Macro Colors

 This was a fun project!  My goal was to create macro images that were based more on color, design, and  composition rather that exacting detail.  To do this I used a Canon FD manual lens set at 1.8, mounted on a 3 set of Fotodiox Extension tubes equalling 49mm.  This was mounted on my Canon EOS M.  The camera was mounted on a Macro slide focusing device, then on a tripod.  Focus was first achieved with the lens and then fine tuned with the Macro Slide.  DOF is extremely narrow when the lens is this close to the subject ( about an inch) ISO was 800 and shutter at  1/50 sec using soft window light as the primary light source.  Because the tubes cause 3-4 stops of light loss, seeing the image brightly enough on the live view viewfinder required a shutter speed of .5 seconds for set up.  Once I was happy with what I saw, I set the shutter speed to 1/50 to capture the image.

There are many ways to create macro images: extension tubes, macro lenses, close up filters and reversing a lens with an adapter.  The most expensive would be a good prime macro, the least a set of these non-coupled aluminum tubes or the lens reversal ring. This is a great rainy day project!

Enjoy, Jeff

Window Light

Portrait Lighting, that is what it all about.  There are so many ways to light a portrait.  One of the simplest ways is to use light from a Northern window when it is cloudy outside.  The light is soft and smooth.  Here I positioned Abe, our 7 year old grandson at a 30 degree angle from the window to create a little shadow on the left side of his face.  Of course this was not a studio shot where background is controlled, but far better than unplanned snapshot or with direct flash.  I metered off his face and used AWB on the Canon EOS M with a 22mm lens (35mm focal length in film format).  Enjoy, Jeff