I decided to have a little play around with the light as the sun was low in the sky… It was still high enough to produce quite harsh light and therefore still light enough to see what interesting things might happen with the lens.
First I began with the Alliums, the aim to have as many in one shot as possible and play around with depth of field and see what ‘bokeh’ effects might happen…
And then I moved onto the Forget-me-not… I know I’ve already taken far too many shots of these, but just bear with me.
At first things were a little pedestrian, some nice bokeh going on in the background though, but I want more!
Oooooh, what happened here??! Check out the colours!
Now lets see what else we can get with this light…
Mmm, what’s going on at the bottom? Something interesting happening down there…
Look in the background, somehow other stems are being magnified…
Trying to get both background and foreground in focus.
Almost there!
Ok, I’ve no idea how this is happening… I assume the light is being reflected inside the camera and lens.
Mmmmm, a fun 10 minutes there...
Copyright 2011 Liz.
All rights reserved. Content created by Liz for Gwirrel’s Garden.
24 comments:
I love the pictures and I too have been experimenting with light and my camera which is why I have thousands of pictures not quite as nice as yours...
Liz, What an absolutely beautiful collection of images. It is fun to play with a camera. I should play around with mine more.
You might just be the inspiration i need.....
How fun! I've recently been experimenting a little too, trying to break out of my rut of camera settings. Something I never would have done with a film camera, as developing was so expensive. Thank goodness for digital! I like the more ethereal quality of some of the photos as the light increases, and the saturation of color is diminished. It lends a softness to the view. Some day maybe I'll be brave enough to post some results too ;)
such softness in the forget me not photos. i love experimenting and i think your images are wonderful!!!
Wow! You make me want to actually read my camera's user's guide!
Very nice experimentation. You ended up with so interesting lighting effects. The first image is so soft and is my favorite, but I liked your changing depth of field.
I've learnt a new word and enjoyed every minute of the 10. Hazy and soft goes so well with forget-me-nots. Brilliant
Laura
Hi Donna,
I'm sure your photos are lovely too, things don't have to be perfect to be magical... After all, these aren't perfect but that's what makes them special.
Hi Cheryl,
Playing with the camera is fun, especially when you come across some weird and wonderful things happening.
Very cool. Your lens must be a good one - I remember reading that cheap lenses make octagonal (or other angular) shapes out of bokeh instead of smooth circles. Lots of smooth circles here. Love the haze and other effects.
Oh, you did have fun! Those circles are actually Fairy orbs dancing in the morning sun.
What fun you had Liz and what great results! The photos are all beautiful. I think my favourites are the second of the Alliums and the first of the Forget-me-nots cos I do like a bit of saturated colour ;)
Hi Liz - I just wrote you a very witty and erudite comment ...then pressed the delete button by mistake! Dhur!
The gist of it was that your photos are stunning, as always, and I think I need you to pop round to my house to give me a lesson or 3 in macro photography! :)
Hi CV,
It's easy to use the same old settings all the time... But then there's also nothing wrong with that... To each their own :)
Hi Ginny,
Thanks, playing around with the camera is a lot of fun... Not so interested in playing around with them on the computer though, so I do minimal work, preferring to let the lens do its job.
Hi OMS,
Forget reading user manuals, just play with your camera instead. I've never once read mine, and don't intend to start now... Although I do think it's highly likely that I'm missing out on some good hints or tips...
Hi GWGT,
Thannks, I'm glad you enjoyed looking at my experiment :)
Hi Laura,
Ah, I'm glad to have taught you a new term... You'll probably notice it quite a lot now, especially if you search for bokeh on say, Flickr or Photobucket... There are loads of images, most cliche water drops or hearts and such... lol, but nice all the same.
Hi VW,
I really need to have my lens/camera cleaned, as you probably also noticed the little flecks in some of the shots. Normally as such small apertures you don't notice them, but with this strange inner magnification, they too were magnified. I just don't want to give my camera/lens over to be cleaned because I'll feel lost without them!
Hi Carolyn,
Ooooh, Fairies! I'm so pleased to have caught some on camera :)
Hi Jan,
lol, we are quite opposites in our colour tastes, as I quite like muted, romantic colours. Although sometimes bold, strong colours can also be nice... As long as they're not plants such as busy Lizzies, or Pelagoniums........................... Urgh *shudder*
Hi Liz,
I hate it when that happens, or something goes wrong and you lose a post/comment/email! Drives me mad having to type out something again, and you just can't ever be bothered to do the entire thing.
Haha, well to be honest I think it's all the camera/lens' doing, not mine... Have the equipment and anyone can get nice shots :)
Have been wondering about the word 'bokeh' - your post was the inspiration to research the definition. Thanks Liz :)
What wonderful fun! Thank you for the introduction to "bokeh", a new one on me. You have inspired me to get out and have a play next time the light looks promising, I don't play enough, and you're right, no reason to be ruled by the manual. The only issue will be remembering what I did if it works well...
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