My previous post about using my Canon EOS 5D camera and Sigma DG Macro lens for the first time prompted me to go into my garden here in the Philippines to see what lurked there for me to immortalise in colourful mega pixels. The afternoon sun was very hot so I had to be very quick as the sweat was running down my forehead and into my eyes making focusing very difficult. Along with my camera I also used a Slik Pro 400DX tripod with it’s legs fully retracted. The Slik tripod is heavy enough to be steady and light enough to lug around in tight places like my small garden. As luck would have it I came across a small grasshopper around a centimeter in length just asking to be framed. I set up the tripod and camera as gently as possible in the tangled undergrowth and managed to get a couple of pics before it took fright and hopped away.

 Considering I’m just starting out on this fascinating hobby I don’t think I’m doing too badly. I did learn one thing from today’s picture taking and that is, even the steadiest of tripods can move a little as you press the shutter release. I have with me a Canon remote switch with a 10 meter extension cord so this afternoon I will return to the garden better equipped to try and get that pin sharp macro image that really sets some pictures head and shoulders above the rest.

               This Little Grasshopper Seems To Know it’s Being Watched

                                     If Only An Ant Would Stay Still

I took the picture of the ant as it ran across the petal of a flower as you can see its legs are blurred because of the very narrow depth of field. The more I look at the shutter speed aperture combinations and the results I’m getting, the more I learn. I used the tripod and remote switch but would be happier if the blurring wasn’t there so next time out I’m going to use a light meter and hopefully get an aperture shutter speed combination that will freeze the action a little better

Today the weather was very hot and during my visit to the garden I found very few signs of insect life except for some ants running over the plants and flowers. They are so small and fast that I found myself focusing on an area and waiting for the insect to run into the sharp area. With them being so small I had to get up close which makes the depth of field only around 1 to 2 mm. I found that I spent a lot of time kneeling so my next investment will be knee pads to protect my ageing knees.

              It Seems Our Garden Is Full Of Little Grasshoppers Today

I was reading through the Scott Kelby Photoshop Elements book and came across the page where he describes how to create your own custom copyright brush. You can see the result in the above picture, so now I just select the copyright brush and the colour then stamp it on to my pics. Much better than messing around with the text tool every time.

I Was About To Give UP…

I had been sitting under a big brolly shading from the sun but the heat was still getting to me so I decided to call it a day. I could hear dogs barking in the distance which proves the old saying, ”only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”. It had been so hot that nothing was flying about in the insect dept. and so disappointed I stood then saw a butterfly which had been hanging under a leaf the whole time I had been sat there. A bit straggly looking but better than nothing so I took a series of pics. I think the remote shutter control is excellent as I got much better results than I expected.

30th Aug. 2009

Today my forage into the garden looking for insects to shoot got me a wasp and you guessed it, another grasshopper. much smaller than the previously published examples. He jumped into my view as I was taking the picture of another.

It was late afternoon and the light was far less intense so I decided to use my Canon Speed-light 580EX II Flash with the diffuser piece covering the flash bulb and the white reflector plastic piece extended. I set the head to 45 degrees so that the flash was defused and reflected on to the subject. I must say I’m seeing an improvement in the quality of the pictures. My lesson learned for today is always keep a flash unit on the camera for those shots that are in the shade or when I’m losing sunlight. The flash is also adding a highlight to the subjects eye which seems to give a better looking picture.

As for the wasp, I wasn’t going to put it on to my page but decided that I would because as a learner it’s important that I show my near misses. I must add that for each pic I publish here I delete maybe 10 or 15 that are just not up to it.

I saw this wasp hanging around a plant and thought it may land so I preempted it and focused on an area that looked like a landing pad. It didn’t land in the anticipated area but close, just a swivel of the ball head on my tripod and bingo, I got two shots of it. The other shot wasn’t a keeper and was deleted.

A problem I’m facing is trying to focus on such small subjects, I’ve tried the auto focus and get fairly good results. I set the camera focus point to the centre and as long as that point is over the area I need to be in focus it seems OK but it obscures the area I’m trying to keep in the pin sharp. I have a Canon angle finder that cost an arm and a leg and think I will use it next time. The angle finder has two magnification options 1.5 and 2.5 which will allow me to see close up the focused edge of any subject. I have tried it out and find that the diopter adjustment on the camera is the best way to adjust the image in the viewfinder rather than on the angle finder itself.

I’m learning by trial and error here and would really appreciate any advice from more experienced macro photographers that stumble on to my page.

   SideWallFusion

This picture was the first I took with my new Canon EOS 5D plus Sigma 105mm DG Macro lens set on auto. I was in lodgings at a farm in South Wales and took the plunge to buy the camera and lens. I was so eager to use it, as soon as I got back to my digs I unpacked the camera and went into an adjacent field where I saw this dragon fly. I got as close as possible without scaring it away and took two shots. When I got back to my room I loaded it to my laptop and was surprised at the detail of the picture.

 I then packed it away and have never had time to use until just lately. I’m new to photography and find all the stuff about F stops and shutter speeds plus focal lengths etc. a little confusing. I have vowed to get out there and just experiment with the settings and hopefully learn something. I would appreciate any advice from other more experienced photographers in the form of comments to this post.

 I had to crop this picture right down because the Canon EOS 5D is a 12.8 mega pixel camera producing pictures of 4368 x 2912. The results I got with point and shoot set to the auto have spurred me on to hopefully become confident with this fantastic camera.

Camera:  Canon EOS 5D
Lens:  SIGMA DG MACRO 105mm F2.8

f8
1/500 sec.
ISO 320
Focal Length 105mm

A closer look.

I’ve bought a couple of books, one is by Scott Kelby called “The Digital Photography Book” and will read and follow his instructions. I bought this book because I already have another of the authors books “The Photoshop Elements 6 Book”. and found it to be the best of a bunch of books I bought and read about elements 6. As I get used to this camera I will post the results here but remember I’m just a beginner so the results at first will be very average.

   SideWallFusion

While working in South Wales a couple of years back I stayed in a guest house called Y Neuadd in the countryside near Llandovery. A really lovely place set in the rolling hills, the owner Sarah had some lovely dogs which she told me were native American Indian dogs. I am trying to contact Sarah in the hope of getting the full story as to how fell in love with such beautiful dogs and how she managed to bring these remarkable dogs from the USA back to the UK.

I do know that she travelled to the states to see the breeder, apparently the only one breeding this lovely dog. She managed to convince him that she would take great care of any dog he parted with and he agreed to let her take two.

They had to endure the six months of quarantine imposed by the UK govt. but once they were through that ordeal they were free to enjoy life in Scotland and Wales. From what I saw of these lovely dogs, they were certainly very happy and content under Sarah’s love and care.

‘Skye’ pictured above, reminds me a little of a husky but smaller. I imagine these dogs were fantastic loyal companions and great company for many native American tribesmen and women. Bred to be robust and alert to all aspects of life on the American plains.