It’s Not Easy To Take Macro Photos.

I have been shooting using my new Nikon AF Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D lens. Tried using it as a regular lens and so far it works great but since it is also a macro lens, I attempted doing some truly close-up photo shoot. Here’s the result of numerous attempts just to get it right:

All I can say is, wow, it’s hard to compose for macro photos! It looks easy when you look at other’s macro images, but for me, it was not! You really have to be patient when you are focusing with this lens for macro shots as the depth of field is very shallow when you get really close. In order to get more depth of field, you have to work with a much smaller aperture but in doing that your shutter speed goes down (I shoot in Aperture Priority) so you are more prone to camera shake when you are taking the image. Lighting is also important, especially when you have the front of the lens so close to the subject. I don’t have a tripod right now so I had to make do with hand-held shots. I now have a newfound respect for all dedicated Macro photographers.

The more I use this lens, the more I am falling in love with it. It’s not the fastest focusing lens I have; it hunts sometimes and is quite noisy. But when it locks on, the images are very sharp.

Hey, how about that! I was able to go out and shoot! Well then, here’s hoping for more photos from me in the coming days!

Taking Close-Up/Macro Images

I mentioned earlier how I have been in a rut creative wise when it comes to my photography. I have not been picking up my camera to take pictures lately, but recently I just got a new lens, a Nikon AF Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D. It’s a Macro lens, meaning I can do extreme close-up images with it. You can read a review of the lens here.

I am still finding the time to run this new lens through it’s paces, but so far I am very impressed with it’s performance. I bought it second-hand so it’s a bit beaten up here and there and it needs a bit of a cleaning up.

Here is a sample image taken with this lens. It’s not a genuine Macro shot, but hey, I like it!

I call this “A Pair Of Dices On Mahjong Tiles”:

Hopefully I could find enough motivation to go out and shoot again now I have this lens to test out.

Until then, have a nice day!

Still Longing For Inspiration

Still in a creative rut, photography wise. I have not been using my camera lately and it’s a good thing it’s inside a camera bag, otherwise it would literally would be covered in dust right now.

One of the last photos that I took was way back when we rented a penthouse in Banff. Here’s a view from outside the balcony:

It’s funny because I have a new lens, a Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D that I recently bought from work. I still have not tested it out fully, but so far it’s been quite impressive. Here’s a pathetic attempt at some shallow depth of field:

It’s a shame that I missed a lot of photographic opportunities this Fall. Oh well, maybe next year. Hopefully I would be inclined to take pictures come this Winter.

Until then, have a nice day!

Longing For Photographic Inspiration

I’ve not been posting much lately. I’ve been busy with my work as retail clerk in a camera store. For some strange reason, I have not been taking more photos than I should.

I think I am in a rut, inspiration wise.

That explains why I have not been showing much of any of my work. In fact, these photos sat on my computer for quite some time before I decided to process and upload them. These were taken weeks ago while we were hanging out at my sister-in-law’s yard:

Crabapple on a Gravel Bed:

Some Purple Flowers:

Some more flowers, this time in yellow:

I was playing around with exposure compensation so I can get the right lighting for the picture. I liked how these turned out.

I have a macro lens that I was able to borrow from the store. I hope to do some testing on it to see if it is worth buying. Unfortunately, Winter is rearing it’s cold breath so it would be a challenge to take pictures of flowers during this time.

Until then, have a nice day!

A Cuppa Fruit Loops

Continuing with my fascination with lighting using my home-made light box, herewith is a Cuppa Fruit Loops:

Have a nice day!

Love On A Plate and a Dinosaur in a Field of White.

Playing around with my home-made light box and some corn pops that I love to snack on:

My pet dinosaur, lost in a field of white:

Have a nice day!

Ranger With Guitar

Playing around with my 1/6 Scale U.S. Army Ranger:

/www.flickr.com/photos/randymstaana/3795636773/” title=”Ranger with Guitar by Randy Santa-Ana, on Flickr”>

Built a home-made light box similar to this. Suddenly I am looking for stuff to photograph! Will post some more as soon as I take something worthy to put up!

White Flowers

I have not been shooting pictures for a while due to my current work schedule at my new job. I should take my camera out more if I want to improve on my photography.

Something taken at the front lawn of my sister-in-law’s home:

Have a nice day!

My Camera and Me!

I just downloaded an evaluation copy of Adobe Photoshop CS4 just so I can learn how to use it more since we have one at work (I own Photoshop Elements 6, but the features in that version is quite limited). In my attempt to take an image for processing, I accidentally came up with this exposure:

The lights in our bedroom was turned on and all I did was cover the flash with my free hand. That resulted in the background turning totally black! How about that!

Summer Grass.

Hooray! After years of waiting, our condominium management finally was able to lay grass onto our used-to-be-bare lawn:

I spent the morning watching the sprinkler system go on and when it was done I went down on my knees and took this photo. I wished I took one while the sprinkler was on but hey, I can get another chance some other time!