Summer fruits

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This year Ramadan has fallen over the month of July, and whilst the days are long and getting hotter as the days pass, one thing we all look forward to are the delicious, mouth watering summer fruits that are prepared and ready to be eaten soon after we break our fasts, for some much needed refreshment. I think my favourite has to be the watermelon, what’s yours?

Still life roses


I thought I’d try and take different kind of picture with these roses instead of my usual macro shots. Seeing these sitting in a pretty vase made me think back to the still life paintings in my art books from the Renaissance period, which were wonderfully done, with lots of colours, details and depth. I know that this photo is quite simplistic in comparison to those grand paintings and I’ve used a camera (because my paintbrush skills are no where near as good as I wish they were) but the composition gives it the same feel and I think lets you see the colours and details by standing back to admire the whole scene instead of up close and just seeing parts.

What do you think of my attempt? Do you think my photo could resemble a simplistic version of a still life painting or am I just being overly hopeful?

Dandelion seeds

dandelion seeds
I’ve seen some amazing photos of dandelions seeds and have tried a number of times to try and capture them on my camera. I quite like this attempt but I will keep trying as I’m confident I can get better and much closer. The tricky part is making the sure the seeds are mostly intact and that it’s not too windy as the big head of seeds on a thin stalk makes the whole thing wave about!

Glass bottles

bottles
I recently went to a fair where many of the stalls were selling lovely things. Among them I found these slim glass bottles with a blue-green hue. They contain perfume oils, also known as attar, which is a traditional Arabic scent that is concentrated so you only need to apply small amounts. I didn’t buy any but I thought they would make for an interesting photo

Sprouting seeds

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sprouting seeds
I like how each of these striped seeds are working together to push out from the ‘skin’ that encloses them.

Can anyone guess what plant these are from?

Update (11/06/14): These seeds are from spring onions plants. The onion bulbs grows beneath the ground but the seeds develop at the top.
Well done for those who guessed correctly and good try to others who had a go!