Rome. High on the Aventine hill in Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta (the Square of the Knights of Malta) is the knights’ private garden and the way into the garden is through a huge entranceway with a locked wooden door. There is a tiny keyhole in the center of the door through which one is able to view an arbor way of trees, which frames the Dome of St. Peter’s in the distance. (text from thetravelzine.com)

This picture was realized overlapping two frames, made with two different exposure timing: 1/15 seconds (for a good exposure of the garden) and 1/100 seconds (for a good exposure of the dome). I fixed the aperture to the same value f/4,9 to obtain the same field dept. In computer post-production I overlapped the two frames only in the central zone with a feather on the levels. Finally I applied the unsharp mask.

Yes, it’s really spring! This picture can prove it.

This picture was taken in the early afternoon, and I used the flash technique to soften the shadows due to sun light. Of course I used super macro mode too.

Why one have to resist temptation to take a picture of a flower? It seems that macrophotography was invented just to capture pollen grains in a picture!

[update: this photo had participated at Photo Friday in 25-11-05 ‘Yellow’ challenge as link n.866]

Focal length was 17mm in Macro mode and so you can see some little yellow pollen grains on white petals. The peculiar light in the photo is due to the moment, during the afternoon of few days ago, when this photo was taken and when the sky was without a cloud and the sun was low on the horizon. It’s important to be able to wait a better light.

Daisy’s scientific name is Bellis perennis, that means always beautiful in latin. In the language of the flowers to present the small B. perennis means: I will think of you. (source thais.it)

To celebrate the upgrading to a new wp release (1.5) and the consequent theme changing, I have the pleasure to publish the following picture taken in the first springlike sunny day of this year.

[update: this photo had participated at Photo Friday in 04-01-05 ‘Worn’ challenge as link n.636]

The image of the tree was taken as a silhouette shooting the photo with the sun light behind the subject. It’s important to underexpose the tree to eliminate any detail in the figure and showing only a clear dark shadow. To realize this I have set time exposure to 1/1000 seconds, f/4.7, and an ISO speed rating of 50.