Playing with my camera: Up close

I recently was given a set of "screw in close up (macro) lenses." When Linda and I have gone to photography day at Living History Farms, we've run into the same guy showing how to take those really close up photos. He taught us how to take them with our point and shoots two years ago. This past year, he told us about these lenses that are sort of like reading glasses for the camera; they screw onto the threads at the front of our other lenses (unlike reading glasses) to provide more magnification of the subject. Of course, with these new toys, I went around taking new shots of some of the things around my house and Linda's.

Playing with my camera: Winter Driving

Okay, I wasn't really driving while taking these shots but winter passengering didn't read well either. Fortunately, Linda is comfortable driving in the winter and that lets me pull out the camera from time to time. As you can see in the bottom photo, we encountered vehicles that were in need of tow trucks. The night before, a pretty good storm went through with a good deal of blowing snow.

Playing with my camera: Snow Day

A bright, beautiful January day with fresh snow... time to take out the camera! I went roaming around the capitol grounds and, after seeing the statues and sledders, this image was the one that really caught my eye. Usually, the reflection is of the capitol building; this seemed a bit more interesting that day... and I still like it today!

Playing with my camera: Black and White

Linda was driving us to a family get together so I had time to play a little more with my camera. I'd never tried setting it for black and white so I gave it a try. It was fairly late in the day and we were goin' a mile a minute (or more) so I wasn't sure what I'd get just shooting out the window. When I got home, this image really caught my eye. I'm not sure that I'll be taking a lot of black and white images but I now know how; the question now is will I know when.

Playing with my camera: Christmas Tree

Linda's Christmas tree had so many fun angles and nice little corners to shoot that I brought out my camera and took a few shots. It got me thinking about how our respective trees decorations differed. Mine have always been pretty stock, pretty standard collections of similar / identical balls, garland, what have you; looking around Linda's tree, I didn't see two ornaments that were the same. There were a couple of similar cross-stitch mounting ring things but the actual cross-stitch designs were done in different years. Linda knew when each of her ornaments had first hung on her trees and the story behind how it came to be, what it represented to her. It was nice to learn the lore.

Learning at Camera Day at Living History Farms

Ashley joined Linda and me at camera day at Living History Farms. Last year, Linda and I went and heard a lot of good ideas to try to work into our photography. Having made some progress, and with Ashley's interest in photography, it only made sense we go back to see what we could learn for this year. The setting is rich in opportunities to take a variety of interesting shots.
We ran into a photographer couple and got to discuss some of the challenges we're encountered. The man of the couple is in the lower right photo working a shot with Ashley. Both of his arms are COVERED with tattoos of cameras he's used and images produced with those cameras. While not big fans of tattoos, Linda and I both were impressed with the art.
As always, the various tools and equipment of the farm make for fun shots for me. Many of these pieces would be found on many farms today.

Of course, the livestock also provide some pretty fun shots. My favorite is the shot through the chicken wire. In the past, I'd have had a nice shot of chicken wire and a fuzzy shot of the chicken behind; I prefer this image.

Shooting some backyard wildlife

I was playing with the telephoto lens, just shooting whatever I saw around the back yard and got these sparrows sitting on the fence. I like the way that the birds are in focus but the background blurred beyong recognition. Not really a great shot, I know, but part of the process of getting to where I might craft a more interesting shot.

Playing with my camera: Catching a window peeper

As I was taking my shower, I looked out the window. On the window sill was this little guy. I finished my shower and grabbed my camera. I was a little surprised that the shot was still there but, as you can see, I got a nice shot of my little visitor.

Playing with my camera: Ice Storm

We've had a bit of ice this year. I don't really see the need for ice when we get the cold and snow but I liked the way that it clung to the some twigs so I took a few shots.

Leavin' on a jet plane...

But unlike the song, I had a pretty good idea when I'd be back again. I headed south for a conference in Florida for the better part of the week. As fast as commercial aircraft are, it still took a long time so I broke out my camera to see what images I could capture. These are a few of my favorites. While they show a slide, we didn't really get to play on it like those in the drawing. Both flights were smooth and the layover was short; by end of day, I was in Florida.

Playing with my camera: Water Works Park

Friday, after getting the Friday Construction Photo, I stopped by Water Works Park to see if the trees were colorful. When I got there, I found a few other images that were pretty striking. I'm guessing that my dad isn't too thrilled to see milkweed going to seed or a thistle in bloom but they do make some nice pictures. Maybe some day they'll find a cure for something in those weeds and we'll be glad there were still some around.

I did find some colorful leaves. While it's kind of hard to really convey the impact of a colorful plant but I'll keep trying. There are a couple of trees at the park that I've seen now a few years running and they always seem to have great color at some point in the season. Fortunately, I think I was there around the best time for them this year.

After checking out the trees, I visited a flower bed in the arboretum and found some colorful remnants of summer. These may actually be fall blossoming plants for all I know. It wouldn't be the first time that I was way off base with the decorative varieties. Show me corn or soybeans and I have a better feel for what's normal and what's not.

Playing with my camera: Garage and Yard

Saturday morning, the early morning sun was great so I grabbed my camera and went outside to see what I could capture. One of the decorative grasses had "tasseled" and looked interesting. A week or so ago, I'd seen a ground squirrel climb into the evergreens to get to these little red berries in the upper right image. As I was wandering, I happened to look into the garage and saw the effect that light was having on the shelves of stuff that accumulates while I'm doing other things.

Playing with my camera: Me

With my new found ability to take a closeup photo, it was probably just a matter of time before I turned the camera on myself... up close and personal.

Yes, those are all Me. I played with the contrast a bit and like the black and white versions. The color image of my eye seemed a nice accent and related to the visual presentation.

Don't worry, I'm not planning any nudes. I was just sitting there with time to kill and a camera in my hand. I think it turned out alright.

Playing with my camera: Black walnuts

It's that time of year and the walnuts are showing up all over the place. I'm not always sure just where the tree is but I've seen more than one squirrel with one of these in his mouth scampering around, looking for a good hiding place. I'm not entirely sure that my driveway qualifies but I appreciate the material.

Playing with my camera

After talking with one of the pros at Photography Day at Living History Farms, I felt I might have a better understanding of how to do some macro photography, some very close up photography. Okay, it's probably the craft of taking a very close up picture at the moment; the art of very close up photography may come with experience. Anyway, I just tried taking shots of just about anything that was near me at the moment over the rest of the afternoon / evening. I started with the hem of my jeans. Lucky for me (and you I guess), Linda had a big jar of marbles nearby and I got to move them around to see how to focus on one or to see how the light played through them. As you can see, I thought they were more interesting that the denim.

I like the way that these photos turned out so I'm feeling pretty confident with this new skill. It seems likely that there will be more examples of this kind of shot over time now.