MikeMoats on 500pxI got hold a lensbaby, which is a neat little lens that does great work for marco lovers. Check it out at www.lensbaby.com I’ll post more of the images shot with the lensbaby. You can go to my website, www.tinylandscapes.com and click on the link that says Lensbaby Images.
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My first day out shooting this spring. The skunk cabbage leaves are starting to sprout. I found this old snail’s shell, and thought it would be a nice contrasting subject for this skunk cabbage leaf.
The Skunk Cabbage plant is the first sign of life in the north as we head torwards spring. These interesting plants have a built in heating systems that allows it to melt through the ice in the swampy areas that it grows in. You will start to see them here in southeast Michigan around the end of Feburary, providing we don’t have a blanket of snow covering them. You can see the ice surrounding this one.
Shot some flowers that I used for one of my intermediate macro workshops. I pulled off one of the petals to expose the insides.
This Butterfly Weed Seed got caught in itself, and I used the early morning sun to back light the subject and create this nice glow around the image. I darken it in photoshop to bring the background into the black.
Here’s an interesting image. This is a little pine full of dew, and the early morning sun was lighting the dewdrops. The dorps magnified the needles and collected some cool colors from the sunlight. Shot at F3.5 for the shallow DOF.
Won “Highly Honored” in the “Plant Life Catagory”
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Won, “Highly Honored” in the “Art In Nature Catogory”
The Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards, our premier competition, is now entering its second decade as one of the most prestigious nature photography competitions in the world. The winning images will be featured in the Fall Collector’s Edition of Nature’s Best Photography magazine and selected images will be displayed in our nature photography gallery at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.
I was contacted last week by Nature’s Best Magazine and told two of my images (pictured above) won “Highly Honored”, one in the “Art In Nature” catagory and the other in “Plant Life”. The winning images will be published in a collector’s edition in the fall issue of Nature’s Best Magazine. Nature’s Best will pick images to go to the Smithsonian for display at the end of October. Last year’s contest drew 12,000 images from 28 countries and 120 are picked for (I think) 15 different catagories.
While it is raining today and I can’t get out to shoot, I decided to play inside with a new toy I bought, a Nikor 50mm lens and a reversing ring. By screwing the front end of the 50mm into the reversing ring and screwing the other end of the reversing ring into the front end of my 180 macro, I am now shooting through the 180 and then the 50mm in reverse. This allows me to shoot in about a inch away from the subject. I heard that this 4X in magnifaction. The depth of field is super shallow so most images have a soft look. This is the inside of the center of a white Gerbera flower. Fuji S5 Pro.
Chicory
I find this chicory flower fun to shoot, not a good looking plant (tall and spindlely with few leaves), they grow in open fields and you see them a lot along the side of the road. I like to shoot them in a soft depth of field. This one was shot wide open at 3.5. Listed as a wildflower, but I think most people might view it as a weed.
Fuji S5 Pro, Tamron 180 macro
I’m not much for critter shooting but if one presents its self I’ll take a shot at it. This images is a small crop from a larger image. I was happy with Fuji S5 and the Tamron 180 macros low noise and sharp details considering the small crop and expanding the image to this size. This was shot at a fairly high ISO of 1200.
Mark Graf who’s photography I admire greatly stopped by to say Hi at my art show this week end, and we had a nice talk. Check out Mark images, I’ve got a link to his site in my photo links. The Stars And Stripes Festival had slow sales for the artists, but as I talk to some of the food and beer vendors, they were not doing well either, so the customers didn’t seem to spend money on anything. This weeks show is in Royal Oak and it was my second best show in sales last year so I’m looking forward to doing this show agian.
Went out to shoot this morning and was having a tough time finding something interesting to shoot, I’ve found myself shooting less and less each time I go out, it seems I’m in a bit of a slump. I was happy to find this shot which is a wild grape leaf backlit by the sun and casting a silhouette on the leaf in front of it. It was what I needed to make my day, now I’m looking forward to shooting tomorrow again. Maybe the slump is over.
Fuji S5 Pro, Sigma 180 Macro
While staying at Jack Graham’s place I got to go see these pitcher plants at Triangle Bog. I’ve heard of them but have never seen them. Its a long tube that has liquid inside that attracts insects. Once down inside they somehow get trapped and the plant has a nice lunch. Kinda like fast food delivery right to your home.
Fuji S5 Pro, Sigma 180 macro
Got back from the Cleveland show and did well in sales depite a mix up in my booth space which put me a a dead end location with less buyers.
I had a great time staying at nature photographer Jack Graham’s home and a lot of fun playing with his two dogs (Duke and Rosco) This is a shot from a small pond in Jack’s backyard.
Fuji S5 Pro, Sigma 180 macro
Tomorrow morning I’m heading torward Cleveland for a show on Saturday and Sunday. The show is at the legacy Village in Lyndhurst, a suburb of Cleveland. The cool thing about this trip is I’m going to hook up with Jack Graham to shoot on Thursday and Friday. Jack has been nice enough to let me stay at his place during our shoot and while I’m working the show. Jack is an excellent photographer and does workshops all over the counrty. I spoke with him last night and he was on his way back from doing a workshop out west. If you would like to see Jack’s images or learn about the workshops he does click on the link in my web lnks on the side. Anyone from the cleveland area please stop by and say hello. Here’s an image from last week in the swamp.
Fuji S5 Pro, Tamron 180 Macro
I got my PC back today, only $45.oo for small repair. I had a great morning to shoot, no wind for a change. I’m getting ready to leave on Friday for a show in Chicago area. Arlington Heights in the northern suburbs. This image was from last week, a close up of a Dandelion backlit against the morning sun. I have some more versions of this backlit stlye but with other subjects that I shot today that I’ll post.
Fuji S5 Pro, Tamron 180 macro
My PC took a nap today, hope its not a long one. I’ll have to take it to the doctor tomorrow, so I’m posting on my laptop today. I can’t share any more shots from the other day till I hopefully get the PC up again. Here’s a spring shot, three little bushes growing in the middle of a small pond, the yellow BG is from the reeds on the bank reflecting upside down in the water. The water is white from reflecting overcast day.
Fuji S3 Pro, Sigma 180 macro
