2 of 3

3 of 3 yea I did it!

I hope there are no points off for incredibly horrid computer literacy!

wow ladies, these are gorgeous.. No bugs or goodies around here this mornning, so i had to make do with my wilting Mother's day flowers...

Such gorgeous shots everyone!!!

Thanks heaps Tiff for giving us a little push to photograph a little differently than usual xx

Yay Trisha!!! YOU DID IT! thats sooooooo much better.... WOW on that grass web.......how extraordinary!! Love the ant one too!!! wonderful pics!!!

Ooh Karen, thats lovely too!

they are all fabulous!

Wow, these all look amazing! I'm all inspired to see what I can find tomorrow .

Great photos everyone

fantastic pictures everyone amazing cobweb Trisha and your are lovely Mandy so clear

well howdy to all you shutter sisters. You gave it a go and I am stoked. LOL. how many of you got wet knees while chasing those little critters and blooms.
I'll answer each one that was asked to be critiqued post by post so it will be easier to see what I'm referencing to.


seriously girls, I am so tickled that you had a go!!!

And the biggest thanks to all, Lee-Anne for putting up a prize for the overall outstaning pic. So dont stop at just these ones, get out there again, fiddle with the settings and experiment. The absolute worst you can do just means you delete some. But the more you fiddle, the more you think about the settings, the more 2nd nature they'll become.

just a reminder to use a small f stop number.... meaning a small number to blur out the background behind the subject to make it stand out. Sharp focus is critical with macro. Tripod if you need to. Use the timer to prevent camera shake.

but most of all have fun.
Thanks for playing along.


tiff

Trisha. 10 out of 10 for persistence in getting your pics to upload. I had a few issues too at first, but have found Photobucket a bit easier to get them here. I found using the 'choose file' bit under where you type your post make the pics very blurred. That's were PB is great, even tho I'm still getting the hang of using PB.

What a wonderful grass web. I've never seen one before. You must have got wet knees taking that shot as it looks like it has the morning dew on it. Would this have been in sunlight before the dew drops dried off? Its just that the light is dull and flat. The sun would have popped the green in the grass and shined off the tiny moisture droplets. Tricky to work with the blades of grass in the foreground, I'm wondering if the very front blade of grass that is closest to the lens could have been folded down without damaging the web. Great attempt Trisha.

The bottle brush flower is slightly out of focus, but I'm suspecting its the 'choose file' button under the spot where you write out the post. Good attempt. lovely rich red always pop against green foliage. (opposite colours on the colour wheel!!!). The background is very busy and takes away the impact of the branch in the foreground. Can you use a smaller f stop number ie.... f2.8?? This will blur out the background even more.

Beware of too much light if you use f2.8. This actually moves the aperture blades in the camera body to make a larger opening to let in the light. (think of your pupil getting bigger). In camera speak, you 'open up' the aperture which means a small f number. To stop down, you shift the aperture blades to make a smaller hole for the light to travel to the sensor. This is a larger f number f8, or f11, or f16 or f22 for example.


Basically I think of small f stop number= small focus. Large f stop number= large focus (landscape)

sorry Trisha. I digress....

what lovely soft golden light on the bottle brush seeds. It really makes them glow. Try shifting the subject a bit to the left or the right so its obviously off centre to add more interest. Sometimes things smack bang in the middle can be a bit mundane. I would shift to the right in this particular shot as the green background on that side is much darker so the golden seeds would really pop!

well done and thank you for asking me to critque them.

Tiff

Hi again Trisha.

The 'Palm frond sun on the bottom' shot is technically not a macro shot. If you stepped forward and just captured just the bottom of one frond backlit by the sun to show the vein that would be a macro. This shot has most of the background recognisable and greatly spoils your image. Have another go and just focus on the one frond and use a small f stop number.

'Lemons' Same again Trisha. smaller f stop number and fill the frame with the fruit so there is less background visible. I see there is sunshine on the top rim of the fruit. can you shoot it from that sun side to give the rich colours? Watch out for your shadow tho.

Green ant with babies. Good one. You can see their eyes, and a fair bit of the detail of the activity under that leaf. Reminds me of ol Mother Hubbard.
Try getting in closer if you're game (I hope they can't jump) and focus in on the Mum ant and just a few smaller ones. I have noticed that you have all this leaf in the frame of the shot. Well done.

Tiff

Twig with web attached. Need to get up close and personal with Macro Trisha. Fill the frame with the subject to minimise the background.

Rose (amongst the weeds). This is slightly out of focus. Is it on your computer as well, or just because of the 'choose file' thingy again. The lighting is a bit flat, but roses are best shot on overcast days as its better to capture the details in the petals.

Rose Petals. My eye is drawn to that tiny hole in the petal on the top left quarter. Is that where you wanted my eye travel too?? Wherever you have the sharpest focus is where the most important part of that shot is, and that is where you want the viewer to look first. love all those delicate veins on the folded petal. On a bright day, you wont see them with a camera, the light is just too strong. Well done!!

Trisha. Congrats on your massive enthusiasm and lots of eye candy here. Photography is such a subjective thing, and what appeals to me, may not appeal to anyone else. So I hope that you can glean a hint or two from what I've critiqued for you and have a go with those tips in mind. Its taken me nearly an hour to respond to all of your images, so I hope you can soak it all up.

kindest regards.
Tiff

well I took a few not very good and proabably not macro Tiff but I guess I was quiet pleased I got anything given my limitations and a point and shoot camera

Hey there Gypsy.

awesome that you had a go mate. tickled pink actually.

If you dont have a go, then you'll learn nothing. With giving it a shot, then some things will start to make sense.

At least I hope so.