What is it capable of?

I’m not a big fan of swapping lenses. I like to put one on my Nikon and keep using it for as long as possible. I did this with my 50mm 1.8 lens when I bought it. It lived on my Nikon D5100 and I worked within its capabilities until I upgraded to the D750. I then purchased my Tamron 24-70 zoom lens which has been living on the D750 ever since, purely because of the versatility it offers me. I can get good wide-angle/landscape shots and it lets me zoom in that bit closer for portraits.

Then I felt the desire to shoot macro and lashed out on the Nikon 105mm 2.8 macro lens but it only comes out on special occasions. Wednesday and a dragonfly was one such special occasion. I could never have achieved the image I did with a standard zoom lens or even the 50mm prime.

But now I have the bug. I want to play with the 105mm and only the 105mm.

I want to do more macro. I want to see what it can do with portraits. I’m going to challenge myself to see what I can get with this lens. I know that it will mean more work for me because I will be forced to move myself to get the shot I want, but the beauty of a prime lens is the clarity it brings to your images. I love my 50mm for that reason. The images are just………better.

Let’s see how long my dedication to this challenge lasts.

 

I have risen to the challenge

Today I rose to the challenge. I stood tall or lay low on the grass and took photos of flowers.

An excursion to the Royal Botanical Gardens in my marvellous Melbourne with a small group of fellow photographers had my creative juices pumping. I will admit that I was nervous. Despite the encouraging comments from friends and photographers about my photography skills, I still felt that I was perhaps out of my league, however the results from today’s little adventure have lifted my spirits decidedly.

Today I played. My play was deliberate and experimental but it has paid dividends.

My camera bag was fully stocked, but I decided to stick with one lens……….Nikon 50mm f1.8. That lens and a 20mm macro extension tube worked in divine harmony.  On its own the 50mm was so gorgeous. I had forgotten how much I love it. I really don’t think one can go past a prime lens for clarity, but then to add the macro extension tube………..

I am beyond happy with what I achieved today and will be spending the next week editing my favourites.

 

Happy Happy Happy days.

I need the challenge

There is a fellow photographer, actually there are a few fellow photographers, who are making me a tad envious of their photos. The composition, the clarity, the bokeh, the colour, the final edit…………everything to make a person swoon.

This envy could take me one of two ways. I could fold under  their brilliance and kneel down kissing their feet, forever being awed by their skills OR I could stop and look closely at my images and see where I can improve.

Is my lens too ‘soft’ for the images I see in my head? I don’t see that magnificent clarity I adore in close-up.

Am I rushing my shots? Should I be looking more closely at my surroundings and trying a different position or vantage point from which to shoot? My lack of height has shown to be a disadvantage on more than one occasion.

Should I be employing the use of my tripod and using the live view option to ensure a sharper focus? This can be a little problematic when shooting flowers. Hmmmmm.

I know I am excited about the prospect of purchasing a macro lens and there are three lenses I am considering. I wonder at the possibility of taking my Nikon body into the camera store and trying each prospective lens out with a few test shots on the same subject.  Will I be allowed to do this? I want to take the images home and look at them on my computer to check for sharpness and vignette. I want to make sure that quality of the image is worth the price I’m going to pay for the lens.

I’m not going to take this laying down. I’m stepping up to the plate and giving this challenge my A game. I love your photos, my fellow photographers. I thought mine were pretty good, but I can clearly see that I can do better.

And I’m going to.   🙂

 

“Here comes the sun………….”

The sun came out today. How invigorating was its rays.

Though still weak from the battle of Winter, the world around me was caressed with gentle warmth. I opened doors to refresh my home.  I took the long walk with my happy dogs. I lay on my lawn in my backyard with as much flesh as I could safely expose soaking up the vitamin D while the noise of bees filtered through the deafness of my head-cold.

A good day. 🙂

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
And I say it’s all right

Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it’s all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it’s all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun,…

George Harrison

I need a sale!!

I need a sale.

I need a sale at a camera store.

I need this sale at a camera store now.

I need a macro lens to be on sale at a camera store………..  now.

I need help deciding between the Tamron 90mm f2.8 and the Nikon 105mm f2.8 macro lens so that I can buy it on sale at a camera store…………..now.

 

One out of the box

In amongst all the birthday and exhibition planning and organising I thought I’d do a photography workshop. I didn’t have much on for the weekend……….not, but let’s go and learn something new anyway!

Photographing flowers. Real ones and fake ones. Up close and personal with macro and further away using my tripod or camera in hand. In a studio setting with real lights, real backdrops, props and a spray bottle. (The spray bottle is a very important tool when shooting plants and flowers. Water droplets on petals makes a whole world of difference)

Today’s photo is my absolute favourite and I am very proud of the fact that only I have this shot and this background. The background is a large piece of cardboard that has been painted in many different colours and it was just leaning against a wall in a hallway we had to walk through to reach the toilets.

I saw this board and I knew I had to use it, but didn’t get the chance until the afternoon was almost over. As soon as the chance presented itself I had the tripod set, the remote shutter release ready and I set up my shot.

I can tell you, without a doubt, that I did a little happy dance when I uploaded the photos from the day onto my desktop and saw this baby. Winner, winner…..chicken dinner!!!!

Big thanks to #pixelsistersstudio for the workshop.

What did I learn at this workshop?

I learnt that I need a macro lens. I love getting those super-fine details and getting up extremely close to my subject and focusing on the minute details.

I learnt that I’m going to need to buy a second spare battery for my camera as using ‘live view’ chews up the battery power and two batteries are not going to be enough for an extended session of shooting.

I learnt that a spray bottle is vital when shooting flowers.

I learnt that fake flowers can be better than the real thing in many instances. (except macro)

I learnt that I need to buy a macro lens. (Or have I mentioned that already?)

 

 

 

Worn out?

Worn out? Burnt out? No longer looking our best? Yep.

This rose and I have an awful lot in common tonight. We have both seen better days. We are both looking more than a little tired and I’m sure that this rose is suffering from a headache and stiff neck as it tries to show the world that it is not quite ready for the pruning shears.

I wonder what caused this bloom to look so ragged. Was it a case of too much sun or was it a frost that caused the delicate petals to burn and wrinkle?

I know what caused me to whither and ache and unfortunately it is not something that can be rectified with sunscreen and/or protection from the elements.

Now I’m getting picky

 

I have reached THAT point.

It has arrived sooner than I expected, but later than I would have liked.

It’s not some fantastic life-altering thing like the end of my fertility or telling the #1 son that he has to leave home. (Sorry to those to you who were expecting or hoping for something epic like that.) No. It all has to do with photography. (At least this time it does)

I have finally reached that point where I look at a photo and will say…..”No. Not good enough”

Today’s photo is one of those photos. It’s just not good enough. The focus is out. Not a huge amount, but enough for me to notice and be completely annoyed by it. And I don’t know if it’s the lens or my eyesight that has caused it to be out. I thought I had it right, but immediately I saw it on the big screen I knew it wasn’t right at all.

I’m going to have to do some serious investigating over the next few days to see what or where things are going askew.

Happy Valentine’s Day to me

I love a good Valentine’s Day. I’ve had maybe three or four in my lifetime. They’re so few and far between I honestly couldn’t tell you how many I’ve truly enjoyed.

Truthfully, if I had to count the ones I TRULY enjoyed………………..I think there are two. But I’m so old now my mind has fogged over and the recollections have become dim. Very dim.

I did not enjoy this one.

I am fortunate that I really hadn’t thought anything about the whole event. I have been so busy going out and taking photos that I almost forget my seemingly constant state of singleness. February 14 was not the day for lovers, it was my best friend’s birthday and I had an event to attend for work. There were no thoughts in the back of my mind that ‘someone/anyone’ was going to surprise me with flowers or with messages of undying love and devotion. Reality and acceptance have finally come together in harmony.

There was lots of hugging though!!! Hugging of the toilet bowl as I spent most of the afternoon and early evening in the grip of a delightfully disgusting bout of gastro.

If I remember my boss correctly, I believe the words she used were, “There’s nothing like a bout of gastro to remind you that you’re alive.” Or something like that. I can’t be completely sure as I was trying to figure out if I would be able to make it home before the vomiting began. (I did…..with 20 minutes to spare)

So in reality Valentine’s Day 2017 exceeded all my expectations. It is usually a very average, disappointing and crappy day. This year it was totally shit.

Hahahahahaha.

 

****And this is why I have not posted for a few days. I was not feeling terribly creative.

Mystery Challenge: Perspective

I thought long and hard about how I was going to achieve the mystery challenge that had been set. We had to pick one object to photograph and one lens and focal length. We could take up to 25 photos and submit out favourite five or so. We had a week.

So the first thing I did was think of what perspective meant to me.

perspective

noun

1. 1.

   the art of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression of their height, width, depth, and position in relation to each other.

   “the theory and practice of perspective”
2. 2.

   a particular attitude towards or way of regarding something; a point of view.

   “most guidebook history is written from the editor’s perspective”

   synonyms:

   outlook, view, viewpoint, point of view, standpoint, position, stand, stance, angle, slant, attitude, frame of mind, frame of reference, approach, way of looking/thinking, vantage point, interpretation “her perspective on everything had been changing”

    

I didn’t look up the exact meaning of perspective until just this moment and I realise that right from the beginning I had been drawn to the second meaning of the word. Perspective in relation to a point of view.

I had thought about playing with perspective and using tricks to give my particular object different perspective in regards to its size relative to other objects that I would have included, but I couldn’t get my head around it properly. (And blow me down if the most obvious way to show perspective didn’t just come rushing to my thoughts and it would have required NO tricks at all. Duh!!! *scream in frustration at my dumbness*)

I simply chose to photograph my chosen object, a gorgeous gerbera, in different ways to show that ones perspective on something can change by the way you look at it. I shot it with a black background, a light background, from the side, front on, from the back, out of focus, reflected in a mirror, with a torchlight on it, through material, through my reading glasses, in silhouette and through my crystal ball…………..just to name a few.

I am very happy with what I have achieved, but I think I’m going to have to go out again this week with something else to demonstrate the concept/idea that is now at the forefront of my brain.