Bonsai And Bonsai photoshoot . How to get best photo of your Bonsai. Part 2

In last post we learnt every thing about the Back drop and its colors and how to use that.

Tripod setting for Photo shoot:

Tripod is an important instrument.in photography, if you place your camera on a tripod, , you can easily adjust shutter speed and time with out any jerks. Small jerk also makes your photo shaky without any clear, sharp picture. With Tripod we can adjust of the height the  camera with the same level of the plant with its position and angle. Fix  camera or mobile in tripod and adjust the height of tripod.

camera focus point and should match with pot level. The plant trunk base should and the camera eye will be in the same level. So plant will be visible as it is. we can get true image with out any Parallax error.

If you are looking at plant from an angle the picture you are getting wont be perfect , In out come photo the plant's image will be at an angle  and trunk line can be covered with branches. so its not proper way of getting a good picture.

In the above photograph the focus of camera is going above canopy of the plant. So in out come image of the plant the trunk line looks thin and  young.

camera Angle focus is from the Above the plant

    

Focus of camera in first photo it is on left side, and in second photo it is on right side  

The placement of tripod with camera and plant should be in 180 degrees line. If tripod is on right side or left side the image we are getting is not a actual image.

Tripod helps to take good photos when there is minimum light in the room, that time we need more shutter speed.  When  using camera with hand slight movement also reduces shutter speed, resulting in blur or grainy images.If camera is placed on tripod there wont be any  movement of the hand, On tripod minimum amount of movement resulting  best photos of Bonsai plants. If you dont have tripod there many home made tripod videos are there online, you can check them. you can make your own. The main use of tripod is stability for camera with least motion and best photo shoot..

To be continued in next posts with other tips like tripod placement and exposure etc.....

Bonsai And Bonsai photoshoot . How to get best photo of your Bonsai.

Photographing A Bonsai : Once we finished shaping Bonsai Plant, we feel like capture the beauty of our creation in a frame. Here I am sharing some important points of Photography . These I learnt with experience, I would like to share with you all. We can start our photography shoot with our mobile. we don't need any expensive camera, Simple camera is also makes lots of difference. Then a normal simple tripod of for stable photos. For taking  good photos one need not to be a great photographer just follow some easy steps and your Bonsai photos will be marvelous. 

Back drop for photo shoot : First to show your Bonsai clearly with depth we should have a solid back ground with out any distractions. If you have plain wall that also makes a good back ground. Otherwise next step we can use Black or White colour or any other colour of plain cloth is makes a superior back ground.  when you selecting a cloth it should not be a shiny cloth, because it reflects the light.  

 

The cloth can be a velvet or 100% cotton cloth or Lekera cloth is gives a best back ground. Some times if your Bonsai is small then our coloured chart paper is perfect as a back drop. Back drop should be hang from a stand or with some support . please try to hang the cloth  straight down with out any folds.. The folds distracts the view of  main image. Our Bonsai plant can be placed in front of the backdrop on a table. We can put same cloth on table and place the plant on table. Then complete back ground will be full black and entire viewers concentration will be on Bonsai plant. Some times we can place turntable on the this table, that also gives a elegant look.

 In this photo table is covered with the same backdrop cloth

A turn table is place on the first table to place Bonsai plant

Chart paper also can be used as back drop in photography.

One more option is we can place glass sheet below Bonsai plant with black or white back drop, the reflection of the plant in the glass gives a beautiful look.

Here below we can see a detail view of White and Black drop . Both of them are good . according to our interest we can use any back ground. So always one back drop without any interruption is compulsory to show your beauty of the Bonsai  plant. 

 

To be continued in next posts with other tips like tripod placement and exposure etc.....

How to make beautiful bonsai pot Easily at home.

Bonsai is unlimited imagination to your creativity. I tried to create different pot for Premna plant.

A beautiful cement block which is light and can be carved with a chisel, drilling machine, and hexa blade. here everything explained with photos. 

Tools required:

Cement Block before carving

   

                                                                  Started Carving with chisel,and drilling machine removed all the solid materiel from inside 

  

Drainage hole is also made at the bottom of the pot . 

and made some stone like carvings by knife and drilling machine 

If you want you can make drainage holes at the bottom of the pot.

And colors used are acrylic colors, not oil colors.

Video of Bonsai pot making

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdu_OjProeg&feature=youtu.be

 

the final product is this. then it is colored with Fevicryl brown, black and yellow. First put the black color and on brown , then put yellow color

let the color dry out.

Bonsai is a Beautiful Art there is no limit to our creativity.

Then Nursery Plant Premna  is place inside the pot and soil is added. Now  it is looking as a old wood and the plant  coming up nicely. Any one can do this pot. Shaping premna plant. pruning and ramification will be done depending on the development of the plant just started.

Bonsai Workshop

Monthly Bonsai Workshop

Bonsai workshop was started with everyone participating and selecting carefully choosing the best or most suitable nebari on matured ficus and removing unwanted crisscross roots, clearing the trunk line of the plant, pruning the roots , and re potted with fresh Bonsai soil. Then Members worked on their Bonsai plants . Its a great day filled with energy and spending with all Bonsai lovers. We are sharing photos of the Workshop.

Peepal Tree as Bonsai

Peepal is called as ASHWATHA in sanskrit. It can be also called as Pippala, peepal peepul.It is considered as a holy tree. This is a native tree of India, held sacred by the Buddhists, who believe that Gautama Buddha received enlightenment under a Bo tree at Bodh Gaya. The botanical classification of this tree is:Family:  Moraceae.

Scientific name is- Ficus religiosa.

  

Aswatha is a fast-growing species. It is a large deciduous tree. In about 50 years it matures to a height of about 15 meters, with  

dense umbrella like crown about 10 to 15 m in spread. Peepal grows profusely and abundantly in and around any openings, inhabited plots, and grow as an epiphyte on other trees and then when the host-tree dies, they establish on the soil. The bark of peepal is grayish white in colour. The bark secretes a kind of milk like latex which dries into a kind of jelly having considerable medical utility. In fact, all parts of the tree have medicinal value.

The leaves of peepal are alternate, orbicular to ovate, like pan leaves. These are reddish when young. Subsequently these are somewhat coriaceous, shining above and dull green below, they hang from long, flexible petioles and rustle in the slightest breeze. Individual leaf is about 10 to 15 cm in diameter. The species sheds its leaves during autumn. New leaves sprout in February-March. Peepal bears small dark purple hardly visible flowers during February-March. The fruit is purple in colour, globule in shape and nearly 4 to 5 mm in diameter, appear during March-April. These are sweet in taste.

However, peepal seedlings can be raised from seed. and also the cuttings in well-worked soil can propagate the species. Peepal trees are wonderful and very versatile plants, beautiful to look at during any season of the year. Tolerating a wide range of soil conditions and a certain degree of drought, Peepal trees add permanence to the garden landscape as they maintain their foliage color throughout summer and winter. Foliage color change within the same plant vary a little, depending upon season.

In general, peepal are the trees which are easy to grow. Usually they should be grown in free-draining soil, and do well in poor or impoverished soils. They do not like boggy or water-logged soils.  Their native habitats are often rocky or mountainous in nature, and they look particularly good in such settings in a garden

They can be grown well from the cuttings of 5 to 6 cm in length in mixture sand and peat. They generally enjoy full sun and good drainage. During summer droughts they withstand heat and dry conditions much better than other plants. 

These plants give compact new growth with regular pinching of the new leaves once in three months and this encourages the plant a bushy growth. Repotting should be done during growing season preferably every second year for a full-grown plant or when the pot is root bound. After the repotting, don’t allow the soil to completely dry. And one more important thing is that, keep the plant in shade, or in semi shade at least for one month. Regular Watering is important, and allow the soil to dry out completely in between watering.

Regular fertilizing makes the plant look beautiful. Spray the foliage at once in a month with liquid fertilizers, generally neem based. Fertilize the soil once in a month with sufala or bone meal in very little quantities just like half a tea spoon. Before fertilizing the plants wet the plant fully and put the fertilizer in the soil and again water the soil a little bit. Regular spraying of fertilizes keeps the plant hale and healthy.

Taking care of Bonsai Plants During Spring Season

Taking care of Bonsai Plants During Spring Season

In Winter  that is December and January the plants growth is slow. Tropical plants still have little growth when compared to temperate countries where growth is totally stopped and plants will go into dormant stage. Now winter is going to end and spring is starting.It is the best  season for growth of the plants. They give many fresh leaves, new branches.

This is the season for cutting, shaping, pinching and re potting of plants. Plants need more fertilizer during this season.

In juniper and in pine plants the pinching of leaves allows rapid growth in during this season.

Cutting pruning and wiring of Ficus plants in  can be done during these months, this allows the plant to create a new style and rapid growth.
Cutting and shaping a Bonsai Plant :

The straight growing plant can be given a cut to reduce the height of the plant. The new top growing buds can be removed, when growth is stopped at the top the plant the buds at the bottoms becomes active. During this many new branches from the bottom of the plant develop at the base of the node. Allow that branch to grow and have six to seven leaves. This will be the primary branch of the plant. Then remove the top new buds on primary branch,Then the Primary branch starts giving secondary branches, allow them to grow. Start shaping the plant with wire and create your own style.
When Secondary Branches will have six to seven leaves, cut the top new bud of secondary branch. by doing this the plant will have more branches, it will attain a shape of a mini tree. Here I am giving some diagrams to give a clear idea of cutting branches and development of a plant. 

   

Peepal plant shaping

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsRRiS2NENE

 In this small video clip peepal tree shaping was shown. Here Peepal tree is growing straight and tall. It is also already developing  a new branch at the base, so to allow the base primary branch a cut has made with concave cutters in the middle portion of the branch, before cutting choose the height of the plant and make a cut. and allowing the base branch to grow stronger and wishing more branches at the base, so the plant will become bushy with more leaves.

This movie is about cutting and shaping of bonsai plant and allowing the down 

branches to grow.

https://www.youtube.com/user/kapilaas

Making Bonsai Soil

Bonsai Soil Making

        The main ingredients for the development of the plant or any  living being is earth , air , water, sunlight and the open space  that is sky. On earth different varieties of soils are available. Clay soil is the one which is just like clay material, if you fold your hand with soil in it, it will become like a ball. Another is the red soil and other is the sand and some soils are the mixtures of this. The Bonsai plant grows in a small shallow container, with very less soil in it, so we have to provide the plant with necessary ingredients for its healthy growth.

 

        So the main and important medium for growth of the Bonsai plants is the Bonsai soil. It is a specially prepared soil which contains soil, manure for nutrients, conditioners and moisturizers. The required percentage of Ingredients of the soil differs from species to species.

        The porosity and water retention property of the soil depends on the type of the soil we are using. The plants growing in rain forests are having different root system due to their nature of the soil they are growing. Depending on the place they are living plants adapted to that environment, so we will see lot of variation of plants in tropical temperate regions.

          The study of plant species and its origin is more important when you are preparing the soil per that particular plant. The basic Bonsai soil is of two types, Bottom soil and the top soil. Bottom soil contains equal size of brick pieces.

Bottom soil

Take the brick pieces and pass it through a sieve which is having holes of 2 for 2.5 centimeters. Take the down the sieved portion and again sieve it through a sieve contains 4 holes for 2.5centimeters.The top brick pieces reaming in the sieve is the bottom bonsai soil. The brick pieces have the nature of holding the water for more time. They hold water and take air from the drainage holes and in turn they act as air conditioners in keeping the root system cooool. 

Video shows How to make Bonsai Soil

Bonsai soil

 Bonsai soil is the main medium to keep the plant.for making Bonsai soil we need 

Garden soil, Brick pieces, Manure, Vrmiculate, Perlite, Cocopeat

                 This is Garden soil.

Now take, sieved down   portion of brick pieces and again sieve through a fine holed sieve and throw out the down portion of fine brick power. The top small brick pieces will be used in making Bonsai soil. Now this is the time to sieve the garden soil in the same manner and keep it a side.
               

 Small Brick Pieces Sieved through one more sieve 

                   

Take Per-lite and cocopeat

                                  

Take completely dried, powered organic manure of one portion and one portion of sieved gardensoil.

                  

Mix them completely by adding half or one fourth of sieved small brick pieces depending on the plant for which you are making Bonsai soil. Then add one third of cocopeat and perlite /vermiculite.

Mix all the ingredients and keep the soil in hot sun for a week or ten days. Other wise you can sterilize the soil and cool it for two days. This is the Bonsai soil for the Bonsai plants.