From Punk Rocker To Pink Rocker

Nature's Fairy Floss Comes On Delicate Branches

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

One of the many things I really love about living in Melbourne is the fact that the winter solstice arrives on 22 June, exactly three weeks after the official start of winter on 1 June. In other words, our days actually start get longer even before we are one-third of the way through winter.


Then the trees start to herald the promise of warmer weather. There is still ice on the cars and cruel frost on the ground when the wattle trees begin to bloom, with golden clouds of miniature blooms that dance in the cold breeze.

Come the last week of July and the fruit trees start to show puffs of light, dreamy pink. By the middle of August, the sun’s embrace brings a different quality of light and warmth.


These images were shot on the weekend, showing the most vivid promise that our winter only has two weeks remaining. The football season is drawing towards the business end. There is less need to wear a scarf on a cold morning. The sunlight breaks through our windows earlier than ever. And the light brings great promise for photographers.


When I shot these images, the sun was mostly hidden behind thick cloud and wild winds hit the state hard. All in all, not the best conditions to photograph tiny blooms like these. But that's the real challenge - of being able to work with Nature, to depict Nature.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Branch, Office

I Went Out On A Limb For This Shot

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

There aren't many trees in Melbourne that are bare of leaves now. We're in the middle of spring, remember. So when I saw this tree, I had to photograph it and I walked around for a while to find the best angle to get this office building into the frame. As you can see from the reflection in the bottom right-hand quadrant, the trees on the opposite side of the road are covered in leaves.

Tree's A Crowd

This Could Be Bloom Or Bust

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

The fruit trees here in Melbourne are a wonderful sight in late August and throughout September. Right now we're in the first month of spring and the colour palette has shifted from the pink blossoms to the white. Against a clear blue sky, they make a compelling sight. How can you walk past something as beautiful as this and not reach for your camera?

Red A Dare

Every Fruit Tree Tells A Story

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

As we come to the end of the first fortnight of the Australian spring, the fruit trees are a stunning variety of colours. Some are just starting to bloom, but these cherry trees have lost all their flowers and are now sporting an array of translucent red leaves. This shot was taken mid-morning recently and even though there was some scattered cloud, the sunlight on the dark branches caught my eye. After I'd tried my best to capture it (above) I stepped back and realised there was a beautiful contrast of colours if I could frame this tree and the fresh green foliage of the one next to it (below). My neck's still a bit sore from the effort! But hey, every photographer has to stick his or her neck out sometimes ....

Yellow Fever

Maybe I Could Have Done Butter With This One

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This shot of a clump of daffodils was taken two weeks ago. I was not entirely happy with the result, because my point of focus was the central bloom alone, while trying to highlight the bulbous parts of the other blooms on the right. Last weekend I thought I'd try repeating the shot from a different perspective, but the daffodils were already starting to look a bit tacky after the heavy frosts. Still, the bright yellow is a nice reminder that spring is only ten days away.

Looking at the high-res version of the shot, I noticed inconspicuous little white spikes, like miniature fangs, on the extremities of the blooms. Maybe one of you keen gardeners out there like Ruth or Mike would be able to explain this curiosity to me. Wish I'd noticed it earlier, so I could have shot the flowers to get the white spikes in clear focus.

And yes, while the rest of the world enjoys summer, there is a heavy frost outside as I write this here in Melbourne, where it's just after seven o'clock on Wednesday morning.

FOOTNOTE: That's cold comfort for some gardeners.

Shoot On Site

We Seem To Be Having A Growth Spurt

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Even though it's still the last day of July in parts of the US, it's the first day of August here. That means we're exactly one month away from the official start of the Australian spring, but the weather has already been sunnier and a bit warmer on some afternoons. And as you can see in this photograph, shot only an hour ago, Nature is responding.

Click here: Pentax K100D, Shutter speed 1/180, F6.7, ISO speed 400