Helleborus niger L.—Christmas rose. FAMILY: Ranunculaceae—the Buttercup Family. The genus Helleborus is recognized by showy flowers of white, green, or purple; sepals: 5, large, petaloid; petals: none; stamens: numerous, the outer 8-10 modified into staminodes; pistils: usually 3 or 4; style: erect, slender; fruit: a follicle; leaves: alternate, palmately cleft. (source: UPENN dept of agriculture)
This flower is blooming in my front yard. I had no idea it was so interesting close up. I especially like the staminodes. The petaloid sepals are nice too.
Do you have a special lens on your camera when you take these close ups? They are all very nice pictures.
ReplyDeleteI have a fantastic new digital SLR camera. Its a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. I just have one multi purpose lens: a Canon EF-S 17-85MM f4-5.6 IS USM. It goes from wide angle to a pretty good macro and about 4x zoom. The helpful thing is that its 10 MP and the optics are so nice that I can crop a fair amount and still have good pictures. I got a gift card for this camera for Christmas, but it took me until early April to actually do the research on what I wanted and go and get the nerve up to go and buy it. Its a really fantastic camera. I also often use my pocket camera: an Olympus Stylus 720 SW. A versatile and rugged pocket camera. As rugged as it is, I broke the USB door and it was in for warrentied repair for the last 2 weeks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliments on the photos!
Also thanks to glickster for the great Hellebores link!
I have a Nikon D50 SLR, with a 28-200 macro/zoom lens. 6MP It's about a year old now, and I like it a lot. Our two cameras always seem to top the reviews, usually with yours considered the best.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the kind of camera to stick in your pocket while you're on vacation, but fine for around the garden.
I've always liked the pictures on your blog. I'm looking forward to seeing them now that you have a serious camera!
I looked at the Nikon and would have prefered that one. However, it was just too big and heavy for my hands. With its plastic body, the Canon is lighter. Its also a bit smaller. I think maybe the Canon is sized for women, the Nikon for men? I hear Nikon just came out with a Canon-sized version. In any case, I love my new camera!
ReplyDelete