Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

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DaveW
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by DaveW »

Your pictures seem OK Barracuda, what is supposedly wrong with your camera? Provided the camera is working OK it's as much the photographer that is responsible for the image produced as the equipment.

"I definitely think that the entries should show us these plants in a way that we normally don't see them when just looking at them on a bench, whether it be flowers or the plant itself."

I was just trying to clarify what you meant Saxicola. They sometimes call for "Plant Portraits" in the UK where both the flower and body of plant has to be shown to illustrate the species, rather than a plant smothered with flowers hiding the body as below which would not qualify:-
heliosa3.jpg
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However it would qualify if the competition just called for a close up shot, but I think you would prefer even closer shots?
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Jens
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by Jens »

Bigger isn´t always better- but it should be an unusual view of things (in this case plants). Great picture entries everybody.
I tried some more close ups today
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Notocactus uebelmannianus v. flaviflorus 2013 Juno06-4.jpg
Notocactus uebelmannianus v. flaviflorus 2013 Juno06-4.jpg (86.33 KiB) Viewed 9080 times
Lobivia densispina v. albolanata WR585a 2013 Juno06-5.jpg
Lobivia densispina v. albolanata WR585a 2013 Juno06-5.jpg (73.68 KiB) Viewed 9080 times
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SnowFella
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by SnowFella »

Hmm, might just be the spark I need to break out the extension tubes and try some of the old glass I've bought for greater than 1:1 macro. Shame there's just about no flowers on the bench at the moment :idea:
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majcka
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by majcka »

SnowFella wrote:Hmm, might just be the spark I need to break out the extension tubes and try some of the old glass I've bought for greater than 1:1 macro. Shame there's just about no flowers on the bench at the moment :idea:
Here's a chalange for you. Do it without flower. :lol:
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SnowFella
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by SnowFella »

Guess I could do a close up of death at the moment as I've got atleast 2 plants that are headed for the great compost heap in the sky. One's rotting from the bottom up and the other is turning grey.
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majcka
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by majcka »

SnowFella wrote:Guess I could do a close up of death at the moment as I've got atleast 2 plants that are headed for the great compost heap in the sky. One's rotting from the bottom up and the other is turning grey.
Hate to hear that (about plants dieing) :(
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DaveW
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by DaveW »

How's this for a flower close up using the extrusion effect filter in Photoshop Elements :lol:
abstract.jpg
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Saxicola
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by Saxicola »

I think we had a contest last year where everyone Photoshopped their pictures. You might have won that one!
I'm now selling plants on Ebay. Check it out! Kyle's Plants
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Jens
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by Jens »

Yeah I think I saw that Manhattan- Style flower in another thread somewhere. Nice one Dave.

Dead plants don´t have to be ugly all of the time....
Krankheit Pilz an Tephrocactus articulatus 2013 April10.jpg
Krankheit Pilz an Tephrocactus articulatus 2013 April10.jpg (81.98 KiB) Viewed 9028 times
But most of the times they are....
Krankheit Fäule Tephrocactus 2012 August01.jpg
Krankheit Fäule Tephrocactus 2012 August01.jpg (93.11 KiB) Viewed 9028 times
DaveW
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by DaveW »

The used to sell some potting compost in the UK at one time called "Arthur Bowers Cactus Medium", we used to use that for raising the dead Jens! :D

Just called "Arthur Bowers Cactus Compost" now though, so evidently no longer has clairvoyant powers! :lol:
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Jens
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by Jens »

I coould have used that on that very DEAD Tephrocactus, Dave. Too bad it ran out of stock....But the point I was going to make was that the one in the first picture looks quite unique with all those brown fungus hyphae around its stem segments :shock:
Heres one more Macro shot of today
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Lobivia rubescens exRM 2013 Juno09-3.jpg
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DaveW
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by DaveW »

Many years ago we had a chap in our branch that won quite a few shows year after year with a magnificent Testudinaria caudex, looking rather like the link below, that was until one judge just prodded it with hs finger and it moved sidewaya revealing it was dead and hollow inside and probably had been for quite a few years. After that they brought in a rule for caudiciform's that they had to be showing new growth on top to qualify for shows! :lol:

http://www.cactuspro.com/photos/Dioscor ... /2551.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Ivan C
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by Ivan C »

DaveW wrote:Many years ago we had a chap in our branch that won quite a few shows year after year with a magnificent Testudinaria caudex.......
Dave. Now that is a very interesting looking plant. I like it.
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CactusFanDan
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by CactusFanDan »

I decided to go for something a little unexpected. :P I was going to go for a top-shot or a seedling, but I couldn't get a top-down shot of a Blossfeldia I was happy with. Also since I wanted to get shots as close up as possible, having taken all my shots without a tripod I, they tended to be a bit fuzzy when they're very zoomed in.
Bloss closeup.jpg
Bloss closeup.jpg (110.38 KiB) Viewed 8992 times
Close up on a seedling Ceropegia woodii leaf.
Close up on a seedling Ceropegia woodii leaf.
Ceropegia closeup.jpg (85.65 KiB) Viewed 8992 times
Seedling Eriosyce lauii close up.
Seedling Eriosyce lauii close up.
Eriosyce lauii closeup.jpg (51.77 KiB) Viewed 8992 times
-Dan
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SnowFella
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Re: Contest 79 : Dicussion and related Pictures

Post by SnowFella »

Played around alittle this afternoon with an old lens and 36mm extension tube, gives close enough 1:1 magnification from my tests. Nothing that really is worth posting in the contest but I still have a few days left.

Little jumping spider on the old growth on one of my Mammillarias, straight out of the camera with no cropping.
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100% crop, need to stop down way further than F8 to get more in focus.
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