Flora in Bonatical Gardens, Singapore

Botanical Gardens...we used to haunt the gardens when I was in university...as I lived on campus just across the road from one of the entrances by Cluny Road. It was the place for exercise, for courting, and for just walking around...doing nothing, dazed sometimes due to too much mind boggling stuff the Profs would dish out.

The gardens are always a haven...though our climate might make them humid, they always delight with the flora and fauna.

Here are some flora photographs. I am surprised that I enjoyed taking flowers more than I would have imagined initially. All pictures were made with the HC4/120 Macro on a monopod. The HC4/120 is a macro lens I use most frequently for my watch photographs.



I already knew its superb abilities in capturing detail, even micro-detail which show up as textures. But I am a bit surprised...pleasantly no doubt...that the bokeh of the lens is quite superb too...nice, smooth, creamy, and the specular highlights were nice and round.

This shot was made just outside the main entrance..



I neglected to take down the labels which name the plants, so am unable to repeat their names.



Shot with the 120mm macro lens, at f/11 and ISO200. Note the very shallow depth of field.

I also spied a dragonfly...having a meal. It would rest on the tip of the stalk, close its wings in 3 discrete steps, and fly off. Only to return a very short while later and repeats. I caught this on his second or third return.



This is a crop, as I was not able to go near enough to have the dragonfly fill the frame. The insect is rather small, but almost bright red in hue. Interesting. On clicking the larger 1920 wide picture will show what looks like pixelation on the wing left of the observer. I am not sure it pixelation, as at no point did I have to uprezz the picture. I made a 100% crop, and slightly down-rezzed the picture.