Aster and Bee

I am in the process of selling my current cameras and lenses. At the moment I have two lenses remaining, my 10-24mm and a 100mm macro. Until I purchase my new gear, I am challenged with using these two lenses for my Canon 5D Mk4 and Canon 5D S. This image was taken using the Canon 100mm 2.8 macro. It takes patience to get the right balance of depth of field and stillness of the subject. Also, the bees don’t pose. I choose a single blossom and waited till a bee stopped by. I realize it is not perfectly focused, but I will keep trying.

Time in the Garden

Early morning in a summer garden to capture the last iris before it fades, plus a poppy and a Peony.

Tranquility

A quiet moment on the water.

Purple Columbine

Up close and personal with one of my favorite blossoms in the garden.  Detail achieved by focus stacking 40 images using a Canon 100mm 2.8 macro lens.  ISO 50, 100mm, f/3.2

Be Still My Bleeding Heart

One of the joys of spring is what blooms in the garden…

And Now For Something Yellow

Daffodils, the the sunshine in the garden.

Focus Stacking

As time permits, I am continuing to learn more about focus stacking.  Since spring is doing it’s best to finally make an appearance in northern Minnesota, the garden is doing it’s best to respond.  A few small flowers have sprung up and it seemed a good opportunity to try capturing two small clumps of blooms.

The first group is a stack of 22 images, the second was 19.  If you look closely on the first, you will notice the tip of one leaf in the foreground where I missed focus.  I missed several on the second.  I’m excited by the possibilities of using focus stacking and look forward to applying it in other ways.

My set-up: Canon DSLR, Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro, ASUS Android tablet running DSLR Controller (works with most Canon DSLRs).  I export images from Lightroom as Photoshop layers, then use the Auto-Align if needed and Auto-Blend for combining the stack.  There are many videos on You-Tube that describe the technique.

Looking Inward

Taking a closer look at a Bonsai azalea.

A Few Minutes In The Garden

Due to other work and a rebuilding project at home, I haven’t been able to get to far from home lately.  But I was able to spend a few minutes enjoying the flowers in the garden.

Playing In The Park

I had some time while waiting for a family member and, as usual, I had a camera with me. Since I was near Leif Erickson Park and the Duluth Rose Garden, two popular parks in Duluth, I took time to wander around and see what would catch my eye.  The roses are not yet in bloom, but other flowers were and there were other subjects that caught my attention.  I used three different lenses and once again experimented with depth of field and framing.
Later, when examining the images, I decided that next time I will try expanding my focus points to allow more of certain subjects to be in focus.  Some of the flower shots could have benefited from more overall focus.  However, the bokeh is pleasing in some and I want to improve upon the selective focus used in a couple of others.