Tiny Little Wings

It took a lot of shots to get this picture using a 70-300mm macro lens with manual focus. But I really love the details of the wings and body of the dragonfly. Manual focus using the view finder isn't easy, and with a such a small depth of field, the required adjustments of the focal ring were so small. I would have loved a background that had something more to it, the grey doesn't really suit the blue body of the dragonfly.

1/200, f/5.6, 300mm

Keep Off!

This photo never fails to make me laugh. I love the expression of this little guy, who seems intent on defending his rock (though I suspect it actually would like some food). Taking pictures of birds was a good experiment in shutter speed versus light, as I wanted to avoid the flash as much as possible. In many pictures, I actually felt that my focus was off, after experimenting, it quickly became clear that even if the bird wasn't moving quickly, the details of their wings are so fine that wind in their feathers was enough to cause some blur.

1/250s, f/4.8, 195mm

Playing with Depth of Field

 

It's amazing how a little change in focus can affect a picture. I took these two images one after the other, with a very narrow depth of field. I like the restriction that a few centimeters of focus places on the photographer.

Both taken at 1/60s, f/4.8, 195mm.

A Tulip

A bright sunny day, and a walk around our building parking lot revealed this beautiful tulip growing next to an empty parking stall. The colours on it were particularly striking in the bright sun.

1/200, f/5, 220mm