Live Every Moment Photo Challenge - Food

Please click through, it looks much better :-)

This is one of my favourite photos of my son. I gave him a large watermelon, which he loves, really for him just to hold to take a photo of him and he couldn't resist having some. Then he put it on his head!! It makes me smile whenever I see it. It was just before the cold winter weather set in too so it feels so summery and warm. I'm sharing it for the food challenge this week.


Voted winner! Yay and thank you! :-)


I had to share the whole storyboard I made with these photos.
Photos processed with The CoffeeShop Blog Butterscotch Vintage action.

Macro - On a Budget

I heart Macro. It can take an ordinary subject and make it look otherworldly. It makes you look at your subject closer, to notice characteristics you wouldn't have otherwise. I knew I wanted to do macro when I first bought my DSLR. Then my heart sank when I saw the price of a macro lens. But after some research I realised there are many other options to a dedicated macro lens. So a couple of months ago my husband bought me a Canon Extension Tube EF 25 II for my birthday. They're also available in Nikon and Kenko.

So straight out of the box I took these comparison shots of my birthday flower bouquet with my 50mm 1.8 alone and together with my new extension tube. My focus was off but you get an idea of the magnification capabilities.
The extension tube goes between your lens and your camera body. My extension tube moves my lens 25mm away from my camera body. This means that I can focus closer to my subject and increases the magnification by 0.5, makes sense, right!? See this site for an explantion of this.
An extension tube doesn't have any optics but the Canon does have electric coupling. Some cheaper brands don't. This means that you can still control your settings.Which is really handy!
Autofocus is a bit flaky, so you have to focus manually. Although I believe this is recommended for a macro lens also. I have this little trick that I was a bit embarrassed about but I see Megan Cieloha does it too so I feel I can admit it now. I set my focus ring close to where I need it then I sway gently in and out from my subject till I see it in focus then I snap. If it's a moving target I may shoot in bursts.

So these are the pros and cons of extension tubes in my opinion:

Pros:

• Cost, compared to a macro lens it's really cheap
• Weight, it's really light and my Canon one comes in a little drawstring pouch so I take it with my camera all the time. You never know when you'll see something that would be great in macro. 
• Compared to lens reversing rings, another macro option, you have electronic coupling and your lens is protected.

Cons:

• The magnification isn't as great as a macro lens and depending on the lens you're using it with the clarity and sharpness may be inferior. But that's why you pay so much for a macro lens.
• Depending on the lens you use it with you may end up with an long unwieldy lens and I've read that you may end up practically touching your subject. My 50mm focuses quite a distance away and is so small anyway that it's great for me.

So that's my take on macro with an extension tube. I'm so glad there are budget options out there. I think practicing macro photography has really improved my photography, because it hones your skills, makes you look closely at your subject and there is little room for error. I love the images it's allowed me to capture.
For inspiration and information check out these two great tutorials about macro photography on Clickin Moms, one by Sarah Wilkerson and another by Megan Cieloha.

Month in Macro 4 / 30

After reading Megan Cieloha's tutorial on floral macro photography yesterday I was inspired to bring some Grevilleas in from the garden.

The Coffeeshop Blog Vintage Cream texture added

Processed with The CoffeeShop Velvet Truffle action

I couldn't resist putting this one up too I think it looks like they're snuggling.

Month in Macro 1, 2 & 3 / 30

I've really been enjoying doing my macro photography lately. I've been sneaking off to photograph this and that. Especially with everyone in the house sick, I've been going stir crazy. So I was thinking of doing a month in macro. So everyday I'll take a macro photo and post it. I didn't want to do 365 because I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it up all year but this I think I can handle. To make it easy for me I'm going to post 1,2 and 3 today, so it follows a whole calender month.
Click through to view, especially the dew drops, it really is clearer.

1/30 Dew Drops on Grasses (actually taken 3/06)

2/30 Necklace in a Glass Votive
Processed with Paint the Moon Spoonful of Sugar action

3/30 Mini Measure of 100's & 1000's
Processed with The CoffeeShop Blog Velvet Truffle action

These photos were all taken with Canon EOS 1000D, 50mm 1.8 lens together with Extension tube EF25 II.  I'll post about using extension tubes for macro in a couple of days.
I'm looking forward to this, I think it's going to be fun!

Click it Up a Notch - I Learned

Canon EOS 1000D and 50mm 1.8 with Extension tube EF25 II 

f/11 and 1/80, ISO 200, Aperture priority

Clean edit then processed with Paint the Moon Spoonful of Sugar action.
Please click through to larger image

I learned so much this week.

I learned that if I'm going to grow in my photography I have to take part in the photography community. Sharing photos with family and friends on Facebook is all great but if I want to continue to learn and be pushed I have to share my photos with those who share my interest.
I learned how to make a blog. I learned so many new things, such as the difference between static pages and linked lists, LOL. I learned that I shouldn't underestimate my ability to work things out; usually I rely on my husband to help me with IT related issues; he works in IT; but I amazed myself by getting my blog up within one weekend with minimal help.
I learned how to make a watermark. I made two in the end, one for more serious photos and another more fun one for shots of my son.

So a couple of months ago my husband gave me an extension tube for my birthday. See I really wanted to do macro photography but we couldn't afford a macro lens at the moment. At first I was very hit and miss and most of my shots were blurry and unusable. I read A Macrolicious Tutorial by Sarah Wilkerson that had been featured on Click It Up a Notch. I learned so much from this about achieving better focus in my photos.
I took this photo this morning with my 50mm 1.8 together with the extension tube 25 II. It's of a necklace in a glass votive. It's shot in aperture priority, settings above. I've been learning to shoot in manual with my standard lens but there's so much to concentrate on with the macro as it is.
Constructive critique on my photo or my blog is welcomed.
Check back in a few days if you're interested, I'm in the process of writing a post on using an extension tube for 'macro on a budget'.