When I first got myself back into photography in 2003, when I started my photo diary, I quickly got into macro shots in the garden. Early in 2004, I got myself a G3 with a set of macro lenses – for anyone who doesn’t know what they are, they are effectively magnifying glasses that screw to a special mount on the camera to give closer focussing so you can get right up close to your subject.

In my case, I got right up close to loads of my garden’s gorgeous plants and the results can be seen in my monthly garden galleries here on pbase. DM said to me in September or October of that year that it was alright shooting in the summer/autumn, but what was I going to find to shoot in January. In the event, “January in the garden, nothing to see?” is one of my best galleries I think.

Later again, I started to want to print my pics and not only that but to submit them to image libraries. When I examined the files from those shots with the macro lenses, I discovered they were not of a suitable quality to print or to send to image libraries because of awful purple fringing on the out of focus edges.

One of my favourite shots from that time was one of a coral bark maple’s tiny bud with blue sky behind and out of focus twigs in the background. I considered it perfect when I took it but later, when I understood the images better, I realised its inadequacies. The tree was in the front garden of my house in Sandhurst so is no longer a part of my world.

Last year, I found a coral bark maple languishing in the sorry corner at the Duchy nursery so I bought it and planted it. After a difficult first year because of rabbits, it’s now got to a height that will hopefully mean it won’t get completely plundered by the little furry darlings this year.

Today, as I collected firewood from the pile for tonight’s fire, I noticed the sun on the buds of the maple, blue sky behind and decided to have another go. Here it is……pink and blue – bloody gorgeous I reckon.

Last year was Mo's first day in our lives!