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An individual, of no great importance, who is unable to see the natural world as a place for competition. I catch fish, watch birds, derive immense pleasure from simply looking at butterflies, moths, bumble-bees, etc - without the need for rules! I am Dylan and this is my blog - if my opinions offend? Don't bother logging on again - simple!

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Thursday 13 March 2014

This could get addictive?

As a result of yesterday's photographic experiments I have continued to play around with this very basic set-up and uncovered yet another avenue to explore. This ability, to see what the naked eye is unable, has the potential to transport me off on a tangent. It might get boring for those who were expecting tales of big fish and rare birds (although looking back through my recent posts is enough to bore anyone!) - I'm genuinely excited by the prospects offered by this simple technology. As luck would have it, this morning dawned accompanied by a thick shroud of fog. Not ideal for macro subjects to avail themselves - I found just two.

A woodlouse - Oniscus asellus at a guess?
On our extension wall; photographed using the built-in flash

I have absolutely no idea where to start looking for an id of this creature.
Resting on the glass of our conservatory, again using the built-in flash facility of the Canon EOS 400d

3 comments:

  1. Like you Dylan, I have been looking into more macro work and have just purchased a Sigma 150mm macro lens which come highly recommended. I thought it would be quite easy but as of yet can't get a photo in focus. It seems another world to learn to do this. Any advice for settings etc you mave have would be helpful as I obviously seem to be doing something wrong.

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    1. Marc, you flatter me and do yourself a great disservice - asking me for advice on photography (whatever type) is like asking my advice on nuclear physics or rudimentary chinese grammar! I have absolutely no idea. My recent flirtation with extension tubes and my 18 - 55mm Canon lens has been a voyage of discovery. I have to manually focus everything, as my tubes are essentially the centres of toilet rolls - but made out of metal! I use manual settings - usually ISO 200 and any shutter speed that I think will get me an image. I take 100's of images and hope that one will be useable. The photograph is not the purpose of my looking, but a nice bonus when I manage to get something that "hits the spot".One thing that I have noticed is how shallow the depth of field is and, as such, how critical focus has to be in order to get that "stand-out" image. I might be possible that your camera body software requires a slight tweak in order to get the best out of the lens that you've recently purchased. After all it didn't come highly recommended without good reason? - Dyl

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  2. Could it be a pond skater Dylan ?

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