Red rose flower in the frost

Walking through the Christchurch Botanic Gardens on a winters morning. I wasn’t expecting many flowers. We ended up in Central Rose Garden. There weren’t as many roses flowering as there would be in spring or summer but there was still dozens. Unfortunately there was no signage next to this rose, so I can only tell you this is a red rose. It is the frost that makes this photograph special. Without a macro lens I couldn’t get any closer than this. That said I haven’t shared many flower shots recently and I thought this one was good enough to publish.

Orange rose flower

Orange rose flower

Orange is one of my two favourite colours and roses are my favourite flowers. It has also been far to long since I shared any flower photography. This was captured at The Lady Norwood Rose Garden at the Wellington Botanic Garden. Where you’ll find some of the biggest and brightest roses in the city. One of the amazing things about this photograph, to me anyway, is that this was taken on my phone. This is an unedited photograph straight from the iPhone X. Whilst it was in direct sunlight the blurred background. It’s impressive for such a small camera lens and sensor. The iPhone won’t be replacing my camera gear anytime soon. But for many daytime shots it is an extremely capable camera.

Stoneridge Estate Wine Tasting

Stoneridge Estate Wine Tasting

After stopping at Lake Hayes just north east of Queenstown, it was quite by accident that we ended up the amazing Stoneridge Estate. Having wanted to visit a nice vineyard since I first came to New Zealand I couldn’t have picked a better one. They are mainly a wedding venue. In fact when we arrive there was a wedding happening in their small chapel. However we had a private wine tasting in a different building on the Estate. This old barrel was in the garden, which was beautiful.

Celtic Cream Roses

Celtic Cream Roses

Having photographed hundreds of flowers, in particular roses, I am often looking for something different. Some of the rose gardens around New Zealand have proved excellent for photo opportunities. Usually I tend to focus on bright or unusually coloured flowers. Here in the Wellington Botanic Garden I tried something different. The sun was shinning through gaps in the leaves of a tree. This caused the great lighting effect here. Showing parts of the flower lit up and parts in shadow.