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Thank you, Elin. I’m happy to know you’re enjoying them! 🙂
I also enjoy shooting milkweed bugs (Oncopeltus Fasciatus).
Thanks, Diane! I love this beauty and look forward to their bloom every year. I like to imagine an artist painted the purple “hoods” with white brush strokes and left a single star in the middle. Fun fact: Texas where I live is known as the “Lone Star State,” so the plant’s design fits right in with its location.
Hi Patrick, I’m happy you like my shots and I’m always partial to ladybugs too. They always make me smile and are said to bring good luck and prosperity. Thanks for your suggestion on lifting exposure or shadow to show her off more, I’ll definitely try that out! Tips always appreciated 😀
Thanks my friend, I’m glad you enjoyed these! As for the latex in your next reply, interesting that you looked that up, and thanks for sending me the link. It was very windy today so I snipped one in the field to take home with me for indoor shooting and the white milky goo immediately poured out a lot. I put it in water when I got home, but it never recovered. I won’t be trying that again! 😀
By the way, I did some research today. This milkweed variety is Asclepias Viridis (Green Antelope Horn Milkweed also known as Spider Milkweed), identified by the purple “hoods” that look like antelope horns. I think they are so fascinating and unique.
Love your sunny video with pup, Patrick! Glad the sun is finally out for you 😀
Love your image, Lenny, wow! You make me want to know more about the back story, and I wonder where/how/why you came across a garden that would have this? Great storytelling with an unknown mystery. Need I mention, where did the bullet hole and the rocket come from?
Wow, great shot Rob! One of the big experts at davesgarden.com identified mine as a white banded crab spider. He told me there are a lot of color variations.
Hi Patrick, here is an unusual full frame I result I got from one of my Chinese heirlooms that has an interesting story behind it. I love how the artist put humor into this image painted onto a ceramic bowl during the late 1800s or early 1900s in China.
Here’s a bit of the story I researched. Have you ever heard of the expression “foo foo dog?” It is also known as “foo dog” or “fu dog.” Chinese loved using symbols and myth to capture their culture artistically. This image shows the mythological figure of a “guardian lion,” that Westerners insisted these lions looked like dogs that they started calling “foo dogs.” “Fou” in French means crazy, so foo dogs were crazy! These mythical figures were valued as guardians of the home, both masculine and feminine, powerful, loyal, faithful, and bringing good luck and prosperity.
I’m also struck by the artistic flair in this painting of bottles, again full frame from the same ceramic bowl.
Patrick, I tried you process with the camera lens steadied on the table. Here are two results I had with the 100 mm lens as close as I could get it. Any feedback?
BTW, I’m having great fun taking some macro shots of my family missionaries-to-China heirlooms. This one was a small image on one of the ceramic bowls. I love the artistry!
Thank you for your kind words about my shots, Patrick. I appreciate your encouragement. 🙂 And your suggestion about shooting abstract macros indoors when the weather is bad outside is excellent. Full sun with its glare and the wind are my enemies when I’m shooting flowers, and those days happen up a lot. Shooting macro will open up a whole new world to me, so I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m looking forward to starting by reading the Ebook linked above that you sent me.
That sounds great, Patrick! I will definitely try it 😀
Thanks for your expanded detail based on 35 mm as well as current printing technical specs, Robert! I like your advice, I will take you up on it and just shoot tiny objects and make them look larger on my screen 😀
Great explanation, Beth! The detail using a ruler really helps as well as on the aperture markings. Thank you!
@kwongphotography Thank you for always pointing me in new directions with helpful links. I’ll take a look and see what I can do – after I get the focus technique with my new macro lens under my belt. You are right, the autofocus is very slow. Manual gives me a new set of problems (handshake), so I’m getting in more practice with my tripod which is a good thing. It’s been very windy here lately which is a real challenge, but I’m going to stay focused on the arboretum and wildflower blooms as long as they last. I may at least try a piece of black cardboard for now, I should be able to pick one up a a dollar store somewhere. 😀
Thanks you so much for your kind comments & support for my attempts using my new lens, my friend! You make me feel like I can master this with practice lol. I also appreciate your picking out #3 for composition, it helps to know what stood out for you as being most successful 😀
Fantastic pick and checklist to consider, thanks to Federico for this pick! Congratulations to @timothy-a for this wonderfully executed shot. I love its serenity and how it leads my eye off into the mystery of the unknown. Great for soothing contemplation.
Thanks to Federico for this pick of this great POTW & congratulations to Beth for this sublimely serene & beautifully composed shot! Well-deserved
@admin-2 I feel like I’ve gone from a Kia Optima to a Ferrari I don’t know how to control yet lol 😀 😀 😀 But I’ll get there, I just need to learn to practice a new macro skill- and mind-set. Thanks for your encouragement!
First attempts with new lens:
f/2.8, 100mm
f/8, 100mm
@kwongphotography Wow, what an interesting life you’ve had with so many diverse experiences. Thank you for sharing more about your perspective which makes perfect and necessary sense for journalistic endeavors. I’m reminded of how wonderful it is that LS welcomes all perspectives in our search for photographic excellence.
I can appreciate the strategy of using a piece of black cardboard behind flowers. I plan to try that indoors, but am not sure if it’s practical outdoors since I don’t have an assistant and travel as light as I can. I haven’t experimented with fill flash before, so I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Thanks for sharing this beautiful rose against the black background.
