The best of 2013

2013 has been an exciting year for me with regards to photography; I finally managed to get myself a DSLR and was able to take some great photos with it at some amazing places. I have also been learning more about photography through a course as well as through all of you bloggers out there. Some of you have left helpful tips, while others have left kind and encouraging words, but I think most of all I feel that having seen photos that you have taken and published on your blogs you have really set the bar high, with beautiful, amazing shots of the world around you. I thank you all for your support on my blog and for helping me see the world in a different perspective.

I hope you all have a happy and successful 2014 and I leave you with some of my favourite photos from this year.

African periwinkle

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I really like this photo; a delicate, pretty pink flower against the dark green leaves and foliage. I think the contrast in the colours make it a striking photo and the sharp detail of the water drops also stand out. What do you think?

Kew Gardens – Autumn visit

I recently went to Kew Gardens in West London; the last time I went was in school and I’d been meaning to go back ever since, especially as over the last couple of years there’s been some changes. For some reason or another I just wasn’t able to go, so a couple of weeks ago I decided not to wait anymore and just go. Initially I was a bit apprehensive about going in late autumn, as I imagined that most of the trees would have shed their leaves and there wouldn’t be much to look at, as well as the point that I always imagined going in late spring/early summer to see nature blossoming. In the end I decided to go anyway and see what there was to see, and learn from the experience.

I packed my DSLR camera to take with me and got there by mid morning. I was really lucky with the weather as it was nice and bright, and not grey and cloudy like it had been in previous days. I was also pleased to see that as we’ve had a mild autumn in London so far, most of the trees still had their leaves, and many were in now in brilliant shades of yellow, red and orange, which in the bright sun looked even more magnificent.

Here are a few of the photos that I was able to take whilst there, but what I didn’t realise was just how big the Gardens were- that after walking around for about 5 hours I still hadn’t managed to see all of it!

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Seeing as I managed to take lots of photos and because there’s was so much to see I’ve decided to do separate posts on different parts of Kew Gardens, this one being about the Palm House which houses plants from tropical and subtropical climates all over the world

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Here’s a banana tree with bananas growing from it, with leaves so big you could place two grown ups end to end and the leaves would still be bigger! There was also a pineapple plant – these pineapples were so tiny – the size of walnuts

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The walkways were full of leaves growing over it, giving you a an idea of how they would grow in their natural habitat

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There was a strange looking plant growing in the Palm House too called a Cycad, that is known as a living fossil. These plants have been around before dinosaurs, living up to 2500 years long!

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There is so much more to see but I don’t want to post too many photos of one area in case you want to visit the Gardens soon. I will hopefully be able to do another post soon on another part of Kew gardens

Rose red

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I took this photo a couple of years ago, when I was trying to get back into photography after a long break. I’d previously always used and loved cameras that took film and was apprehensive about switching to digital, but once I did I loved that not only could you see your images instantly but you could create different effects according to the light and composition due to the new technology.

This photo is one of my favourites and was one that was taken with a bit of experimenting. I love the bright red petals contrasting against the black shadows. And believe it or not this image has had no enhancement made to it at all.