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Hi David – thanks so much, I am appreciating all these comments 🙂
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I liked all of them! Great photography and so many interesting things around. Nature never ceases to amaze, does it? 🙂
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Hi Nandini – thaks for all your likes!. Nature can withstand all the close examination we care to give and still amaze us.
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A really nice set of images but I have 2 favorites: CATTAIL FRINGE NEAR and SNOWBERRY. These would be nice in my gallery.
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Hi Ken – thanks so much. I like those ones too, especially the snowberry and that mostly because in post I discovered the brown streak of light in the background that was not obvious amongst all the branches and so on. It was a nice surprise that made all the difference to the photo. The snowberries are really at the end of their cycle, the little fragment of one in the upper left is more typical of what is left out there.
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I always find these colours so peaceful, as is your subject. The tones are beautiful.
I like the first shot too, with the arching branches seemingly providing a tunnel to walk through.
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Hi Karen – thanks so much. I like to think of those red branches at the other end of the tunnel like a large stained glass window. It would be nice to get a shot that emphasised that aspect – it would need just the right light I think.
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Nice series of a beautiful little spot.
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Hi Joseph – it is a beautiful spot. And little as well, I wonder if its big enough with the increasingly dense urban surroundings to retain its integrity. There is quite a lot of work being done these days to restore habitat in the sanctuary, and it looks as if they are trying to contain and filter some of the run off from nearby housing and roads as well, which could only be a good thing.
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Lovely. These are all beautiful images. I’m particularly drawn to the fungus and leaves yellowed.
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Thanks Ryan – I am glad someone likes the leaves yellowed – I had a lot of trouble with the shots I took of the leaves, could not get just what I wanted, and the right exposure seemed to elude me too.
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Beautiful.
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Thanks!
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love them!!! i was doing something similar today (not posted), reeds, water, macro, but yours are brill 🙂
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Hi dadirri – nice to have you back. Thanks for your comment. These were all a bit disappointing until I tweaked the settings, mostly contrast. as my camera settings were on neutral.
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