Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Just playin' around

Sometimes I don't wait for Phun Phriday to have some phun. On occasion I'll just grab the camera and play around with a subject and try out different settings, angles, light, lenses, etc to see what the possibilities are. Sometimes the results are unusual and the camera exposes things that the eye cannot see. We enter a world that we would never have known otherwise. Do you ever just 'play around' with your photography ?

(60mm  f3.5  1/100 sec  ISO100) 


29 comments:

Cat said...

That's gorgeous! Great DOF.

Dawn said...

That looks like incredible! I can't even imagine what your photography would look like when you took it seriously;)!!
Absolutely amazing!

cindyzlogic said...

Beautiful macro, Rick!

becky said...

Rick,
Your "playing around" resulted in an exquisite shot! I am not much for changing lenses, but I enjoy looking for interesting angles. Playing around, whether it's with photography, clay, or whatever, is a good thing. It takes us to new places, leads us to new ways of thinking!

darlin said...

Rick only you could do this, I had to enlarge this to see if I was seeing correctly or if I needed my glasses and nope I don't need my glasses. It's as clear as day when I enlarged this, you caught a reflection in a water drop, now that takes a lot of fooling around to get something so amazingly beautiful... or it would for me! What a stunning shot, I LOVE this!

I play around with my camera quite a bit when time permits, I'll often take 20-30 shots of one thing. If anyone watches me do this I'm sure they think I'm nuts but that's alright, I am a tad bit nuts! Playing around with my camera is the only way I seem to learn anything new.

Marty said...

toutes les photos que je prends sont des surprises ! souvent, je ne vois pas ce que
je fais ! surtout les photos à contre-jour !
cette goutte d'eau est une pure merveille et
les reflets magiques ! j'adore !
merci pour tes warm bisous qui font mon
printemps ! je t'envoie les miens !!!

ju-north said...

What a great result! I'm going to play around more!

Tammy said...

Very cool reflection shot. It pasys to play around.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Stunning image.Unfortunately I don't spend enough time playing around.You have just encouraged me to do this.I hope I get some good shots as a result.

Carolyn Ford said...

yes...every time I pick up my camera, it is considered "play" time! Your play was very productive on this one, Rick! This is SUPERB!

magda said...

What a wonderful photo Rick !!!!!
As jewelry is!
Greetings

Anonymous said...

I only have my camera lens & one other lens (& I don't fully understand what that sucker is all about) to play around w/, but I like experimenting.

Right now, I'm tying to figure out how to get the settings right to get that smoky water effect... I'm at a loss, though... but I will keep trying! LoL! =)

pumpkydine said...

A picture within a picture! Very nice!

Saz said...

Wow! This is an amazing photo! I love the reflection in the water drop!! I play around all the time with my camera. I get some of my best photo's by playing around, haha.

My name is Riet said...

Prachtige macro foto Rick. Gaat alles goed met je? Fijn weekend!

Hilda R.B said...

Great macro. Wonderful!

Unknown said...

Stunning Photo, I love reflections inside droplets ;-)

Greetz,


Joseph

Leovi said...

Very good picture and that drop is really the origin of life. A greeting.

Rick said...

Thank you Cat !

Ah, but it was serious fun, Dawn ! ;-) Thank you.

Thanks for dropping by, and your nice comment Cindy.

Thank you Becky. You prove it every time too with the beautiful sculptures you make. I agree - we grow more from playing than working !

Rick said...

Thank you Darlene ! Sometimes I have the most fun when I don't have a definite objective in mind and just let things flow. btw - I'll do the same sometimes - many shots from different angles (you should have seen me squirming around getting down for the mushroom shots recently; my wife runs in the opposite direction !). Enjoy your Friday.

Merci, Marty ! Yes, the camera very often sees things we don't and also in ways that we don't ! A marvel of photography - freeze time so we can look at it in detail. You're welcome for the warm bisous ;-) - there are plenty more !

Thank you Julia - go for it !

Thanks Tammy - I agree !

Thank you Ruth; you already have so many stunning images, but go 'fool' around some more - you never know what you'll come up with and you'll get a lot of enjoyment from it !

Rick said...

Thanks so much, Carolyn. That's the way I feel too when I pick up the camera - like going on an adventure !

Thank you Magda ! Have a wonderful weekend - it's almost here !

Keep playing Tricia - you'll discover what you can do with it with some experimentation. btw - to get the 'smoky water effect' use a tripod and a slow(er) shutter speed of 1/15 sec or even a bit slower; to avoid overexposure use a small aperture e.g. f22 and/or a neutral density filter. Look forward to your results.

Thank you Randy ! Amazing what surprises sometimes await us.

Thanks Saz ! I agree, and besides, it's a lot of fun !

Rick said...

Dank je wel Riet ! Alles goed hier met mij en ik hoop ook met jou. Ik moet nodig een keer op bezoek komen - er is altijd zo veel te doen - maar ik kom wel.

Thank you Hilda !

Thanks Joseph - I've experimented with this in the past but I'm a tough judge on myself. Have a great Friday (and don't work TOO hard !).

Thank you Leovi - I appreciate your visit and comments !

Soraia said...

Perfect!

Teté M. Jorge said...

Lovely... so delicate...

Beijos...

Rick said...

Thanks, Soraia !

Thank you Teca ! Beijos for you and I hope all is well !

elena nuez said...

a little but great shot Rick!!!
I looooove it is simply perfect!
Thanks and happy Sunday!

Elena

Marisa said...

Stunning macro!

You can never take too many pictures said...

Now isn't it just the most exciting thing when a macro shot comes out as perfect and clear as this one????? I just started experimenting last summer with a macro lens, but discovered how important a sturdy tripod is needed. I purchased an horizontal model and can't wait to be able to reach way down at almost ground level for our wild spring florals and of course my friend's amazing flower gardens....do you mind if I ask what lens and setting you used for this shot?????

Rick said...

Thank you Elena !

Grazie, Minu. Ciao !

Hi and thanks for dropping by Susan. Macro is wonderful, and I've found that a tripod is almost indispensable. I only have a vertical model which I twist around and prop up on things like books, etc, and I also contort my body in various ways to get shots like this. As for settings, I always post them above my photos in this format: lens, aperture, shutter speed, ISO. In this case I used my Canon 60mm macro lens at f3.5 with a shutter speed of 1/100 sec and ISO set to 100. I shot partially into the sun to experiment with the lighting.