Ice Art ?

Cordaline · #11 (**permalink**) 30-11-2010, 04:09 PM

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Originally Posted by Lord V

Some shots of sheet ice from a dirty water barrel. These are not manipulated apart from focus stacking for greater DOF.

Brian v.

Excellent idea for a 'seasonal' thread.

Lovely pics, inspiring.

ChrissyMarie · #12 (**permalink**) 30-11-2010, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andestine

Hello M'Ducks

I'm a Canon girl myself, and am in love with my Sigma 105mm. I've been teaching myself macro photography (and photography in general) since last March. I'm working fully manually and found few books of any use, except 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson. But in searching through many photographic forums I discovered one which is a real treasure trove of excellent advice, even if for people who aren't Canon fans:

I love photography forums but confess to loitering in the wings. I often do more reading than contributing. Camera brand means very little to me, I love my Nikon but only because I am getting very familiar with it. I think that there are merits for whichever brand you use....although I freely admit to lens envy now and then

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then do take a look at the Macro, and the Macro-talk section, and let me know what you think

I was getting cross-eyed trying to understand the things that were written on other sites, but Brian and most of the other macrophotographers on this site really know how to explain things clearly and simply.

Which I noticed straight away......really helpful to everyone at all levels. There is not too much in the way of terminoolgy which can be so off-putting. I am still reading through lots of the sections but it is always great to be inspired!

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But don't talk to me about focusing! It's currently the bane of my life. I keep on having to adjust my diopter for some reason as it seems to work better on different settings over the course of a day. Doesn't make the least bit of sense to me, as it should be set to my eyesight and be OK from then on...

And if you've produced lovely images like that with your extension tubes without knowing what you're doing then I'm greatly looking forward to seeing what you do when you really catch on!

One of the things I love about photography is that learning curve. It keeps me interested, I always have challenges and I love that. Manual focusing is one of those challenges, I suspect that am getting a bit better but I need to get comfortable with the depth of field more with macro too.

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Come Christmas, when at least my refurbishment chores are over (gardens never are, of course

) I'll be able to join you in experimenting with new toys

I'm also looking forward to using the reversing ring I bought for my 18-55mm kit lens. Have you ever tried that? I've seen some great results with that macro-technique. Not as good as the MP-E 65, of course, but amazing for the low price of the ring.

No, I confess I have never tried a reversing ring...I think I need to get better with my lens for now. I also need to break my rule of never reading manuals

, Ineed to read and reread methods of lighting............as I said a whole load of learning!
I look forward to seeing the results of playing....

ChrissyMarie · #13 (**permalink**) 30-11-2010, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord V

Liked the story - I often get strange looks when It looks like I'm praying on the front lawn doing dewdrop refractions shots.

Love your frost pattern shots - it can make amazing patterns sometimes on a macro scale but sometimes on a much larger scale but always difficult to photograph.

Re focusing. I nearly always focus bracket my shots. This is partially because I do a lot of focus stacking but the fall back position is that I nearly always get at least one shot with the focus exactly where I want it. When I'm shooting at high magnifications (4 or 5:1) it comes in very useful as the viewfinder is pretty dim and it gets very difficult to see if the subject is in focus.

Brian v.

I am glad I am not alone. The neighbours are convinced I am crazy since last year when I camped out in trees for days taking pics of woodpeckers!

Thank you for your lovely comment, it was great to be inspired to do something a little different

I have read about your focus stacking & confess that the though of that sound rather alarming....but, I always thought the same about messing with multiple shots of anything and it is not so bad when you find a decent program and work out what you are dping!