I spent some time practicing with my macro lens in the backyard yesterday.
Male pine cones
Iris
Marigold
Eggplant
Pansy
Marigold
Tomato blossom
Jun 062010
May 102010
The lilacs are just starting to hit their stride and I got some more practice with the macro yesterday. It’s a shame that they haven’t developed the technology to share aromas digitally, because these things smell heavenly! 
May 032010
Are you tired of flowers yet? I hope not, because I’ve only just begun.
I got a bit of practice with the macro lens yesterday (see Photography Resolution #6). It was a bit of a challenge due to the wind. Flowers that won’t stay still are difficult to photograph so a bit of patience comes in handy. Following are a few of the results:
The neighbor's fruit tree (not sure what kind)
Off-white tulip
Tulip close-up
Another tulip close-up
The lilacs are getting there!
Mar 022010
Crocuses? Already? I know that these guys are generally the first spring flora to arrive on the scene, but February 26 (when they were first spotted) seems a bit early even by crocus standards. But hey, I’m not complaining. As much as I love snow and winter in general, it’s nice to see a little bit of color around here! And the crocuses gave me a reason to haul out the macro lens. I certainly do need lots of practice with that thing before wildflower season sets in!
Hibiscus close-up
5. Use the tripod
Using a tripod is one of the primary keys to really decent landscape photography. It’s said to be what sets the pros apart from the wannabes. Pre-eminent Colorado photographer John Fielder, in his book “Photographing the Landscape: The Art of Seeing”, writes, “You can make good photographs while hand-holding the camera, but you won’t achieve excellence.” Since I am striving for excellence, I bought a REALLY nice tripod set last year (legs and head are purchased separately when you get into the “REALLY nice” level of tripod procurement) with every intention of using it a LOT. It’s so much more convenient to do the hand-held shooting thing, though, so I haven’t used the tripod NEARLY as much as I should have. I’ll even lug the darned thing all the way up a mountain in my pack, but in the pack it generally stays. However, in 2010, I hereby resolve to make liberal use of that tripod and take that step toward excellence.
6. Don’t give up on the macro
I tend to take quite a few close-up shots of things, primarily of the abundance of wildflowers that we have here in Colorado. In order to facilitate my close-up endeavors, I bought a macro lens last year (the AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED for anyone who’s interested in the details). After terrorizing all of the flowers and bugs in my back yard for a couple of days, I quickly discovered that macro photography is HARD. You have to focus manually and hold real still (unless you’re using a tripod, which is probably a good idea but kind of hard to do when you’re shooting something that moves like a bug) and the depth of field is much shallower than that of non-macro lenses so it’s hard to focus on JUST the right spot. I took only a scant handful of photos with that lens last year that I really liked. I got frustrated. I set it aside. (At least I didn’t throw it… that’s progress). I need to pick it back up and keep working on my macro skills. It really takes a lot of practice.
Lilac close-up
