Abalone 2

Abalone 1

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Still cant talk, sorry folks.

Urchin 2

Urchin 1

Barnacle 2

Barnacle 1

...shed my skin...

How tiny are they?

Compared to a regular sized honey bee, pretty darn tiny! This fellow was collecting pollen, whilst his Mates were drinking nectar. He let me get very, very close, but I needed to get a little closer for better clarity.

However, each time I advanced he flew off the the next flower. Oh well, try again another time, eh?

Macro lens experiment, December 30th.

Another hidden world under our noses

If you saw yesterdays picture, you see how these little wonders get missed. Each individual flower is tiny. Yet, stick a macro lens up to them and - Whoa! Did you ever imagine such a far out and freaky flower?

But Wait, Theres More ~
Welcome our new Alien Overlord!


Check it out! Bees love this plant, but me personally, I dont think Id stick my head in there and let it tickle my belly...it just seems - dangerous to me.

I think these were the first things I shot with the macro. It is not a top of the line lens, (Optex OVL311 Wide angle/Macro Video Lens, with the wide angle segment removed). In addition, it was meant for use on a (video) film camera, not my digital (still) Canon. But it simply screws onto the front of my Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II lens, so how could I resist having a go?

All things considered, the shots are great. But since Im the one that took them, I mostly see where they could be better. Then again, these flowers arent flat. So with this lens, getting every element in focus is, well, probably never going to happen.

Hey, I still get to have alot of fun trying while I save up the big bucks that more suitable equipment will require. And no, if the government gives me any 'economic stimulus money' I wont be using it for photo gear - it wouldnt be enough anyway!

Self portrait, macro

Its scary at full size, let me tell you.

Well folks, Ive been under the weather again, and perhaps thats all it is. But Ive been wondering what the heck this whole blog thing is about. Even with two blogs, I dont feel that I am really being myself in either one. If I wanted to be more true to me here, is that wise?

And there is the whole 'free milk and the cow' thingo.

Oh, I could just put up a pretty picture everyday, but Im wondering if that has any real value. Seems to me that I should be capable of something more...meaningful? And if so, what?

Either way Friends, the immediate future may involve some stumbling around in the dark, looking for answers. Better bring a torch.

___________________________

torch = flashlight

honey on a plate in the sun

One of 544 shots of honey - still in comb - on a plate in the sun.

___________________

You thought she was joking, didnt you?

Last one, for 2008 anyway!

How could I resist? Ok, thats the last one of these....for this year anyway!

Have a safe and happy New Year everyone.

Wishing you all the best of everything in 2009!

Wing-ed Wonder

How close can I get?!
Can you take any more bees, or should I switch off a bit?

Macro practice, pas de deux

...and at least one more tommorrow while I continue attempts to pull together some sort of schedule for life, including blogging, with The Most DH home on holidays. Dont get me wrong, Im not complaining, I love having him home. Its just too easy to go do things with him instead of sit here trying to coax that FECKING GOOGLE READER into letting me do my thang...its being bloody awful!

Anyhow, moving bee (busy), moving tree (breeze), shallow depth of field on the Macro...well, one of these days we will peg the shot. Ive said it before and so shall say it again: Im nothing if not determined!

Who else gives you a Bee's backside?

I chased this busy bee all over the gum flowers that day with the macro, and loved every minute of it. Well, I say every minute, when I got doused with sticky nectar there was a couple panicky minutes trying to not let it get onto the camera. But otherwise, it was a great morning.

The Loirkeets had as usual scolded me soundly and flown off, which although dissappointing, did allow me and the bugs some quality time. There is another bee shot tommorrow for all you bee fans out there.

We are home! I will be telling you all about it as soon as I can organize myself and some photos. I took 800 photos, some of them while we were gravity's plaything, so they wont be clear enough to share....ah, good times!

Most are pretty medicore as far as a brief once over appears. The longer I use the 'long nose' lens (Canon Zoom EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 III) the more ambivalent I am about it. One day I use it and get fab clear shots and the next day Im back on "Amateur Hour Presents: The Amazing Blurred Photos of Lavender".

There is no hand holding this lens, it has got to be on a tri-pod or similar if you are zooming all the way out to 300 on it. WAH! Birds, animals and strangers in car parks dont like to wait around for you to set up gizmos - heck - they fly off, run away or start swinging things as soon as they see a camera. But again, I digress...

Still having MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH GOOGLE READER, so if I havent been round yet, I will be as soon as I can. The dang thing just freezes up IE7+ and the only thing I can do is shut off the power and boot up again from scratch. Its terminally annoying and I may have to move to another reader if it doesnt clear up - lifes too short to sit around re-booting. This is the problem with groovy gadgets, you get used to them and then they take you round the back and work you over....end grumble for today?

Nectar runneth over

See the nectar in the cup of this gum flower? Its about to spill over the edge and onto me. I wonder why no bird has emptied this cup. The bees seem to prefer cups with much less liquid, which is understandable really.

We have plundered the old film 35mm camera, and come up trumps with a macro/wide angle combo that just screws onto the front of the new lens, like a filter would. Just wait till you see the shots Im getting with this set up, Im so excited!

I just wish I could share them full size and resolution here for you, but alas, it would chew up your time and downloads...moderation has never been my strong suit.

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Am I back in town? Guess we will both find out tommorrow!