JUICY CRIMSON BELLS

The sun was disappearing fast over the horizon as I headed towards the jetty to catch the boat home.  Just in case you have not heard, home is actually in the city.

As there was a shortage of people to form the maximum 12 before the boat took off, to wild away time I whipped out my phone to take some shots of the last rays of sun disappearing over the water.

Then I remembered I had a bag of rose apples (also known as water apples or jambu air); nature's gift from the island in my carry all...

I emptied the juicy crimson fruit onto the wooden bench, placed them on a pot cover which happened to be in my bag (one of those odd things that I carry between my home and MSG or vice versa) set my phone on silent mode (so no one would look in my direction) and started to click away as I squatted on the rough cement floor.  

I always love taking shots in their natural setting.  Shooting these sweet mountain of juicy bells from my apartment surrounded by concrete walls are never quite the same.

I must have taken these fruit models in and out of my bag several times before I reckoned I had the ultimate shot.  

Oh the things I do just for a photo...!

DANCING IN THE RAIN

There's something magical about taking photos after the rain where you find nature at it's most beautiful.  What I love most being out and about as soon as the sky clears is the cool, refreshing and invigorating crisp air.  

It's something I enjoy tremendously; looking up in the sky and catching that spare drop or two of raindrops gliding off the leaves and falling onto me.  

Plumeria

Frangipani

Orchid

Rose

Vinca / Periwinkle

Flashback, I feel just like a child all over again playing in the rain AND shots just seem prettier!

SHARING A PINCH OF JOY!

Here's a little story...

These are not paintings but a series of real flower shots which are very special to me.  

I was given this cluster of a rare stunning orange bloom (was told there's only one tree on this island) recently by an islander in the compound of a temple.  I just had to take some shots there and then!  There was a red table nearby and as much as I love colours.... well, red and orange don't seem like the best combination.  So I found myself emptying my nylon bag and using that as a backdrop for these shots, much to the amusement of the islander who must have thought I was a little craycray.  Let's pretend you didn't see the creases in the background ;)

The beautiful shade  of orange flowers speckled with those black seeds were so mesmerizing.  I was so fascinated by them and completely blown!  

I like to think that these are my lucky charm because today I received an email to advise that this print has been included in the Society6 Shop (http://society6.com/products/STUNNING-ORANGE-BLOOMS_Print where these pictures will be reproduced as art or framed art prints and also printed onto other merchandises.  

Just in case you're wondering what's on Society6 Shop... 

"The artwork on Society6 is created by hundreds of thousands of artists from around the world."

When you buy a product from Society6, we produce it using only the highest quality materials, and ship it to you on behalf of the artist.
  

Gosh! So am I an artist?  No because I can't draw.  Many years ago during a charade game (I've given up playing them, they only embarrass me...), I picked up a card with the word goldfish on it but you just imagine how I drew the fish because my team mates screamed in unison "guppy!... guppy!" to my horror.  If given a choice by the nice people behind Society6, I would consider myself more of a photographer because what I basically do is upload photos I take onto various products. (No, I don't use photoshop.  You get what you see) However what I like about this is although my products are available in my shop on Society6, in reality I do not own a brick and mortar shop where rental can be so exorbitant.  Apart from uploading photos and promoting my products which I am lagging far far behind, there is nothing else that I have to do as everything else is taken care off by Society6 (just in case anyone else out there wants to be an artist too).  Basically I get 10% of the sale price off all merchandise (except for art prints) which barely is enough for me to buy a packet of seeds but hey I am enjoying what I do ie. taking pretty pictures and that is what matters most.

Coming back to where I stopped, so after some detective work, I found out the common and botanical name for these flowers.  They're the flowers from the Black Pearl Tree, also known as Majidea Zanguebarica.  What a pretty mouthful!