More Macro

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Predictably, I've been playing with my new toy today.
I popped round to my parents' house for dinner, and Mum found this very late flowering forget-me-not in the garden.
The second one is a "Teddy Face" Aldi knock-off of a Pom-Bear crisp, and clearly hasn't been fried in quite the same way that yesterday's sample had been - or at least hasn't retained quite as much oil.

I'm looking forward to trying some focus stacking with this lens, but that's going to have to wait a day or two until the motorised focus rail I've ordered arrives.
I've been using my old Manfrotto 454 mechanical focus rail, but at these magnifications (3x for the forget-me-not, and 5x for the crisp), it turns out that it's simply too wobbly to produce acceptable results for stacking, although it is usable for setting up single shots like these.
Second shot after the jump. 

Crunch!

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I finally cracked today and bought the macro lens I've been hanging my nose over for a while - the Canon MP-E65mm special macro lens.
This lens is a very niche bit of kit, dedicated to macro work. It can't focus further than 101mm away, but it can magnify the subject 5x, without any external accessories like extension tubes.
This is what it will do to a crinkle cut crisp.
I'm looking forward to working with this lens...

One more after the jump.

Noctilucent

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I spotted a little wisp of what might have been noctilucent cloud just after sunset, and kept an eye on it for a while.
It seemed to be intensifying, so I thought I'd head out and try to capture it.
It turned out to be rather a nice display.

Pineappleweed

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Seeing and smelling this plant a couple of times recently brought back childhood memories. Such a nice smell!

Crocosmia while the gnocchi boils

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A bit of a snatched shot today - I saw these catching the sun in the garden while my pot was coming up to a boil, so nipped out to grab a few quick pics. I'm glad I did, because the sun had moved off them by the time I had finished eating.

These probably deserve more thorough treatment with a focus stack, but they were moving too much in the breeze to attempt that today.

Alternate Viewpoint

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A backup image today.
Work was frustrating and it was far too hot to focus on tedious tasks, which left me with no inclination to shoot anything.

Mirror, Mirror, in the pool

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My mangled ankle has improved quite significantly throughout the day today, despite resembling a blueberry!
I managed to get out for a bit of a walk and spotted this reflection, which I rather liked.

Summer Grasses

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Went for a picnic in the fields with some of the family this evening.
Lovely warm summer evening, and beautiful light. The bugs mostly left us alone until we had finished eating, which was unexpectedly good of them!

I did manage to sprain my ankle rather painfully a few minutes after taking this though. I was very glad of having people with me to help carry my bag back after that!

Three

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Went for an early evening walk by the embankment tonight. We had really good weather today, and some nice light in the evening.

2024-06-21 - Late

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I was busy on the 21st, and didn't take or post anything. Here's a backup image from a couple of days before.

The punters are queueing up

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I'm pretty frazzled tonight after a very frustrating day at work, and then managing to ruin a pizza by failing to get it into the oven properly, twice, ruining the thing and making a large mess.
The third attempt, with a hastily-defrosted dough ball was at least edible.

This is one from last night. I thought it was quite funny.

Summer Evenings

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A lovely peaceful evening walk at Colwick Country Park.
A couple more after the jump

A splash of colour

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These really jumped out of the background as I was walking past.

Swans and Bats

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I'm still trying and failing to get a decent photo of a bat...
Nice evening though.
One more after the jump.

"My" Tree - June

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Revisited "my" tree again this evening. It's now surrounded by waist-high wheat or similar. I had to be quite careful not to damage the crops when I was walking along the edge of the field to get close enough to the tree.

I've also been playing with some photography through my old microscope this weekend. The second photo (after the jump) is part of a carnation petal through the microscope, focus stacked.
I'm planning to have a look at motorising the stage on this microscope to make this stacking process more consistent, but I'm relatively happy with this for a first go.

Ugly Duckling

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2024-06-14

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Oi, Wot You Lookin' At?

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... Was the tone I was reading into the slightly insolent stare I got from this lamb.
Or do I anthropomorphise too much, perhaps?

Trams and Bats and Vitreous Water.

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Took myself off to the embankment this evening. I like it here, it's a peaceful place, and there are good memories.
A couple more after the jump.

To Friends, Departed: A Glass, Elevated

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There's a bit of a story behind this glass. Lucy was never a big drinker, but on a night out with some friends a few years ago, she was persuaded to order a pint of cider.
After about four hours, she made it to the bottom of the glass, and there was much jubilation as a result.
The moment was fortunately photographed. (photo after the jump)

Somehow, the glass ended up coming home with us...

It seemed fitting to raise this glass to her on her birthday and remember some of the good times we shared.

2024-06-10

Click image to view a bigger version A backup image, taken a few days ago.

2024-06-09

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Snuggles!

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I went for a sunny early evening wander by the river today. I'm quite pleased with these, and with some others I took today.
I'd recently had some misgivings about the sharpness of my 150-600 lens, but I thought I'd try stopping it down and cranking the shutter speed up to try and get the best out of it. I managed to get these at f/13 @ 1/640 sec, ISO 1600, and it's tamed both the camera shake and fuzziness I had previously been unhappy with.

I've still got a bit of a mental picture from my early DSLR days of anything over ISO 800 being really noisy - but that's not really the case with these more modern cameras. ISO 1600 on the 6D Mk II is pretty clean, and definitely usable.
I need to stop fearing the ISO!

Totally unrelated, but I got my first clear covid test today, so I'm really hoping it's still good tomorrow, which will mean I can see some friends and family at a thing that's been planned for a long time.

A few more after the jump.

Scratching Post

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A backup from a few days ago today.
Think I'm slowly shaking this obnoxious little virus, but still definitely not rid of it yet.

Take a seat, take a walk, watch the bats

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Highfields in the nearly-dark. Loads of bat activity.

A couple more after the jump.

Off you toddle

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Also, a sky pic (after the jump). Perhaps not the most original or creative photo idea, but I like an interesting bit of sky, I find it somehow calming.

Carnation

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I was going for a more abstract look with this one.

I was also having a play with a bit of an unconventional macro arrangement - my 50mm f/2.5 macro lens, with a 20mm extension tube, and then a 1.4x teleconverter that is normally only usable with specific L series lenses because it has an element that protrudes into the back of those lenses. The extension tube made space for that element, and it appears to work quite well.

2024-06-03

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A year, almost to the day, and I've got the wretched lurgy again.
Ten thousand curses on those who ate and / or ran experiments on bats.

I'd like to opt out of society now, please. It's defective.

"Delish"

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I'm fairly sure that this would have been Lucy's one-word description of this most excellent fresh strawberry, picked straight from my in-laws' garden this morning, and slightly warm from the sun.
Juicy, sweet and delicious.

2024-06-01: Many pizzas, few photos

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Just a phone pic today - I was cooking pizzas for my brother-in-law's cricket club fundraiser, and didn't have change to take anything decent.
I'm late posting this, to boot!