Olympus Zuiko OM 35mm f/2, The Adenium Obesum

Cameras and Lenses: The splendor of the Adenium Obesum, or Desert Rose, crops and close-ups with a legacy Olympus Zuiko OM 35mm f/2 lens, a 70mm short tele equivalent with a closest focusing distance of 0.3meters on the Olympus PEN E-P5.

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Native to the Sahel regions, south of the Sahara, and tropical and subtropical eastern and southern Africa and Arabia, the thick and bulbous-stemmed Adenium Obesum, commonly known as Sabi Star, Kudu, Mock Azalea, Impala Lily, and Desert Rose, is one of the other flowering plants that seem to survive and bloom periodically in my harsh and unkempt mini garden.

Though miniature in my garden pot, the evergreen can grow to 1–3 meters in height, with leaves that are simply shaped and leathery in nature, about 5–15 cm long and 1–8 cm broad, that grow spirally toward the tips of the shoots. Five-petalled tubular flowers, in small terminal clusters, tend to be red and pink, often with a whitish blush outward of the throat, are 2–5 cm long, with the outer portion diameter at 4–6 cm.

Olympus PEN E-P5, Olympus Zuiko OM 35mm f/2

Images were shot with the Olympus OM Zuiko 35mm f/2 wide-angle mounted on the Olympus Pen E-P5. With the equivalent of a 70mm focal length and the closest focus distance of 30 cm, close-up shots can be done at almost macro scale, with the subject literally touching the hooded front end of the lens.