Blue, Blue Cornflowers:

The magical magic of the Blue, Blue Cornflower.

I'll never forget the first time that I saw a cornflower in a wild field in Scotland. It's an amazing little plant, that I first thought was a thistle without spikes. They are of course a lot bluer than thistles. I love thistles too of course...

In years gone by you could see whole fields of cornflowers where they used to grow, like poppies do today, amongst the harvest. Now, because of all the fuss about yields etc, farmers have almost eradicated the native British wild cornflowers. However, in some places they still do manage to survive. You can find them on the edges of fields of wheat, on the cliff-tops and in the gardens of those who treasure their blue beauty.

It was so wonderful when we moved into our house here in London in 2008 to discover a small clump of them in the garden, since then I've taken the seeds each year and spread them around, now my garden is full of stunning beautiful blue cornflowers.

They are so easy to grow and come back stronger every year, almost like lovable weeds. They are hardy annuals and put down roots in the autumn and they can survive the coldest of winters, they keep on producing amazing blue flowers all summer long, you can cut them back and they'll bloom again.

Wouldn't it be great if we could see fields in the countryside full of these magical blue, blue beauties?

Cornflower Capture: These images were captured on a bright cloudy morning, just perfect for flowers, because the sky acts like a massive softbox.

TIP: If there is no cloud cover you can produce your own softbox with a see through reflector or a large piece of white paper.

More from my morning venture into the garden.

Fuji HS50exr Review Continued.

Peace, Perfect Peace.

I'm discovering more really cool features on the Fujifilm HS50exr every day. Yesterday I found that the Black and White is soooo nifty and gives wonderful smooth tones.

Video shot with Fujifilm Finepix HS50exr camera.

One day a very wealthy businessman observed a fisherman sitting relaxing by his boat. He asked the man if he was a fisherman, the man said "Yes". He then asked him why he was not fishing. The fisherman replied, "I've caught all the fish I need for today." The Business man asked him why he didn't catch more fish than he needed. The fisherman asked "What would I do with the extra fish?" The businessman said, "You could sell them and make more money, buy a bigger boat, get stronger nets, go out deeper and get even more fish and more money when you sell them. Soon you'll have enough to buy more boats and have a fleet of fishing boats and be rich just like me" The fisherman then asked, "Then what would I do?" The Business man said, "Then you could relax, take life easy, put your feet up and enjoy life". The fisherman said, "What do you think I'm doing now?"

Contentment: Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  

The Fujifilm Finepix HS50exr may not be the best camera on the market today. It doesn't even come close in quality to even the most basic DSLR, however, what it lacks in image quality, it more than makes up for in ease of use, almost instant focusing, awesome zoom reach (bringing the most distant objects soooooo close, you can almost touch them.)... and amazing picture taking pleasure with the tiltable rear LCD screen. Couple all that with outstanding film simulation modes and effects and you've got a great little travel camera with an arsenal of photographic potential in one body. You don't need extra lenses. You don't need a kit bag full of gear. You don't need anything else but a smart, intelligent camera that thinks for you in an emergency. You'll get the shot!

Click Here for more of my Hand's-On Review
Click Here for more on my Key Features of fuji HS50exr.

Peace in my garden in South London, 16th May 2013, in the late afternoon sunshine: 

Fujifilm Finepix HS50exr: 1/850th sec, f/4.5, ISO 400, Handheld.

Fujifilm Finepix HS50exr: 1/800th sec, f/3.5, ISO 100, handheld. 

Peace, Perfect Peace, is the gift of Christ the Lord.