Allamanda

A friend said that he did not believe in taking photographs of anything because the best things should be appreciated and enjoyed with your own eyes. His view is that technology has still not perfected the way the human eye perceives colours. Looking at the two photos above I am beginning to wonder if there is truth in what he said. The same flower taken from different angles and at different times even though it may be seconds apart in time are of two different shades of yellow. Did I really see them in these shades of yellow? I think I have to pay more attention to the accuracy of the camera in recording the colours of the flowers that I photograph. Maybe my friend is right after all but that will not stop me from taking pictures like there is no tomorrow each time I see flowers.

Canon 400D captures

I took our two-year old Canon EOS 400D for a walk in the Singapore Botanic Gardens to get a different kind of photography experience. So I have said that I like small, compact cameras and that I adored my Canon IXUS 80 for its simplicity and convenience. The Canon 40oD is of course a lot bulkier but thankfully the weight is not proportionate to the mass and it was rather fun handling it. The pictures have that depth and clarity that I do not see very often with the smaller cameras. This time I was trying out the 18-5mm lens with Image Stabilizer. The joke was I did not know that the IS was in the 'off' position. Next time I will try out the 55-250mm.

Giant Spider Lilies (Crinum Asiatica)

Hibiscus

Allamanda

Hibiscus

Bauhinia Kockiana

Alpinia Purpurata

Pagoda flower
Unknown

Hibiscus mutabilis

Allamanda for Margaret

Sometimes I like to use a post to mark certain happenings in my life. Today I would like to put on record that I met my friend Margaret whom I lost touch with 23 years ago and no one would believe where our reunion took place. This one's for you Margaret - the purplish allamanda flower that I think is known as 'Jamaican sunset' probably because the petals, though purplish, have a yellowish tinge and I guess that is how the sky looks when the sun goes down in Jamaica.

Allamanda

Family Name : Apocynaceae
Common Name: Bush Allamanda， 软枝黄蝉
Origin : Brazil

A long time ago, I bought a pot of flowering allamanda plant from a nursery. It brightened up the garden with its continual flowering until one day, I gave it an overdosage of plant fertiliser. Sad to say, it never recovered from that terrible mistake of mine and withered away. Most of the time, plants just need fresh air, sunshine, water and care. The rest of the time it needs the owner to be knowledgeable about its characteristics and how to take good care of it. For now, I just like to admire the beauty of flowers. Gardening is still far from my mind.