Macro with the Nifty Fifty

I love that little 50mm 1.4 lens so much.  It is so fast and fun to use.  I was playing around in the front yard the other night with it and thought how I wished I had a close-up diopter for it so I could use it for some killer macros.  Then I thought about something -- the ProOptic extension tubes sitting in the house collecting dust.

I bought these way back at the beginning of the year and really have not used them much.  Recently I did play with them a little when I was working on some materials for a class focusing on macro.  They are fun -- they are inexpensive and they give you some awesome results.

So I grabbed the 13mm and the 31mm -- stacked them -- and then popped on the 50mm.  I took a test photo of a grass seed head without the extension tubes for a control.  You need to see what you are getting without them.  And then -- wow -- see what you get with those two stacked!  With these simple little gadgets you can turn any favorite lens into a macro.

When I started taking the photos -- it was hard to make myself get that close.  I was used to the regular minimum focus distance used with that lens.  The method I ended up choosing to get the very close shots was to put the camera on manual focus and move myself and the camera closer of farther away by tiny amounts at a time to get just that sliver of focus I wanted.  I could have done this same thing with a tripod -- moving the camera and tripod closer or farther to get the look.  I do this in the house some times when I am working on a certain look.

It is kind of fun to turn a weed into something fun.  

This topic was another revisit for something previously on the blog that seems to get a lot of hits. I like to go back to some that interest readers.  

Vintage Photo Friday will be posted tomorrow.  This post is Thursday.  If you are getting the blog delivered via email you may get two posts at once occasionally depending on the time of day I finish the post.

I Like Good Bokeh

It is not hard to figure since I like using a Lensbaby so much that I would like bokeh.  Some people reading the blog now are thinking -- huh?  Bokeh?  How the heck do you even say it???

I prefer the pronunciation Bo-Keh as in BOne and KEn with an "h" on the end of it.  Just a week or so ago I was listening to a new podcast and the guys kept saying bo-kay.  Yes, I believe this is acceptable -- but I don't like it.  This is a Japanese term and does mean fuzzy -- it also refers to the cobwebs in the heads of older people.  Sometimes I think I have some of those cobwebs!  

Anyway -- I like good bokeh!  I love having a subject in sharp focus and the background (or other areas) very out of focus and even to the point of having the highlights look like I have water spots on my glasses.  I believe this is why I love using my Lensbabies.  Those lenses are the perfect bokeh makers.  On  the blog today there is a black and white photo that I used on my Christmas card this past season.  This shows the out of focus background and how the lights are abstract looking.  The highlight spots (along the beads) are not only out of focus here -- they are stretched slightly.  A companion photo to this one was featured on the blog in December, The Christmas Card.

Both of these Lensbaby images show bokeh.  The photo featured on the old blog post also shows how you can use special aperture disks to shape the out of focus highlights in the photo.  I love the stars in that photo!  DIY Photography has instructions online on how to create your own shaped highlights -- so if you don't have a Lensbaby (yet) and the creative aperture kit -- check out the link.

Another photo on the blog today is from the backyard.  It was taken in May of 2004 and I used my old Fujifilm S7000.  This camera has excellent macro capabilites -- including the super macro setting.  The aperture in this photo of a yellow lily after the rain was f/2.8 and the shutter speed was 1/100.  I love the sharpness and the out of focus areas equally.  I especially love the blue light that was coming under the fence and you can see it through the gaps in the petals.  The out of focus area and fuzzy highlights help make this a great photo.  This photo is one I never considered for black and white.

If you are in search of bokeh -- you will need a lens that can be opened up -- meaning the aperture needs to be large (the number small).  The 50mm lenses (1.2, 1.4, & 1.8) all will work.  I have the 1.4 and love love love that lens.  Also the 85mm (1.2 & 1.8) will also be an excellent choice.  Remember I am talking about these lenses from a Canon frame of mind.  Of course a Lensbaby works well; but think of this -- the yellow lily photo was taken with a super-zoom point and shoot.  

To see more examples of bokeh -- Google "bokeh".  You can also visit Flickr and search for groups devoted to bokeh and photos tagged with the work bokeh.   Now get out there and get those backgrounds out of focus!

Stormy Weather

I had the plan to do a post on the storms that went through here last week and I completely forgot.  Oh well -- things have been a little busy lately and will get busier next month -- which is in just a couple days!  I don't know what I was doing -- but I realized that March is Sunday!

As of this week, I am one third of the way through with my first photography class through the leisure classes at Clayton State University.  This is fun and a little different -- a larger group than I am used to -- but a great group of people.  Beginning on Sunday I have a small, intimate class starting at Dogwood Gallery in Tyrone.  I haven't had a class at Dogwood before either -- so again -- a new place.  Then on March 6, I have a Photoshop Elements for Beginners class at the Fayette Senior Center.   

Of course, I am also busy working on Nature Undisturbed.  Some big announcements will be coming soon about the events -- there will be something fun and informative each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Remember the dates for this show are April 24 through May 3.  Mark your calendars -- you won't want to miss an event if you are a photographer or just like to look at photos.

OK -- back to the storm -- February 18 some serious thunderstorms were rolling through Atlanta.  We were keeping a close eye on them by watching TV and checking the Internet.  We had to shut down all the electronic equipment in the house twice (I have had lightning hit a house once -- I unplug everything!).  It seems that the worst of the storm went a bit south of us and some other parts of the storm line were just north of us.  We had no serious winds or hail at our house -- not even that much lightning.  

The clouds were really swirling and moving fast.  Of course, I grabbed the camera.  My husband and I stepped out on the front porch and heard a sound.  He asked, "What is that?"  To which I replied, "gee, I think it is the tornado siren -- look at that cloud."  So, with camera in hand I stepped out into the yard and then moved to the back of the house and onto the deck.  It was standing on the deck that I took the photo on the blog today.  I thought the clouds looked so tall and fluffy -- kind of that wispy thing going on.  

Since the storms came through near sunset the lighting on the clouds was dramatic in some places and more subtle in others.  I like this photo with the bits of light picking up certain spots along the wall of clouds.  Another part of this photo that I really like is the bare tree sort of near the center looking as if it is reaching up to the clouds as they dip down.  I had the 50mm lens on the camera and my settings were aperture f/2.8 and shutter speed 1/125.  Of course with a landscape-type photo like this I would have preferred having a smaller aperture -- but I opened up the aperture to give me a faster shutter since I was handholding.  I chose to convert this photo to black and white to highlight the little bright spots of the cloud and the silhouette of the trees.

Time for the disclaimer -- I do not advocate going outdoors during storms and certainly not during tornado watches and warnings.  

Babies

Friends of ours have become parents!  Great news!  I love babies.  Last week I took photos of the little one sleeping and awake.  It has been a long time since I had a baby around the house. They sure do sleep through just about anything.  One whole photo session -- he was asleep! That's OK -- we got some cute sleeping shots.  But still -- we wanted those eyes open!

The second session -- he was awake.  He is not yet a month old.  He is almost to the point where he has a little bit of personality showing through.  The awake session did not last as long as the "sleeping" one. Funny thing about babies -- they are much more patient asleep than awake...

The first session I had my 50mm lens and used natural light from a southwest facing window.  It was mid afternoon and the light from the window was perfect.  Mom turned his face toward the window for me.  By the time we really got going with the photos, the sky was clouding up.  But there was plenty of light and the 50mm was great to get a nice, natural glow.  I did not have to do much of anything with Photoshop or the Nik plugins to get a nice look for the photo.  He has great skintone!  I did use the Silver Efex to create black and white versions of the color photos.

The second session, I decided to use the Tamron zoom (18-250mm) and I had my flash with me. Wouldn't you know it the batteries died in the flash before I could do much of anything with it. Oh well -- I usually hate a flash anyway.  Again to the window!  He was in a good mood -- which helps a lot with babies. He had just eaten -- so I knew he would be taking a nap -- soon.  So we worked quickly to get a few good shots with his eyes open.  One of them I really like a lot -- I love it in black and white -- it is the one on this post.

The next time I go -- I plan to take along the Composer and hope I have time to play a little with it for some portraits. 

Photographing Animals

How can you take a photograph of an animal and have it really look great? How to make that 'pet portrait?' The big difference in a photo of an animal is getting that eye contact. If you catch the eye contact -- you have a great portrait.

Last March National Geographic had a cover story on animal minds. The photography that accompanied the article was wonderful -- great examples of animal portraits. Along with the story is a photo gallery and a video. The video is very interesting. Photographer Vince Musi talks about the animals and making the photos for the magazine. From what I heard him say about a marmoset -- I don't want to get too close to one. Also, if I ever need to calm down a prairie dog -- now I know how. After watching the video and listening to what Mr. Musi went through to get those magnificent photos -- I think taking photos of my dog Rosebud is a piece of cake!

The photo on this post is my mother's cat, Rora. She is kind of easy to photograph. Of all the pet photos I have taken in the past couple of years, hers usually turn out better. She will freeze and she will make eye contact with the camera.

The lens I used for this photo is the 50mm. I believe for portraits you can't beat that lens. The aperture was very shallow (1.4). The low aperture is the selling feature of this lens -- it makes it extra fast -- and in animal situations you need fast. I wish I had bumped it up a little on this one to secure more depth of field -- but all in all I am happy with the portrait of Rora.

Another tidbit about animals....I have a goldfish pond in my yard. I really like the fish. In the pond are goldfish, shubunkins, and a couple koi (and frogs, snails, an occasional turtle and snake). The little gadget on the blog called feed the fish -- well -- when I saw it I had to add it. This reminds me of my fish so much! I hope you like it.

The Nifty Fifty

A few weeks ago a friend asked about a good low-light lens. My reply was the Canon 50mm 1.4. I knew she had a Canon camera like mine and I also knew how I loved using that lens in a low light situation. That was the lens I took to the aquarium with me and got excellent shots – even in the very dimly lit areas.

Since I recommended the lens to her – I was reminded how little I have used it lately. I have been busy with the Lensbaby and with my good all-round Tamron zoom. But that little 50mm had been neglected and left in the bag for a long time.

Purposely when I drove to Zebulon last week I put that lens on the camera and took with me no other. I loved the shots I got at that cemetery. As I was looking at the shots on the computer I thought, “Why don’t I use this lens more often?”

I think the reason why is that it is known as a ‘portrait lens.’ It is good to take great portrait shots – but it can take great shots of anything. Last night, at 7pm, I took Rosebud outside. She acted like she needed to go out – but all she did was sit in the grass, looking around the yard, enjoying the cool evening. As soon as I saw her sitting there, I ran in to get the camera – it still had the 50 on it from last week.

As I sat there in the grass with her – I was loving the shots I got. Rosebud is a reluctant subject. She will rarely, if ever, make eye contact with the lens. I have an old photo I took of her about 5 years ago that I love. I had not been able to get another I like as much as that one until last night.

Around 7pm – the light is going fast, especially on a cloudy day. The lens was great – no flash – no tripod needed. The depth of field for Rosebud’s portraits was great.

I plan to keep using this lens a lot in the coming weeks. If you have small kids or pets that are hard to catch and you need a fast lens for them or for mood shots in certain light – look at the 50mm 1.4. I know they came out with a 1.2 – but oh my gosh at the price on that one! I never used the 1.8 – so I don’t know the comparison with mine – but the price on the 1.8 is very tempting. A couple days ago when one of my regular photo magazines came in the mail, as I flipped through it I noticed a Sigma version of this lens available for Sigma, Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony.