A Macro Holiday
I’m just back from my summer holiday and while I was away I did a little more experimentation with macro photography.
Taking a Break from Landscape Photography
As passionate as I am about my landscape photography even I need a break from it every now and again. For the last couple of weeks I’ve been on holiday enjoying some welcome time with my family. Normally when I go away for my summer holiday I don’t bother taking my D850 but this year I decided that I would. However, I didn’t take it to do any landscape photography.
If you are a regular reader of the blog you’ll be aware that I tried my hand at macro photography for the first time earlier this year. You can see my first attempts at macro photography here and here. From those two experiences I knew I wanted to do more macro photography and I promised myself I would invest in a macro lens in 2020.
The reason I took my D850 on holiday was that I knew the person I was staying with had a Nikon mount Sigma 105 macro lens and a garden full of life. I could borrow his lens and without having to travel anywhere get some macro photography practice in.
My time with the camera on holiday was still going to be limited though as I had a lot of other priorities, but I thought I would share with you some of my macro holiday snaps!
Flower Bud
Looking around the garden I could see a lot of flowers in bloom and my first instinct was to photograph them. Looking more closely though I discovered that the flowers that hadn’t fully bloomed were far more interesting!
I like a few things about this photograph. I like the colours, composition and the subject itself. Technically speaking though, it’s not perfect. I could have probably done with a fraction more depth of field as the tip of the flower is just a little out of focus. I would have opened up the aperture a bit more, but this would have caused more of the messy background to come into focus.
Despite the technical issues with this picture it is my favourite from this collection.
Flower Bud - Nikon D850, Sigma 105mm f/2.8, f/5.0, 1/400th sec at ISO 64
Green Bug
OK, firstly, apologies for not knowing the name of this particular bug so you will have to excuse me referring to it as just a green bug. Names aside, what drew me to this composition was colour contrast between the bug itself and the fruit it was sat on. Unfortunately I couldn’t get close enough to isolate the fruit and bug from the rest of tree but I thought it was still worth taking.
I very narrowly missed out on nailing the focus for this one. If you look closely the eyes are just a little out of focus. I think the eyes are slightly further away than the front of the head and the part of the head behind the eyes as both of those parts are in focus. It just shows you how razor-thin the plane of focus can be in macro photography.
Obviously I have much to learn in this area of photography and plenty of practice is required!
Green Bug - Nikon D850, Sigma 105mm f/2.8, f/6.3, 1/100th sec at ISO 64
The Fly
I have to admit that I’ve never found the humble fly that interesting until I took a macro photograph of one. Now, I did cheat a little bit with this photograph. I couldn’t get very close to this subject but thanks to all those megapixels in the D850, even with a heavy crop, there is still loads of detail to be seen. Sure, a heavy crop isn’t the way to approach a photograph like this normally, but I just found the photograph too fascinating not to share. Does anyone have any idea what the red blob on its mouth is? You can even see my reflection in it!
The Fly - Nikon D850, Sigma 105mm f/2.8, f/5.6, 1/125th sec at ISO 64
I know these macro photographs aren’t going to win any awards. My composition and focusing needs a lot of work but that didn’t take away any of the enjoyment I got from capturing and viewing these images. The macro world is absolutely fascinating and these holidays snaps have only firmed up my commitment to doing more macro photography!
Plan B Photography
In my blog this week I talk about the importance of having a plan B. On recent visits to Hartland Quay and Trevose Head I ended up shooting something different from what I had originally planned. I might have come away with nothing if I hadn't had a plan B!
Always Have a Plan B
My recent trip to Porth Nanven in Corwnall was a very successful one and I managed to capture a new image for my portfolio. The weather gods had been kind to me that evening and the conditions were ideal for that location. With the weather looking reasonably settled for the next couple of weeks I hoped I could build on that success and get a few more portfolio shots at some locations I had been itching to get back to.
As is always the way with landscape photography though, things didn't go exactly to plan.
Trevose Head
My first and until recently, my only visit to Trevose Head, was a very successful one. On my previous visit had managed to get a number of great images of the the lighthouse in a variety of different lighting conditions using varying exposure lengths. It was one of those trips out with the camera where things just seem to go right for you.
However, even though I had some quality images from that trip, I still wanted to go back and try and get an even better image of the lighthouse and cliffs in even better, more dramatic light.
When I arrive at Trevose Head on my most recent visit things were looking good except that the wind was howling! This is hardly a surprise as Stincking Cove (where I was going to shoot from) isn't exactly sheltered so a bit of wind is to be expected. Not to be deterred though I got setup and got shooting.
It soon became obvious though that the wind was much stronger than my last visit. Even with my heavy duty tripod, and a relatively short exposure time, the camera was getting a battering from the wind. It was looking unlikely that I would get a stable image. There was no chance that I would be getting the Little Stopper out! This was a shame as the light was looking good. Time for plan B!
On my walk over to Stincking Cove I had noticed there was some thrift flowering on the cliff edge. It was a lot more sheltered over there so I decided to head back and shoot something different. I hadn't planned to go to Trevose Head and shoot the thrift but persevering with wind wasn't going to get me anywhere.
While the shot below might not be one for the portfolio, it's a pleasing image and I'm glad that I took it rather than I just went home feeling glum that I hadn't taken any decent photographs.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 19mm, f/16, 1/13 sec., ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad.
Hartland Quay
A very similar thing happened to me when I went to Hartland Quay about a week later. This time it was almost the reverse though. I had gone to Hartland Quay to photograph the thrift only to change my mind and shoot Screda Point. Unlike my trip to Trevose Head though, I was at least able to capture an image of the scene that I had originally thought about.
The image below of thrift and the bay at Screda Point is pleasing enough but forecasted cloud coverage wasn't there and so I feel the sky lacks interest. The colour and light are there, but it's just missing that something extra in the sky. Realising that things weren't going to improve, I decided to go for plan B!
Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 f/4 @ 18mm, f/14, 0.5 sec, ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad.
For my plan B image, I decided to put on my 24-70mm f/2.8 lens and go in tighter to focus more on the dramatic rocks of Screda Point. Though the sky still lacks the cloud coverage I would have ideally liked, I do prefer this image over my image of the thrift. I like shooting long exposures on the coast so maybe I'm slightly biased towards this image, but I like the lines of the rocks on the beach, the pastel colours of the sky and the simplicity of the image.
Unlike my trip to Trevose Head though, I probably would have left Hartland Quay happy with the photo of the thrift. However, I'm still glad I had a plan B!
So do you always have a plan B? Do you decide before you go somehwere or wing when you get there? Let me know in the comments below.