Every once in a while it is nice to get out of your normal shooting mode and try something a little different, so when Sunday morning dawned bright and clear I encourage the whole family to go on a trip into the Wellington Botanical gardens.

Those that know Wellington will know that at this time of year the gardens are awash with color especially the tulip beds. I decided to take along the only macro lens I have in my possession and get in close. This is not the easiest as the lens is a Sigma 70-300mm lens that between 200-300mm can be flicked into a macro mode. DOF at this range is extremely narrow and a tripod is almost a necessity.

We made the gardens after lunch and managed to time it just right with the sun going in and out of cloud. When it was out it was at a nice angle to back light the flowers. My 16 year old daughter even got in the mood and went around shooting the flowers on her ipod touch. I would have to say that it did not do such a bad job.

We were not the only photographer there that day. Fortunately we had all but finished when the cloud started dropping rain again.