Definitely not about flower pics anymore. Sort of a mosh pit of photo-related stuff really.

[Wallydraigle]

I've been making a lot of wildflower pics while I wait for the bugs to wake up. I like to get in way close and show the tiny flower parts. Most parts of tiny flowers have almost otherworldly delicate colors and translucency. I've been enjoying it because flowers don't run away if you get too close or bump a branch

Since a couple people asked for pics here they are. These are obscure plants that most people never stop to look at. Some of them are usually called weeds whenever they are seen. I've tried to present them in a way that is unexpected and unusual. I guess for some people it's like a peek into another world. This is how I look at things. I guess you could say I can't see the forest for the lichens.

I couldn't post very many because my PBase account is over the limit, and it takes me a long time to upload anything anyway. PBase started to do funky jpeg stuff to some of them and I think it looks really bad. Which leads to another thing. I would like to set up a website of my own for this stuff, but I've never done that kind of thing before. I'd like something simple but professional looking. My HTML skills are lacking so I need a program to help design it. What should I get?

I started to write comments but I decided that that sucked because it's late, so if you want to know something you can ask, but I won't be back on here until tommorrow evening. I guess you'll just have to wait. I threw in a lichen for free, so quit yer bitchin' But anyway nothing on that page was taken at less than 1:1 so everything is really small. Most were taken at between 3:1 and 5:1.

Let me know what you think, and what I could have done better. You can say whatever you want because I'm a thick-skinned, uncaring bastard and you won't hurt my feelings. Good night!






***Edit: At some point or another I took the PBase gallery down that I had linked to, but I still show this thread to people now and again, so here are the pictures that were in it:


Rue anemone
Arisaema
Bloodroot
More bloodroot
Celendine
Chickweed
Erythronium
Henbit
Glechoma
Violet

I think that's it.

 

[fatbaby]

I'd hit it!

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

British soldiers?

Kind of looks like them

 

[Wallydraigle]

Originally posted by: fatbaby
I'd hit it!

Well, I guess what I meant to say was you can say anything but that.

 

[Psycho18]

Since I'm a man, I think flowers are gay. But considering that women like them, i like them as well.

 

[Azraele]

Pretty flowers.

 

[UNCjigga]

Sketcher...take notes!! Can't wait to see your pics once you're more comfortable with the D10!

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: Psycho14
Since I'm a man, I think flowers are gay. But considering that women like them, i like them as well.

Na, they arent. I even raise orchids in my house. BTW, I aint gay.

 

[HappyPuppy]

You have a talent for finding the exquisite in the mundane, Bro. What other people would step on you turn into art.

 

[Wallydraigle]

Originally posted by: Hayabusarider
British soldiers?

Kind of looks like them

And you'd be right. I found them growing in a strip mine. About a mile from my house is a 4500 acre tract of stripped out land. In 1961 the state of Ohio annexed it and created Perry State Forest. The state got the land before the reclamation laws were passed so most of it is still open strip pits. Mostly it's just wasteland and will be that way until another glacier comes along and erases our fvck up, but if you look close enough, and get lucky, there are some interesting things growing there. I walk out there all the time looking for stuff.

To be fair the state has tried to fix the place up as best they can but it's just too big a job.



Psycho14: Gay, schmay, so what? Flowers are just how plants do the sex thing. Just be grateful that you don't have deciduous, one-time-use gonads like plants do Without flowers civilization as we know it would not work.

Thanks for the compliments everybody!

Hayabusa, what kind of orchids do you raise? Do you do all the flasking and everything youself? I always wanted to get into that, but I never got up the motivation. I do stalk native orchids though.

 

[Entity]

Originally posted by: lirion
I've been making a lot of wildflower pics while I wait for the bugs to wake up. I like to get in way close and show the tiny flower parts. Most parts of tiny flowers have almost otherworldly delicate colors and translucency. I've been enjoying it because flowers don't run away if you get too close or bump a branch

Since a couple people asked for pics here they are. These are obscure plants that most people never stop to look at. Some of them are usually called weeds whenever they are seen. I've tried to present them in a way that is unexpected and unusual. I guess for some people it's like a peek into another world. This is how I look at things. I guess you could say I can't see the forest for the lichens.

I couldn't post very many because my PBase account is over the limit, and it takes me a long time to upload anything anyway. PBase started to do funky jpeg stuff to some of them and I think it looks really bad. Which leads to another thing. I would like to set up a website of my own for this stuff, but I've never done that kind of thing before. I'd like something simple but professional looking. My HTML skills are lacking so I need a program to help design it. What should I get?

I started to write comments but I decided that that sucked because it's late, so if you want to know something you can ask, but I won't be back on here until tommorrow evening. I guess you'll just have to wait. I threw in a lichen for free, so quit yer bitchin' But anyway nothing on that page was taken at less than 1:1 so everything is really small. Most were taken at between 3:1 and 5:1.

Let me know what you think, and what I could have done better. You can say whatever you want because I'm a thick-skinned, uncaring bastard and you won't hurt my feelings. Good night!

For the website questions, I'd use Gallery. Use a site that allows you to do PHP + MySQL, and I can help you install Gallery. Especially if they give you shell access (much easier).

Rob

 

[Wallydraigle]

Originally posted by: Entity

Originally posted by: lirion
I've been making a lot of wildflower pics while I wait for the bugs to wake up. I like to get in way close and show the tiny flower parts. Most parts of tiny flowers have almost otherworldly delicate colors and translucency. I've been enjoying it because flowers don't run away if you get too close or bump a branch

Since a couple people asked for pics here they are. These are obscure plants that most people never stop to look at. Some of them are usually called weeds whenever they are seen. I've tried to present them in a way that is unexpected and unusual. I guess for some people it's like a peek into another world. This is how I look at things. I guess you could say I can't see the forest for the lichens.

I couldn't post very many because my PBase account is over the limit, and it takes me a long time to upload anything anyway. PBase started to do funky jpeg stuff to some of them and I think it looks really bad. Which leads to another thing. I would like to set up a website of my own for this stuff, but I've never done that kind of thing before. I'd like something simple but professional looking. My HTML skills are lacking so I need a program to help design it. What should I get?

I started to write comments but I decided that that sucked because it's late, so if you want to know something you can ask, but I won't be back on here until tommorrow evening. I guess you'll just have to wait. I threw in a lichen for free, so quit yer bitchin' But anyway nothing on that page was taken at less than 1:1 so everything is really small. Most were taken at between 3:1 and 5:1.

Let me know what you think, and what I could have done better. You can say whatever you want because I'm a thick-skinned, uncaring bastard and you won't hurt my feelings. Good night!

For the website questions, I'd use Gallery. Use a site that allows you to do PHP + MySQL, and I can help you install Gallery. Especially if they give you shell access (much easier).

Rob

Hi. Thanks for the advice and your gracious offer. I might just take you up on it. I'll probably mess around with it this fall when I have less going on, unless I get lucky and lose my job or something. What I wouldn't give to get laid off for the summer.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

I like them. Very nice work.

When you stop seeing beauty, you start growing old - U2

 

[Wallydraigle]

Posted some more.

Tiger beetle

Paper wasp

Wasp eating pollen

Dandelion anthers



The tiger beetles have a lot of potential. These things are lightning fast and they see motion very well. Even getting within a few feet of them is a challenge, let alone composing a shot. I watched a female running down a log, and every once in a while she would dab her abdomen onto it. She was spreading pheromones so a male would chase her. The female ran under a piece of wood laying across the log and the male headed that way. I saw my chance and dove in. While the male was under the wood I got in position and when he came out the other side I snapped the shot before he knew I was there. I had my 65mm macro lens on so I had to get within inches of him to get this shot. I'm kind of proud of it, but I know I could do better with my 180mm macro lens. I cut off a couple of his feet, and his elytra are a little out of focus. I'd love to be able to get right up in his face. I think these guys are my new project.

 

[Wallydraigle]

So I went out where these things live this morning at the butt crack of dawn, only to find that they sleep in. Great. So I wait and I wait and finally they come out. Previously I had noticed some fungi growing on one of the logs where these things run around that would look really cool as a background, so I set up over there to get the perfect shot. And I wait some more. Finally a female lands on the log. And she runs around and then just stops. And I wait some more. She zips over to the right area, and she's only an inch away from where I want her to be. And she stops. And I wait. And I wait. And she moves again, almost exactly where i want her to be, and she stops and just looks at me. I start snapping! A couple turned out decent, but just not the way I had planned. I'm going to keep trying though. These things are just so fast and aware. I guess I should have picked a slow and dumb one as my bug of the week.

I think this is cheating, and I've never done it before, but some insect photographers catch their subjects and leave them in the fridge for a few minutes until they slow way down, so they're easier to photograph. What do you think? Is it wrong, or does it just take away some of the bugs' advantage? It doesn't matter, I probably couldn't catch one anyway.

Oh yeah here and here are a couple of the better shots. Pretty impressive I guess, I just know I can do better. I can't help but judge myself against the vision I have in my mind of how I want the shot to be. Maybe there's no way I could ever live up to that.


**Edit: That was weird, don't know what happened there, sorry.

 

[Wallydraigle]

And now frogs. What a day.

here
and here.

This is my favorite time of year. I just never know what I'll find. The first one is a spring peeper. I found it in the dark by its sound. I wish I could have seen it a little better so I didn't get its bum so close to the edge, but whatever, it was really dark. I don't know what the second one is yet. I found it earlier while I was chasing a jumping spider. Looks like it got in some webs. I thought about cleaning them up, but I just left them. Both the tree frogs were a little more than an inch long. I used my 180mm macro lens for these, and my 550EX flash with the diffuser in place.

 

[Imported]

That paper wasp freaks me the hell out.. o_o

The frogs are cool though

 

[Howard]

Wow, you sure are dedicated to your hobby.

 

[Sketcher]

Originally posted by: uncJIGGA
Sketcher...take notes!! Can't wait to see your pics once you're more comfortable with the D10!

I ain't nevah gonna get comfattuble w/D10. A 10D mabye . Take notes!? Man, to do what lirion's doing takes more than good notes and good glass. There's quality in them there pics. My learning curve's gonna be steep. I'm reading everything (and yes taking notes) but lately it's a rare day that I reach the homefront by 9p.m. The only 'Macro' i'm interested in are the threads in my pillow!

lirion, [special request]. I'd love to see a "behind the scenes" photo of one of your shoots. Perhaps the subject you are shooting, and then a picture of the shoot/setup. Most people here appreciate the pics and know they're incredible but have little idea what you're putting into it and what it looks like from the outside. (pretty please :camera: ). I for one, think the setup can be as intriguing as the subject.

 

[hzl eyed grl]

Simply amazing. I've always wanted to do that. I have no idea how to do it and I don't have the equipment, so I'm very jealous.

Good job and keep up with the pics!

Oh, I agree with Sketcher, too. Take a pic of the setup. That would be great.

 

[Wallydraigle]

Okay. I took these shots with my old E10, with the built in flash. I hardly ever use my junky Benbo tripod, but I used it to hold the camera up so I wouldn't have to. I only posted photos of my macro gear here.




This is my 180mm macro lens with my 550EX flash.


Here it is with the hood off.


This is my 65mm 1x to 5x lens with my twin flash. When I post photos of incredibly tiny little things, this is where they come from.

Here's the front.

And without the lens cap. The front element on this one is really small.

Here it is at 5x. This lens is like a sturdy bellows unit. It gets longer at higher magnifications.

And here's the back, complete with big ugly thumb print on the LCD. Hey, this stuff gets used a lot, I didn't buy it to look pretty. Plus I was too lazy to wipe it off. Lots of pretty buttons and flashy thingys.


Maybe someday I'll take some pictures of myself with my stuff when I'm out shooting. That would pretty neat I guess. Hope that helps with your curiosity Sketcher.

 

[Sketcher]

Holy Muther lirion! I rest my case...

That's some gear! Help with the curiosity!? Nah, you've only fueled the fire . Thanks for taking the time - I appreciate getting the 'big picture' and seeing the different facets of your work. Just a little $$$ invested in GLass there!?

I'm returning my Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM this week. It's a nice range but I want something a bit faster (yes, everyone told me so!). Wish I could plunk down for some of those fancy lenses with the red bands.

Question for ya: If you had $1300 to blow on glass, and were building your arsenal from scratch for portrait (and eventually macro) would you go for something like the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM or begin building off a couple/few primes? I know, loaded question.

Right now I'm reigning in the drool factor, keep coming back to the the fast but inexpensive Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II (again) and mind my manners until I can talk about a lens that actually has something to do with what I'm trying to capture!

. Problem is, every time I head down to the Camera Exchange, I leave certain that I need something a little different than what I went down there for! They're good people - they just don't read minds and I don't quite know what I'm talking about yet Can't go wrong with a good lens for <$90.00 right!?

Man... some Crazy gear you got there lirion. You said you had gotten a good deal from a retiree on your "L" glass. Did you know what you were looking for when you bought or did your specific interest materialize after you started playing? (I remember you saying you started w/Digital). psssst... how long before you retire?

Thanks again for the pics! (eagerly awaiting some behind the scenes shots of you and or your gear in the process of capturing the magic!)

 

[Sid59]

portrait is really good at around 80-85mm if i remember from class. A very good starting lens is 24-105 lens. Look for one of those and make it fast.

I wonder if that twin flash is better than a ring flash. Im still making due with my old Nikon 35mm SLR. Not in the field to upgrade and drop loads of cash.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Sketcher
Right now I'm reigning in the drool factor, keep coming back to the the fast but inexpensive Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II (again) and mind my manners until I can talk about a lens that actually has something to do with what I'm trying to capture!

. Problem is, every time I head down to the Camera Exchange, I leave certain that I need something a little different than what I went down there for! They're good people - they just don't read minds and I don't quite know what I'm talking about yet Can't go wrong with a good lens for <$90.00 right!?

thats the best lens i have (not really saying much but its impossible to beat that lens in more than 1 thing)

damn lirion, those are some nice pics!

how big a media do you have for that camera? i'd imagine RAW files with lots of sub-par shots take up a lot of space

 

[Wallydraigle]

$1300 can go a long way if you shop smart. If the wide end of your 28-135mm IS lens wasn't too limiting for you, I'd look for a used 28-70 L. This is a phenomenal lens, but Canon just replaced it with a 24-70L with better seals and stuff, and a lot of people are dumping this perfectly good lens for the new one. You can get a bargain on it if you shop around. Probably around $800. I just checked Fred Miranda's classified forum, and KEH.com, and they didn't have any today, but they're out there. Most of them are still in great shape too. If that's too much there are several 24mm and 28mm primes for a lot less. The 28mm f/1.8 looks attractive at around $400 new.

If you're at all interested in macro, definitely check out the 100mm f/2.8 USM macro. If you get it, be sure to get the new version. It has USM, full-time manual focusing, and it focuses internally. This is one of the sharpest lenses you will ever see. It's almost as sharp as the 180mm macro, and it will give you decent room between you and your subject, but it only costs about $470 new. I decided to go for the 180mm so I don't personally have this lens, but everyone I know who has one loves it.

That should still leave you with plenty of room in the budget for the 50mm f/1.8, or even the f/1.4 version.

That would give you semi-wide angle, low light, and macro capabilities. The 28-70, 50, or 100 macro could all be used for portraits in a pinch. Nothing too exotic, but a lot of bang for your buck, and it will hold its value well. In a couple years if you decide to upgrade something, lenses in good shape will still sell for 70% or more of what you paid, more if you buy used.

That should let you do plenty of stuff while you figure out what you want to do. When I bought my first boatload of stuff I had shot with an Olympus E10 for a couple years before that. Some of what I wanted to do I knew from shooting with the E10. Later as my interests developed I've acquired new gear and I've found that I use other gear less often. When you get some stuff and play with it awhile, you'll figure out what you want to do. So to answer your question, when I got my stuff from the retiree, I had a pretty good idea what I wanted to do, I just didn't know to what extent I wanted to take it. Oh, unless something unfortunate happens I won't be retiring any time soon

But then again, you asked what I would do. I would go spend a whole, whole lot of money on the best, because I like to have the best, even if I don't absolutely need it, and because I have no life other than that, but that's just me.

Hi ElFenix, thanks I have a couple of 512MB flash cards. I'll probably kick myself later, but I really don't shoot much raw. If I was working for somebody I would definitely, but since it's just for my own personal benefit I'll do what I want, whatevah!