On Saturday I visited Kew Gardens, somewhere I haven’t been for years. I was keen to go again, as there is a new installation/exhibition of glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly and I love his work. I saw a previous display at Kew Gardens, and also some of his work on display at the Victoria & Albert museum, but many years ago. To my great surprise, my friend’s (now grown-up and married) daughter remembered seeing them at the V&A and taking part in a digital camera experience for children, in which they were lent a camera and got to choose one of their photos to have printed on a t-shirt. I had completely forgotten that detail; all I remembered was seeing some of the glass work.

Of course, this gave me another opportunity to give the new camera a workout and I’m reasonably pleased with most of the results. I’m still working with the 35mm f2.0 prime lens and it really is good.

 

There was an exhibition space at Kew, showcasing some of Chihuly’s smaller works – simply stunning.

 

 

The waterlily house had a set of stunning sculptures – and far too many people in there, getting in the way of my photos, unfortunately. At least there were waterlilies, though, some of my favourite flowers.

 

The Temperate House had quite a selection of sculptures, some nestling in amongst the plants.

 

 

In the Princess of Wales Conservatory I spotted a jade vine, something I’ve not seen before. Quite a distinctive and lovely colour!

 

Finally, the flowers didn’t escape my attention, giving me the opportunity to play around with the depth of field control available with this lens.