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calissaYesterday was a pretty awesome day for two reasons: I ordered me some new shinies and I had a lovely trip out to the Arboretum.
For those who are unaware, my camera of choice is an iPhone. This is mostly because it is light, portable and I have it with me pretty much all the time. My sister was lovely enough to give me some special lenses for my birthday. Below is a shot of them still in their packaging:
Anyway, an acquaintance of mine was astonished to learn that one could acquire camera lenses for iPhones. I looked up the website address to send to him and of course got suckered into looking at the awesome things. I ordered myself one of their new polarising filters (because the filter in the odd package out in the above photo is a giant pain in the butt), one of the extra super-dooper telephoto lenses (which comes with a tripod and which I hope will help me be able to take some bird photos) and their custom pouch to put it all in. It will likely be a month before it arrives but I am super excited!
In the afternoon was the trip to the Arboretum. I had been twice before (the last time on Boxing Day), but I'd not had much of a chance to walk around the place and have a really good look at the trees. So, I had lined up an outing with my dad, my sister and--by default--my nephew. Since photography runs in the family (I'm a late bloomer), I knew they'd been keen to wander around taking photos.
It was a glorious day. The temperatures were a bit cooler than the usual summer fierceness, but the sun was still strong. Having arrived someewhat early, I ducked over to check out the Himalayan Cedar section to fill in some time.
This is one of the few established sections of the arboretum. When I was growing up, the Himalayan Cedars bordered a great pine plantation which burned down in the bushfires in 2013. The cedars and a portion of the pines were saved and incorporated into the design of the arboretum. You can see in the photos below how the other sections have only just been planted. I'm told the first of the new trees were planted in 2006. The ceders were planted sometime between 1917 and 1930.
The building visible in the photo above is the visitors centre and is where I took this photo. The green patch is an amphitheater lawn where they sometimes have an orchestra performing in the evening.
Before I left the cedars, I took a close up of the sign for a friend who had been delighted with the photo I had taken of the boardwalk quote at the wildlife sanctuary. Reflection proved a challenge, so it's not the best photograph.
The quote from Frank Lloyd Wright says "The best friend on Earth of man is the tree. When we use the tree respectfully and economically we have one of the greatest resources of the Earth."
Below is a photo taken looking back towards the cedars--which are the more vibrant green to the right. The building on the left is a chapel.
We had a good wander around, Dad and I unconsciously falling into step. He has always been a wonderfully undemanding companion, content to talk or not, and I love the way we match strides without even thinking about it. My sister pushed her pram along side us, the two of us exchanging banter with long familiarity--she calls me 'pest' and I call her 'brat'. My nephew, I was informed, has been dubbed 'terror', though he was as good as gold the entire two hours we were there and didn't make so much as a peep.
I got to have a good look at some of the trees and finally managed to identify what kind of oak is growing in the neighbourhood--a question that has long plagued me. We also chuckled to see a large number of magpies had taken shelter from the sun in the branches of the short trees. Not that I could blame them; I ended up somewhat sunburnt on my forearms and the back of my neck.
Eventually, Dad wore out and so we headed back to the visitors centre for coffee before heading home.
It really was a very lovely day.
For those who are unaware, my camera of choice is an iPhone. This is mostly because it is light, portable and I have it with me pretty much all the time. My sister was lovely enough to give me some special lenses for my birthday. Below is a shot of them still in their packaging:
Anyway, an acquaintance of mine was astonished to learn that one could acquire camera lenses for iPhones. I looked up the website address to send to him and of course got suckered into looking at the awesome things. I ordered myself one of their new polarising filters (because the filter in the odd package out in the above photo is a giant pain in the butt), one of the extra super-dooper telephoto lenses (which comes with a tripod and which I hope will help me be able to take some bird photos) and their custom pouch to put it all in. It will likely be a month before it arrives but I am super excited!
In the afternoon was the trip to the Arboretum. I had been twice before (the last time on Boxing Day), but I'd not had much of a chance to walk around the place and have a really good look at the trees. So, I had lined up an outing with my dad, my sister and--by default--my nephew. Since photography runs in the family (I'm a late bloomer), I knew they'd been keen to wander around taking photos.
It was a glorious day. The temperatures were a bit cooler than the usual summer fierceness, but the sun was still strong. Having arrived someewhat early, I ducked over to check out the Himalayan Cedar section to fill in some time.
This is one of the few established sections of the arboretum. When I was growing up, the Himalayan Cedars bordered a great pine plantation which burned down in the bushfires in 2013. The cedars and a portion of the pines were saved and incorporated into the design of the arboretum. You can see in the photos below how the other sections have only just been planted. I'm told the first of the new trees were planted in 2006. The ceders were planted sometime between 1917 and 1930.
The building visible in the photo above is the visitors centre and is where I took this photo. The green patch is an amphitheater lawn where they sometimes have an orchestra performing in the evening.
Before I left the cedars, I took a close up of the sign for a friend who had been delighted with the photo I had taken of the boardwalk quote at the wildlife sanctuary. Reflection proved a challenge, so it's not the best photograph.
The quote from Frank Lloyd Wright says "The best friend on Earth of man is the tree. When we use the tree respectfully and economically we have one of the greatest resources of the Earth."
Below is a photo taken looking back towards the cedars--which are the more vibrant green to the right. The building on the left is a chapel.
We had a good wander around, Dad and I unconsciously falling into step. He has always been a wonderfully undemanding companion, content to talk or not, and I love the way we match strides without even thinking about it. My sister pushed her pram along side us, the two of us exchanging banter with long familiarity--she calls me 'pest' and I call her 'brat'. My nephew, I was informed, has been dubbed 'terror', though he was as good as gold the entire two hours we were there and didn't make so much as a peep.
I got to have a good look at some of the trees and finally managed to identify what kind of oak is growing in the neighbourhood--a question that has long plagued me. We also chuckled to see a large number of magpies had taken shelter from the sun in the branches of the short trees. Not that I could blame them; I ended up somewhat sunburnt on my forearms and the back of my neck.
Eventually, Dad wore out and so we headed back to the visitors centre for coffee before heading home.
It really was a very lovely day.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-18 02:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-18 09:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-19 01:23 pm (UTC)I've also noticed they like to embellish the ones I've been to more heavily than I see here. The photos you have show a fairly straight forward section of tree types and signage. Most of the arboretums here go out of their way to beautify the area with walking paths, little stone walls, fountains, sculptures, or even themes. There is a collection of miniature conifers from Japan in B'ham that is themed like a Japanese rock garden with sculptures and bridges and pagodas and a koi pond. If anything this is just a USian reflection of "appropriate ALL THE THINGS" though, heh.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-21 01:50 am (UTC)As you pointed out, it is quite a large space--618 acres, I believe. The climate here is very dry and the soil tends heavily towards clay. This has had an impact on the kinds of trees that they selected for planting. It will be interesting to see how they grow up.
Japanese-style gardens are rather popular here and there are already a couple in the area, so that may have influenced their decision to go for a more pared-back approach.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It was very interesting.