Macro photography and summer gardens

Yes winter is still here.... it's cold, white, and because of a constant cloud cover, very uninteresting for taking pictures.  I thought maybe I would revisit some of the images taken during the year, and I found this cache of old photos from the summer.  I was testing an old Pentax macro lens with the Sony NEX-7, and focus peaking.  I was planning on testing it out how well it would perform in a macro situation.  I was quite impressed how well that worked.  Here are some images from that day.  Enjoy!

Macro Nature in the Morning

I've been really testing myself lately with manual lenses, and small cameras.  For manual lenses I really prefer using my Sony NEX-7 over the Fuji X-Pro1.  Why?  There is only one reason... and the reason is focus peaking.  Sony has this function of showing, the photographer, what is in focus by highlighting the edges of the object in focus.  This makes manual focusing so much quicker and easier.  The other day, my wife and me, decided to visit a local garden in the morning.  Of course this was before the current cold and snowy weather we are experiencing.  I took with me the Sony NEX-7 and my Vivitar Series 1 70-210 lens.  What is really cool about that lens, it's a macro lens as well.  A little button press, and it switches from a regular telephoto zoom, to a macro.  I really wanted to test how well the macro feature will work with the focus peaking function of the Sony camera.  I was pleasantly impressed.  A little bit of practice, anticipation where your subject may be, and all worked out quite beautifully.  Here are some shots from that morning.  I hope they at least brighten your November day.  Enjoy! Mac

Colours of summer past...

This winter has been dragging it's feet, and specially this month of January has been pretty drab, and black & white.  Haven't seen a lot of sun or blue sky this month, so I want to add some colour to the blog right now.  These are photos taken last summer during various outings in Edmonton.  As you can see, we can have some colour in the summer time.  Enjoy!

And now for something completely different: Dragonfly

The other day when I was coming back from work, I've noticed something large sitting on our window sill outside.  It was quite still, and didn't even move when I got closer.  It was a huge dragonfly.  I always wanted to catch one, and this proved to be a great opportunity.  It was sitting motionless for a long time, so I managed to grab my seldom used macro lens and the camera of course, and had a mini photo session.  One thing I've noticed that the dragonfly did not want to smile or pose.  It just sat there.  I tried telling jokes and asking nicely to move this way or that.  It all fell on def ears.  I apologize for no smiles and no posing, but still the dragonfly was kind enough to allow me to take some portraits of it, before it got tired and flew away. Enjoy.

Bugs, bugs, bugs

I always like macro photography.  Bugs are so fun when they are blow up out of proportion.  Gives me a completely different perspective on the world.  Yes I know these are not remotely macro photography.  I did try it, and found it difficult at best.  First, bugs do move, and they move fast.  Second the focus is never quick enough.  So here are some close ups of some lovely bugs.  Enjoy.

Dragonfly on the Rocks

I was chasing this poor fellow for good 30 min, before he allowed me to take his picture. The background could have been better, but didn't have much choice. He wasn't very cooperative to begin with. People in the park were looking at me a bit strange, but then again what am I to do. Enjoy!

Canon PowerShot G9, ISO 100, f/4.8, 1/250 sec, 44mm

Enjoying the sun

Canon 5D, ISO 100, 1/25sec, f/10, 100mm

This was taken in my yard, on a peony flower. I guess the bugs like the undeveloped buds, because I can always find some ants just sitting there. Perfect for macros, since they do not move a lot. The problem becomes when there is even a little breeze. Because the buds are heavy, the whole plant swings like there is a tornado. So finally one morning it was very quiet, no wind, and I spotted this little fellow enjoying himself on the flower bud. Again, I guess I will never learn, to think things through before taking a photo. I should have increased the iso, lower the aperture to f/5, to get a higher shutter speed. Then again I was in a hurry, and this was incidental. This is what happens if I don't think. Thoughts?