The weather was gorgeous in Charlotte this weekend, with temperatures slowly creeping up past the mid 80s. Summer isn’t quite in full swing yet, so I decided to take advantage and make a trip out to Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. I grabbed the D50 and headed out.

Sadly, one of the things I forgot to do was grab a shot of the front entrance. On the grounds, however, I did snap one of the greenhouse which is home to the garden’s fine collection of orchids. It wasn’t a completely cloud-free day, but I really enjoyed the cool breeze that came through.

 

 

I’d brought the wide angle 18-55mm kit lens with me, leaving behind the 55-200mm. There were only a couple places where I might have been able to use it, but overall was a good choice. I’m getting a Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens in the next couple weeks, which should eliminate my need for the two kit lenses.

Inside the greenhouse is a variety of orchids. Some are potted and near ground level while some are hung in more elaborate displays

Some are even displayed as a part of another plant… Taking close ups with the kit lens proved somewhat difficult freehand, maybe I’ll need to look into something more suitable for macro photography.

There are also several fountains and water features on the grounds, which split the garden into two walkways.

One of the best features of the main garden is this fountain. The spray of the jets is somewhat unpredictable and occasionally turns off. Unsuspecting folks sometimes get caught underneath…

Definitely don’t want to be underneath during this! Water was interesting to photograph as it moves pretty quick.

This was one of my favorite shots of the day. It took several tries to get since the wind was blowing and I didn’t have a tripod to rely on. I love how detailed the picture is (click on it!)

Before I left the grounds, I took a set to make a composite out of. Using Microsoft’s Image Composite Editor (ICE), 13 images were combined into one large panorama with pretty little effort. More information on ICE can be found at the Microsoft Research page.

This is especially nice for folks who don’t have a wide angle or fisheye lens. The seams are somewhat hard to find unless you really zoom in to look, which makes them good for printing.

It was a good day out with the camera. I also scoped out a couple spots where I may introduce Rin to for some outdoor photography. All I need to do is figure out the best way for me to bring her out into the public…