Tag: photography

In my previous post I mentioned the challenges of crisp focusing, the flatness produced by the flash directly above the camera (it should be to the side), camera shake and the need for a tripod.  I discovered among our possessions an old tripod (a Velbon VE-3, >30 years old) and today I returned to the field.  When using a macro lens the slightest jarring of the body blurs the image.  One answer could be to increase the speed of the shutter.  But then less light reaches the sensor.  So I could open the aperture of the lens to allow more light to reach the sensor but depth of field (clearness of image in front and behind the point of focus) is sacrificed.  Or I could increase the sensor ISO speed but this results in “noise”.  So if I want to shoot with a small aperture (say f22) and a slow film speed (say ISO 400) on a cloudy day (to avoid bright sunlight bleaching) I have to use a tripod.

flower with some depth of field

 I also have to choose a time when there is no wind since the slightest movement of the flower produces blurring.

Now I am looking at flowers more carefully, I am noticing lots of small pollinators I had not seen before.

I continue to be attracted to patterns – here the pattern of a fig leaf.

I took several snaps of small red bugs which are teeming around a vegetable growing area.  Never saw them on the plants but they parade everywhere else.  They gather in clusters and one of my pics reveals why.

This flower stood out from the others so I had to take a snap.

I notice that my tripod, which is sturdy, is still unsteady – this is because the tripod feet rest on mulch and soft soil.  So the slightest touch can move the platform – I may need a shutter release cable in due course.  Also the pics on my website are compressed, typically as in those above, below 100 kilobytes.  The original pics are >3 megabytes so the compression is more than 30 times and yet the pics look decent, but there is an inevitable loss of definition.

I have taken photographs since I was a kid.  Initially with a box camera, then my Dad’s Zeiss Ikon f2.8 bellows camera, then a single lens reflex and then most recently for this website a Canon PowerShot SD1100.  The PowerShot has been fine but it has limitations for good close up pictures.  I recently found a boxed assortment of Pentax lenses, one of which is an Asahi SMC Macro Takumar f4 100mm, which is about 40 years old.  This lens should be great for close ups I thought, so why not pair it with a modern digital camera.  After considerable research I decided to buy the Olympus EPL-5, which arrived this week and I snapped a few pictures.  Using an older lens has some disadvantages – there is no automatic focusing, you have to do it yourself.  Also the aperture does not automatically open for focusing and the stop down for exposure, you have to manually step it down.  So it takes time to develop these lost skills.  But I don’t take action photos and I will try master these techniques.

I should mention that for this website I compress photos considerably, so if they are not razor sharp attribute this to compression or user error, but not the equipment.

The photographs were taken using a monopod but this is not stable for long exposures.  I will use a more rigid platform and then I will be able to stop using a flash which tends to flatten the subject.  The centipede appeared suddenly as I was focusing on the log oyster mushrooms.

With all the recent rains (my property is fortunate it receives rain from the Gulf  i.e. the southwest and also the northwest) the kale was sparkly with raindrops.

kale leaf with raindrops

The only chicken to co-operate with my slow manual focusing requirements was the New Jersey Giant who was attracted to the distinctive click of the Olympus.