Izzie's P 52 month of February -- for C&C please

WEEK 2 -- MACRO

This week I decided to use my macro lens without the tube extensions of course … and these are how my project came out.

1 Strawberries

http://i63.tinypic.com/17uw3t.jpg

2 Strawberries in mono
http://i68.tinypic.com/dxb7le.jpg

3 mushroom
http://i64.tinypic.com/213ki8h.jpg

4 Sourdough bread – stack of 11 (Photoshop Merge)
http://i64.tinypic.com/2n6uekk.jpg

5 Snow 2 – I like this one better because it is simple than the effect I ran from Nik's. I just used Viveza here with structure then worked the black and white points.
http://i63.tinypic.com/2db6oih.jpg

I was waiting for another thing I can photograph with my macro lens but I cannot find any so this is just for now. Sorry, boring subjects to some but I will think of something better next week…

Please C&C – your comments, opinions, suggestions and critiques are important to me…(Does this sound like, "please do not put the phone down, your call is important to us.."?)

Cheers all..
Izzie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IzzieK

WEEK 2 -- MACRO

This week I decided to use my macro lens without the tube extensions of course … and these are how my project came out.

1 Strawberries

2 Strawberries in mono

3 mushroom

4 Sourdough bread – stack of 11 (Photoshop Merge)

5 Snow 2 – I like this one better because it is simple than the effect I ran from Nik's. I just used Viveza here with structure then worked the black and white points.

I was waiting for another thing I can photograph with my macro lens but I cannot find any so this is just for now. Sorry, boring subjects to some but I will think of something better next week…

Please C&C – your comments, opinions, suggestions and critiques are important to me…(Does this sound like, "please do not put the phone down, your call is important to us.."?)

Cheers all..
Izzie

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I'm getting hungry from those colored strawberries. Did you prepare them for getting so shiny?
The mono version doesn't touch me.
The mushroom would be more thrilling with a smaller dof.
The bread is strange. Somehow the dof boarder is half way the bread but it leaves some strange effect on the first slice. I can't explain that. Leave that to others.
Ice cristals could use more dof or sharpening. I think it's extremely difficult to shoot ice cristals. Try it once with a smaller diaphragm, forget about the diffraction and find the limits for you and your equipment.
George

The mono version doesn't touch me either, I just included that in case someone ask about conversion to mono.

I had since learned not to use my flash and I am still learning so forgive me. I am dealing with tungsten and outside light but I read about it today and will soon learn how to balance it properly. My aim is to show the the lines at the back of the mushroom. All of these were shot with my macro lens and doing so doesn't give much dof to play with.

I was learning how to focus stack as per what Dan instructed. I thought I did a good job with the pp despite the darkness of the white at the left side ...

Thank you for your assessment and detailed critique. And no, I did not do anything to make the strawberries shine at all. It came straight from the box from the supermarket...

Next week, I will do better with a new photo box...with instructions. Thank you so much for your input. I really do appreciate hearing from you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by george013

I'm getting hungry from those colored strawberries. Did you prepare them for getting so shiny?
The mono version doesn't touch me.
The mushroom would be more thrilling with a smaller dof.
The bread is strange. Somehow the dof boarder is half way the bread but it leaves some strange effect on the first slice. I can't explain that. Leave that to others.
Ice cristals could use more dof or sharpening. I think it's extremely difficult to shoot ice cristals. Try it once with a smaller diaphragm, forget about the diffraction and find the limits for you and your equipment.
George

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Nice macro set, try photographing the eye of a needle, not so easy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shadowman

Nice macro set, try photographing the eye of a needle, not so easy.

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:)that's easy for me I have upholstery needles :)

All very nice Izzie. I like #1 best followed by #5 then #4 :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shadowman

Nice macro set, try photographing the eye of a needle, not so easy.

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Let us see if I can...it might be a good challenge using the extension tubes...Have you tried? Yet.?

I appreciate your nice comment. Thank you. I will give the needle a try...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mknittle

All very nice Izzie. I like #1 best followed by #5 then #4 :)

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Not one like my mushroom? I thought I did a good job...Thanks Mark for your comment and preference...I am following your P52 too...and others.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IzzieK

Let us see if I can...it might be a good challenge using the extension tubes...Have you tried? Yet.?

I appreciate your nice comment. Thank you. I will give the needle a try...

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Hi Izzie,

I did, I'll see if I can find it.

Excellent images again; the back of mushroom is my favorite :)

Well I liked the mushroom. And the strawberries and bread, which looks especially appetising.

I thought that with the strawberries particularly you could have used a smaller aperture to get a bigger depth of field. Also, the lighting looks too direct to me. I would have tried more diffuse lighting from the side. It looked at first as though you had used the flash. Perhaps others would disagree.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IzzieK

Not one like my mushroom? I thought I did a good job...Thanks Mark for your comment and preference...I am following your P52 too...and others.

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I like the mushroom too.
That reminds me I am late for last weeks entry.:(

Who would have ever thought that sliced bread would be interesting......but it is. Nicely done Izzie.

Dave

I really like the mushroom and the stack of bread, Izzie. The bluish reflected light on the strawberries rather detracts from them IMO. Great isolation on all of the subjects.

Hi Isabel :) I find the hightlights too much in all images, so I would reduce them. I think my best is the colored strawberry shot.

I like the series, Izzie.
You're becoming quite the versatile photographer.

Sergio

Hi Izzie,

Here's my Week 2 Macro Feedback

1. Strawberries - Call me daft, but to me these seem 'upside down', if that makes sense. Apart from that, I'm not sure I can suggest anything helpful.

2. Grey strawberries - Nah, not for me either :)
Al

3. Mushroom - I like this one best, but wished you had focus stacked this shot, so we got more of the cells sharp, although I note someone else suggested the opposite YPYMATYC*
That said, you have very largely achieved your aim.

4. Bread - yes, it does look appetising, but there's still a significant nearest part of it that's very out of focus, despite the stacking, possibly just a case of not shooting over a wide enough focus range? I don't stack, so cannot advise.

5. Personally I always struggle to find a workable composition with a scene like this, but you have (well done) - the only thing that detracts for me are the out of focus foreground leaves in top left corner, perhaps they could have been cloned out in PP?


I glanced at this thread much earlier today didn't particularly notice the highlight brightness as being an issue, but now Binnur has said it, I tend to agree, it wouldn't take much (of a drop) to keep us happy ;)


With regard to your comment on learning to balance daylight and tungsten (on the strawberry shot); unless you have a specific reason to, I'd personally avoid mixing light sources of such widely differing colour temperature - i.e. the 'balance' to achieve is to overwhelm one with the other (and set WB for that), so that the dominant source visible is all the same white balance - here I can see that the bluer daylight is getting in to the strawberry's dimples.


I didn't find the subjects boring, I am intrigued by what you couldn't find though - keep it up.

Cheers, Dave


* Yer pays yer money and takes yer choice - an olde English saying ;)

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Originally Posted by Wavelength

Excellent images again; the back of mushroom is my favorite :)

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Thanks again John. I have no time yet to spare because it is Valentine's Day and I am cooking, so I will try to macro shot a needle by Wednesday.

Thank you Nandakumar. Exactly what I was trying to show...

Appreciate you both for commenting. Thank you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TonyW

Well I liked the mushroom. And the strawberries and bread, which looks especially appetising.

I thought that with the strawberries particularly you could have used a smaller aperture to get a bigger depth of field. Also, the lighting looks too direct to me. I would have tried more diffuse lighting from the side. It looked at first as though you had used the flash. Perhaps others would disagree.

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No...no flash. I am trying to avoid it. It should be the light from our light cum blower up there in the ceiling. It is tungsten. I am making me a photo box for next week's installment for Week 3 which should start tomorrow -- so my shoot will improve...

I will try my best to use better aperture. Thank you for your comment and suggestions. Truly appreciate it very much.

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Originally Posted by Dave A

Who would have ever thought that sliced bread would be interesting......but it is. Nicely done Izzie.

Dave

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Thanks Mark and Dave...the break is a stack of 11 which I tried to learn from last weeks conversation here at CiC. I knew I could do it but it took too many shots to accomplish it. Thanks to Photoshop Merge, it turn out well...well part from the highlights...I thought I was being smart leaving it there than having it look dull and uninteresting...

'Appreciate both your comments and preferences...Thank you.