Lots of Lovely Lupins

Real-time

You didn't think you were going to get away without seeing lupin photos did you? After I'd finished taking photos of the McLarens at Omarama I headed to the Ahuriri River Bridge just down the road. 

After the disappointment of finding that many of the lupins around Lake Tekapo had been sprayed and the ones that were still flowering, past their prime, I struck it lucky with the lupins at Omarama. They were just perfect; full flower heads with tips still in bud and very few seed pods. 

I crossed over the a couple of the side streams (part of the braided river system) and walked  up the river away from the carpark where people with only a few minutes to spare, stop to admire the flowers (and trample through them taking selfies)

I made my way to the main river and followed a track upstream. I had the whole place to myself; totally surrounded by beautiful lupins and their lovely perfume. I spent an hour or so taking photos, sitting on the river bank, watching terns fishing in the river and just enjoying the lovely scenery.

We called in at the river again yesterday on our way past- to have lunch, and also so I could take a few more photos using my macro lens. Many of the close up shots here and near the bottom of the post were taken with my macro lens on maximum aperture of f/2.8. Aperture has a big impact upon depth of field- that's how far you can see into the photo, it makes the subject stand out against the blurred background or bokeh as the out of focus area is called. There is good bokeh and then there is great bokeh, see if you can decide what makes great bokeh- hint, look for a sparkling background.

I'll let the photos do the talking now, don't forget to click on the photos to enlarge.

Ahuriri River bridge on SH8 in the distance

I've been wearing my flower hat for this post but I do need to mention that I have an issue promoting lupins. The dilemma I have is between three of my loves- photography, birds & flowers. I know the lupins are a major pest along the braided rivers of the MacKenzie Country, they are destroying the breeding grounds of many of our native birds, including critically endangered birds like the Black Stilt. 

If people were to move off the main roads and see the great swathes of lupins snaking their way up into the mountains, they'd be horrified. There is major cause for concern. I have noticed this year that councils & DOC have sprayed many more areas and killed many of the roadside patches. I've also noticed a river island, where black-fronted terns were nesting last year, is this year covered in lupins! 

But I also love the lupins and they make gorgeous photography subjects. Perhaps by promoting them, I'm also making people more aware of the problem, which in the end may help when DOC talk about eradicating them. Not that, that is ever likely to happen, just like rabbits, possums, wildling pines, broom & gorse amongst others, there are just far too many.