Nature

I've been very busy these last few weeks with custom orders.  I love custom orders - making that special something for someone and having it come out just as they want.  However, it doesn't leave a lot of time for much else, especially when you work, exercise and have a family as well!

However I took a little time out today to play a little with my camera.  Something I've been wanting to do for a long time - well since we bought it really.  Earlier this year after a pretty frustrating experience trying to take photos of our friends kids with our old camera I pursuaded Mark that what I really needed was a digital SLR.  We spent weeks looking (the one condition of getting it was that I had to throughly research it, not impulse buy as is my usual style - I want it, I must have it NOW) and after much research, reading reviews and trying them out we ended up with an Olympus E520.  All in all I'm pretty rapt with it, the only thing I don't like is that it seems to take dark shots at times - however I'm pretty convinced that's got more to do with the photographer than the camera!!  Next year I am determined to find some time to really read the manual properly, practice more with it and possibly attend a nightclass on photography.

As I sit here and type I can hear the reason why this post is to do with Nature and my Camera.  We have two Tuis that have adopted our neighbourhood.  This is pretty unusual considering we live in the 'burbs, have a cat and the two dogs (and lets not forget the pretty wild kids!!)  Their song is just so beautiful, I could sit in the garden and listen to it all day.  For the last few days we've noticed them feeding from our flax flowers and I've been trying to snap a shot.  This morning after having set my alarm wrong (grrrrr) and being woken at 7am I got up to see one from the window sitting there.  I snuck out and got a couple of shots.  They're not very clear - it was terrible lighting and I didn't want to get too close in case I scared it away - and it does not do their beauty justice at all, their colours are so vibrant and pretty 

Here are some more shots I took while out again this afternoon having seen them fly through our trees.  I didn't manage to get any more shots of the Tui's but this is our backyard:

a Bee in my lavender

Apples on our apple tree (yum!)

 One of the 4 plums we have growing on our new plum tree

   

The brocolli I planted mid winter all has nice sized firm heads on them

               

All the buds on our Manderin tree mean lots of Manderins!!!

    

              

Just a couple of the gorgeous Paua shells I have through the garden

 

Believe it or not Mark only mowed the lawn 5 days ago and look at all the Dasies already!!

I have to apologise for the haphazerd photos - one thing about blogger is that the photos appear normal on my screen as I'm doing the post but when I publish the post so everyone else sees it they change - grrrr, it takes ages to correct and I don't have time currently sorry :-)