Colours

Posted in Consciousness, Insects, Life, Love, Macro Photography, Meditation, Nature, Photography, Relaxation, Spirituality, Sustainability, Truth? by Mark on 14/10/2016

Yellow Lynx on aromatic lavender against a blue sky. The sense of it …

*Click the pictures to view bigger versions.

A rarity, the sun went in and this little beauty was caught out. Without the heat she had to sleep.

The garden Fly after the rain, perched safely for the night on a closed daisy.

Crucifix Beetle is back, after a few months absence. A little shy at first but soon settled for the shot.

Long legged Weevil, on lemon world with orange moon behind.

Click-beetle, big eyes to see with, for the darkness they are active in.

Blue white … the colour of mind with nothing in it, nothing to understand anyway – doesn’t give up easy.

The shifting forms of nature after a day in the garden, rising as vines untwine and blossoms unfold, but inside.

Then there are the creatures that live on them, the forms as shape and colour, sound and position, outside.

A delightful smorgasbord of sense, represented for the pleasure of it.

40 comments

40 Responses

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rain poet said, on 19/12/2016 at 10:17 am

Wish I could take images like these, glad you share these and the feelings of peace and wonder they evoke, thanks!

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- Mark said, on 19/12/2016 at 10:57 am
  
  No reason you can’t if you put the time in, check this page – https://beingmark.com/macro-illustrated/
  
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  - rain poet said, on 19/12/2016 at 9:33 pm
    
    Thank you!
    
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    - Mark said, on 19/12/2016 at 10:01 pm
      
      Welcome …
      
      Reply
KathrinS said, on 20/10/2016 at 10:35 pm

Wow, how beautiful! You’re an incredible photographer. The colors and shapes are amazing in these.

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- Mark said, on 21/10/2016 at 4:47 pm
  
  Thanks Kathrin. I dug until I found the gold (mud was everywhere) and then I practised, a lot.
  
  One life, many forms in a hierarchical existence. Our nature is truly amazing.
  
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  - KathrinS said, on 22/10/2016 at 5:51 am
    
    Yes it is! Thanks again for sharing these amazing pieces of art.
    
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Daniel Slagle said, on 18/10/2016 at 5:20 am

wonderful pictures Mark, I enjoy them very much

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- Mark said, on 18/10/2016 at 9:29 am
  
  Thanks Daniel.
  
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venturewild said, on 17/10/2016 at 5:33 am

These are fantastic images! On our travels we often get so focused on the sprawling vistas- mountains, rivers, seas- that it’s easy to miss the perfection in the details of all of it. Your blog is a great grounder and reminder for us to look and appreciate all of it! Stop by and say hi sometime

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- Mark said, on 17/10/2016 at 11:39 am
  
  Thanks Katie, DJ. Grounded is too simple for most people.
  
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Emily Scott said, on 16/10/2016 at 5:47 pm

I love the mix of colours in the yellow lynx photo.

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- Mark said, on 17/10/2016 at 11:33 am
  
  Yes, it’s nice when it happens.
  
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doodle said, on 15/10/2016 at 9:37 pm

These are so amazing. Wish I had the same skills!

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- Mark said, on 16/10/2016 at 3:30 pm
  
  Thanks Jane. Skills can be acquired and honed.
  
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Walking My Path: Mindful Wanderings in Nature said, on 15/10/2016 at 5:07 am

What I am always left with when viewing your work is, wow, wow, wow!! You are the best!
I’m having major technological problems. Since June! What editing program do you use? I’m not having much luck with anything. Both programs that I used to used were discontinued, and I got a new computer, so I lost them. Grrrrr.
Thanks for wonderful viewing pleasure!
Mary

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- Mark said, on 15/10/2016 at 10:28 am
  
  Thanks Mary.
  
  I use Picasa on jpg’s, for saturation and contrast, etc. Then to denoise and sharpen I use Neat Image. About 1min spent on each picture.
  
  Picasa (also a file organiser, by google) is free and discontinued, but still available here – http://filehippo.com/download_picasa/ Neat Image costs ($20 or so) but it’s worth it IMO.
  
  M
  
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  - Walking My Path: Mindful Wanderings in Nature said, on 16/10/2016 at 5:49 am
    
    Thanks so much, Mark. I will get Neat Image. I really need the sharpen feature because I shake! It just looks better. How do you them compress them for blog? My Nikon edit program used to do that, but this new version doesn’t. New versions aren’t always better versions! I get so frustrated!
    Thanks again, Mark. I really appreciate it!
    Mary
    
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    - Mark said, on 16/10/2016 at 3:42 pm
      
      No problem Mary.
      
      Shaking is why they developed image stabilisation, everybody shakes to some degree. I use a stick/monopod for that, or just brace against what’s available. Flash helps stop motion.
      
      You can set Neat Image to generate output to the same folder as input. In Picasa there is a button down bottom and middle of frame says ‘Export’, once you’ve edited as you want use that to create a version with the dimensions and quality you want, a new folder with same name as original is automatically generated by Picasa under ‘Exports’. I find it adequate.
      
      M
      
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      - Walking My Path: Mindful Wanderings in Nature said, on 07/11/2016 at 12:21 am
        
        Hey Mark,
        Me again. So everything you suggested I do in Picasa worked great! BUT….then it stopped taking in my pictures. After your advice I successfully edited all my pictures in one batch, and when I went to put another set in, it didn’t take them in. They are in my pictures file on the PC, but not Picasa. Has that ever happened to you? If so, what did you do? There is plenty of room on PC. Does Picasa have a limit?
        Thank you so much for your help!!!
        
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        Mark said, on 07/11/2016 at 1:20 am
        
        Hi Mary. If you go to ‘Tools’ (top left) and click it you get a drop box with ‘Folder Manager’ in it. Click it and you get a box with folders list on left and options on right. Highlight whichever folder you put pics into on left and set it to ‘scan always’ on right. That should solve it.
        
        Walking My Path: Mindful Wanderings in Nature said, on 07/11/2016 at 11:52 pm
        
        Oh, my God! You are a genius!! Thank you so much! “Scan once” was highlighted, which still makes me not understand why my new batches didn’t get scanned once. But there it is now that I followed your brilliant advice. You are so generous. Thank you.
        
        Mark said, on 09/11/2016 at 1:07 am
        
        Ha, ha … just been doing it long enough.
        
        You’re welcome.
Cate said, on 14/10/2016 at 10:22 am

Beautiful, Mark! And the colors in the first shot are just amazing.

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- Mark said, on 14/10/2016 at 10:55 am
  
  Thanks Cate. The first is a standout, indeed.
  
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- slukwago said, on 17/10/2016 at 2:06 am
  
  That is exactly what I was going to say as well … Thank you Cate and thank you Mark. Beautiful
  
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  - Mark said, on 17/10/2016 at 11:34 am
    
    Thanks Slukwago.
    
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Sally said, on 14/10/2016 at 7:29 am

Mark, these pictures are a delight of colour and shape and just plain gosh-who’da-thunk-they-were-so-amazing! Looking at your photos my yearning for a real macro lens is intense. :-)

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- Mark said, on 14/10/2016 at 10:54 am
  
  Thanks Sally. Don’t yearn, just get it. Or stick an achromat on a zoom lens – much cheaper – there are some useful links in comments here – https://beingmark.com/macro-illustrated/
  
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  - Sally said, on 14/10/2016 at 11:22 am
    
    Thanks for the link, Mark. I’ve actually drooled over the photos you have there. My conundrum? I love my little Canon G12. Back in the film days I had a huge gadget bag with lens, filters, extension tubes et cetera. When I went digital I decided I didn’t want to go that route. Sigh. So I miss a lot of shots, closeups and telephoto. For now I will probably stick with this camera, tho’ my mind has been known to change. The more I see of work like yours, well, camera envy grows … :-)
    
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    - Mark said, on 14/10/2016 at 3:00 pm
      
      That envy is treatable, I’m sure. :-)
      
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      - Sally said, on 15/10/2016 at 2:07 am
        
        Thanks for the chuckle to start my day … :-)
        
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        Mark said, on 15/10/2016 at 10:21 am
        
        :-) …
gaurav1729 said, on 14/10/2016 at 5:57 am

Wonderful photos, thank you for sharing them!

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- Mark said, on 14/10/2016 at 10:50 am
  
  Thanks Guarav.
  
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Ngobesing Romanus said, on 14/10/2016 at 5:53 am

Amazing pictures.

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- Mark said, on 14/10/2016 at 10:48 am
  
  Thanks Ngobesing.
  
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  - Ngobesing Romanus said, on 14/10/2016 at 3:22 pm
    
    You are welcome!
    
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Lissa said, on 14/10/2016 at 5:52 am

Lovely :) The first pic of the little yellow spider on the vivid flowers really packs a visual punch.

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- Mark said, on 14/10/2016 at 10:46 am
  
  Thanks Lissa. Yes, it’s the most striking of them all, I think.
  
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