DIY Thrifty Macro Lens

As I was browsing¹ a closeout deals chain store last week, I stumbled upon a set of magnifying glasses while looking for some bargain rate notebooks. When I saw them I remembered this tutorial I had read a few days before. While I wasn’t specifically looking to make this project, I took advantage of my find and spent all of two dollars on 2 sets of 2 magnifiers. Let me just say this now, I am very fond of macro photography. Before I purchased my first *real* camera, I had a point and shoot with a jinky little flower button which would allow you to take macro/close-up shots. Until now, this is the only experience I had with macro but I still loved to get up close to photograph flowers, bugs, etc. and when I found this tutorial I was really looking forward to trying this out sometime to see how it worked. My father gave me a Sigma APO MACRO 180mm 1:2.8 lens but unfortunately it does not work with my modern DSLR and cannot be re-chipped. So until I can fully use that lens when I eventually enroll in a film photography class, I am willing to try what I can to get some understanding of macro photography.

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1. with my son, while daughter was at P.E. class [↩]

Learning Light

In my ventures to learn all about photography, I have been focused on light (pun intended) this past week, specifically, learning how to properly use available light and how to break the basic rules of using light in photography. Since my main educational means is just taking photos as much as I can and seeing what comes out and what doesn’t, time has not been on my side in learning the basics of recognizing when the light is right for shooting. I have gotten frustrated over the last several weeks numerous times when I have been out shooting hoping for great results only to be disappointed when I look at my photos later and most if not all are just not pleasing mostly due to lighting issues.  Some are blurry because of not enough light and some have blown out highlights because of too much light. Others have bright spots or poor reflection from harsh light or don’t come out at all from using wrong settings (or when I am in a hurry to catch a fleeting opportunity I forgot entirely to change settings before pressing the shutter release). With this recent post from This Week in Photography and my participation in this assignment last week from Digital Photography School, I now have a better understanding of light as it pertains to making great photographs and why I have been very dissatisfied with the outcome of my photos. 

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Aperture Nature Photography Workshops Contest

This Week in Photography is sponsoring a new contest (in addition to their bi-weekly assignments) where several amateur photographers will get the chance to go to four different US national parks (Olympic, Tetons, Yosemite and Yellowstone) and receive training and tips from professional photographers. They are holding four different contests and the first has only one week left for submissions. My dad went to Yosemite one summer on vacation and I would love to go not only for the beautiful scenery but also for the chance to receive instruction from some very talented artists. I have just put up a voting widget in my sidebar so vote for my photo if you think it is worth your vote and also check out the other submissions. There are a lot of really well made photographs submitted already so it looks as though a lot of people are as excited about this opportunity in the same way that I am.

UPDATE: Voting is now closed. Thank you to all who voted for my photo.

Panoramio Anyone?

Not long ago, I discovered a website called Panoramio, whose tag line is “Photos of the World”. It is a geographical photo collaboration site that uses Google Earth and Google Maps to link photos to the exact location from which they were taken. All uploaded photos (subject to review), will be included in Google Maps through Panoramio’s interface. During Google’s review they may also choose photos to include in Google Earth. This is a really fun way to contribute and view photos taken all around the world.

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Juncos and Sigmas

This female Slate-colored Junco has decided along with her mate that it was a good idea to make a nest to nurture her baby birds in one of my fern plants hanging in our carport. Daughter and I discovered the dad and mom making the nest several weeks ago and tried to relocate it but they came back and built another nest in the same plant. At that point, I figured it futile to pursue moving it again and far be it for me to deny a momma a nice, warm place to tend to her young. I gave up and continued to water my ferns as usual until one day I disturbed the momma in one of my three ferns. The next day I went out to check on the nest to see what was in it: eggs or baby birds.

I spied feathers and a foot all the while making both mom and dad very mad as they were chirping at me from a nearby tree. It makes it very difficult if not impossible to water this fern because I am afraid of hurting the hatchlings and making momma and dada too mad or, worst case, prompt them to abandon the nest. Every time anyone goes outside now they begin their defensive clicking chirps. I captured this photo while outside watching the kids play on their swings which is right near the nest.

I took this with the 400mm f5.6 lens I inherited from my Dad. It is very, very old and I think it may have dust or dirt in it as pictures come out sort of faded and hazy most of the time. I plan to send it away to a Sigma repair center for a good cleaning. I tried to take it apart to clean it myself but just ended up stripping one of the screws so I will now leave it to the pros. Hopefully, the cost will be reasonable and the time it takes, zippy as I will miss it.

Speaking of lenses, one of the other lens I inherited from my dad is a Sigma APO MACRO 180mm 1:2.8. It will not work with my rebel XTI and I found out last week after calling Sigma that it cannot be rechipped to work with my camera because they no longer make the chips for it, as the lens was discontinued over ten years ago. It was made sometime between 1991-1997 and it is in excellent condition. My Dad loved his Sigma lenses and took great care of all his equipment. I am bummed a little because I really like taking macro shots but I do have his 35mm Canon EOS ELAN camera body which it will work with. So whenever I get a chance to take a class where I will need a film camera I will have an awesome macro lens to shoot with.

I Miss My Superhero

My dad, Donald O’Neal, was a professional photographer for almost 38 years. He graduated from Florida State University  (Go Noles!) in 1969. He began teaching photography at Hoover Junior High School the same year and eventually moved to teaching the same subject at Merritt Island High School. During this time, he perfected his craft by shooting weddings professionally on the weekends. After he developed the film, he would assemble wonderful photo albums for the happy couples.

During my seventh grade school year he helped me with my science project which was exploring the workings of a camera. He helped me create a pinhole camera from cardboard and tape. We went outside to our front sidewalk and took pictures of a house across the street while he explained how the different aperture settings, shutter speeds and focal length when changed, affected the final result of each picture we took. I always wanted to learn more about this trade of his but they didn’t offer this elective at my high school. When I went to college I wasn’t sure then what I wanted to do and lost interest quickly. Now, I find it tragic that I have just now found a passion for photography; something I feel deep regret over not learning more about from my father.

He had a goal during his retirement years to sell prints of his wonderful photoart. My husband designed and created Wall To Wall Photos with detailed notes from my father of what he wanted it to contain and how he wanted it appear. In addition to photography, he had a passion for interior decorating. All of his homes were meticulously decorated and he was comforted in his last years by surrounding himself with his photos. He enjoyed traveling and used those opportunities to capture the beauty of places on our planet and those people, animals, and things which inhabit it.

Unfortunately, his life was cut short just before his sixtieth birthday by prostate cancer. He was my personal superhero. I love him and miss him very much.

The Craft of Colored Glass

Not only was my dad a photographer but he was a crafter as well. He enjoyed woodworking and stained glass. He made one large window piece in a bathroom and many transom pieces for two houses he owned in Florida. I remember being fascinated with the extraordinary colors and patterns which made up the glass he used. When I went with him on a trip to Europe we were both in awe of the amazing stained glass windows in the gothic cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims in Paris, France. My father also took classes to learn more about this art after he moved to North Carolina because he had planned on making many more during his retirement years. Also, a former co-worker of mine used to make small little sun-catcher stained glass pieces and she gave one to me as a christmas present.

An Apple a Day

My father was a photography teacher at both high school and college level and a professional photographer specializing in travel and wedding photography. Since the role of teacher was his main career for 35 years he always received wonderful apple figurines from many of his students. He enjoyed collecting all sorts of different apple figurines and had quite a collection, at least one for every day of the year, probably more, when he decided he was done collecting them. During the time when he enjoyed collecting apple figurines, I made him a latch hook craft of an apple from a kit as a present for his birthday. I have done many latch hook crafts in the past but this was by far my most favorite. Latch hook kits come with the materials you need to get started including latch hook canvas and precut yarn (most often acrylic). The latch hook tool needs to be obtained separately but some kits may include this as well. My mom introduced me to this type of craft when I was in middle school. It is very easy to learn and a lot of fun. You can also design your own patterns and print them on latch hook canvas to make something of your own creation.

Did I really try that?

About 15 or 16 years ago I went on a trip to Scotland with my dad and step-mother which was their third successful home exchange with a family across the Atlantic and was my second european trip with them. My step-mother has always been big into exploring and trying new things and being that we were in Scotland we just couldn’t be allowed to pass up the experience of trying the national dish, Haggis. If you have ever eaten at any local diner in the bible belt or shopped at a grocery store there, you might have noticed something curious called livermush. I would have to compare the taste of Haggis to something like livermush. I have never tasted livermush but Haggis, I would imagine, is very much like it; a very grainy and crumbly meat. Ah, well you get the gist. I don’t think my step-mother fully explained to me what Haggis actually was until after I had tried some but I remember not wanting seconds. Also, I think this at least one of the many reasons why I chose to be vegetarian throughout high school and beyond. Slashfood has an article here about the national dish of Scotland and while scouring for a picture of this unique "camping" food, I found this hilarious picture. I wonder if vegetarians actually devour this knowing they are noshing on something designed to mimic the very essence of food they loathe to ingest?