Category: photos

Up Close and Petzval-y

awendesLeave a comment

So, I said previously that I’d experiment with using extension tubes with the Petzval 55 MK II lense. I was slightly disappointed to find that the swirling bokeh associated with this lense is mostly lost in macro. That said, the bokeh itself is so soft and silky, irrespective of swirl and that it’s a joy to use. Even shooting at f/1.7, in macro, there’s a nice crispness to the areas that are in focus.

While it may not always be my first stop for macro work, it’ll definitely be in my arsenal for the future!

A succulent, my first experiment with extension tubes on the Petzval lense
Another succulent.
A Euphorbia
My Haworthia, covered in spider webs.
A slightly more abstract shot of my Haworthia, again with spider webs on it.
d20. Taken for macro Monday on flickr, for the theme of red.

Petzval, Petzval and more Petzval

awendesLeave a comment

So, I’m really loving this Petzval lense. The more I use it, the more I get a feel for it. It’s barely left my camera. Just a few more shots from the past few days. I’ll be looking to try the lense with some extension tubes in the next day or two, to see how it performs.

My wife and our spaniel. I was really enamoured of the bokeh I got on the sweeping tree branches.
I liked the way this leaf stood out against the background and the petzval lense gave it some extra interest with the swirlyness.
I wasn’t sure if I liked this image to start off with, but it has grown on me. The focus is in just the right place, I think.
A Peony that’s died back. Again, loving the bokeh.

Back in the saddle again…

awendesLeave a comment

So, it’s been a while since I wrote a blog post. I hit a bit of a rut and wasn’t taking many photos. Even now, I’ve not been in my darkroom for ages. But still, I’ve finally started taking more photos and I’ve started another 365 project, which is pushing me a bit. It turns out I was missing the need to take photos every day. It gets the old creative juices flowing!

Skimia Japonica
Primrose Flower
Some berries, sliced with the Edge 35 Optic.
The centre of a gerbera
A slice of autumn, with the Edge 35 Optic.
A glowing rose
The stigma of a hemerocallis, or day lilly.
And finally, a hairy little spider.

Captures Of The Week (Or There Abouts!)

awendesLeave a comment

So, I’m still playing about with my Raynox 250 on my Tamron 90mm Macro Lense. While I’ve been doing a fair bit of macro work, I’ve also been swapping in the lensbaby as the mood takes me. Still love the edge 35 optic 🙂

Peeking through the bokeh…
Just the centre of a flower
Hebe flowers
The carcase of a dead ladybird.
A dead fly. This was very small and quite difficult to shoot hand-held.
Some flowers, shot on paper, using the light from a window and tweaked quite a bit in Exposure X4.5

Getting Even Closer!

awendesLeave a comment

So, I’ve been experimenting with a Raynox 250, as I said in my previous post. This is essentially a lense that clips on to the front of a lense to get you even closer. When combined with a macro lense, you get even closer. This does have it’s problems though, in that even with steady hands there’s still some shake, requiring high shutter speeds and a bit of luck. A tripod would make life easier when it comes to shake, but also makes life more difficult if you want to freely explore an object.

If I was feeling brave, I could even throw in some extension tubes and get closer still, but there’s only so much you can do whilst retaining your sanity!

I will be keeping the Raynox close to hand as it’s useful, but will need more practice using. Here are a few images I’ve made using it, mostly clipped onto my Tamron 90mm.

The luminous colours of a Dianthus.
The petals of a daisy type flower.
A close up of the centre of the daisy like flower.
A close up of the entrance to a Trailing Petunia
This image was and experiment. It’s actually a curve of bubbles around a glass of coke. I lit it with an LED lamp, with a black background. The focus isn’t perfect, but I think that actually adds to the sparkle.
This little fella is only 1-2mm in size. Had to crop it quite aggressively. It’s quite amazing the detail you can get.
And to end on an orange Viola.

Captures Of The Week (5/6/19)

awendesLeave a comment

After a bit of a hiatus from my blog, I’ve decided to upload my favourite photos from the past week. I’ve also been experimenting by using a raynox 250 on my 70-300mm lense, with mixed results. It works well when it wants to!

I realised after posting this that I included photos from my previous captures of the day (doh!). I still think they’re captures of the week too, so they’ll remain.

Someone asked me for some photos of our dog… I didn’t skimp on them!
A shot from Gunwharf Quays. The water in the pool was a very strange colour, which wasn’t fully captured in this image.
Looking out to sea. Taken at Gunwharf Quays.
A very close up shot of a single lupin flower.
Beautiful blue skies, down by the sea.
Another from Gunwharf Quays. I was really interested by the curves of the structures, which I think was accentuated by the 11-16mm lense.
A false colour shot of some lupin flowers.
And finally, a macro of a poppy, just bursting out.

Captures Of The Day (18/05/19) – or the tale of the forgotten battery…

awendesLeave a comment

So, I forgot to take my camera battery with me today, leaving me with just my phone camera. I’ve only ever used it for snap shots, so didn’t really know how it performed. It’s fine out wide. As soon as you focus up close you find it’s all digital zoom. Very disappointing as I wanted to do some macro photography. Even more disappointing was that the macro shots I did take looked good on the screen, but crap when I put them on the computer. I guess you win some, you lose some.

View through a tire swing.
Sweeping Flowers. False colour added in Exposure X4.5
Flowers given a red-cyanotype look.
Given a infra-red look in Exposure X4.5
A good use for an old bath