Ice and Shadow

Ice, if it's a good enough subject for the likes of Paul Caponigro, I reckon it's good enough for the rest of us, well me anyway. Look closely and you'll see it is already starting to melt. That's my kind of ice for sure. Keep warm on this cold Christmas Eve.

Brightening Someone’s Day

It doesn’t have to be about you all the time, does it? Photography, I mean. Sometimes it can be okay to grab a photo or three that you know will bring a smile to someone else’s face. Just every once in a while. And frankly, getting a butterfly shot in decent focus can be rewarding even if you aren’t a bug person. That’s how I felt as I was chasing this little fellow. And, it works another part of your brain and confirms your ability to operate a camera.

Good light this weekend, fellow traveler.

Retouching for Beautiful Skin

This little frog stopped by the house last night for a visit. I saw it hanging on the bedroom window and decided to grab a quick photo. I happened to have a Petzl headlamp nearby, so I quickly put it on to illuminate the subject. I am sure I looked ridiculous, but no one was around, the frog seemed indifferent, and the result was pretty cool. For the heck of it, I decided to use one of the skin retouching presets in Lightroom to put the finishing touches on the image. 

 I think the frog would be pleased with the result.

What's Your Daily Driver?

Over the years, I've heard plenty of stories about famous photographers using macro lenses instead of a conventional 'standard' lens. For instance, apparently Salgado had a 60 mm macro lens permanently attached to his Leica reflex camera while he kept wide angle optics on his rangefinders. This approach kind of makes sense, provided the field of view of the macro lens isn't too narrow. I enjoy shooting this way because it allows you to get in close, too. 

In the case of the Pentax 67, my favorite lens is the 135 mm f/4 Macro. You don't hear much about this lens, and I don't know any stories of famous photographers using it. Today, folks tend to favor the 105 mm lens because of it's large maximum aperture, but as far as I am concerned the 135 is a pretty solid choice as a daily driver.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Macro shooting is not something I typically enjoy doing on film. The fact is, digital is just so much better in so many ways for this application, why bother? That said, it is always an interesting challenge to try to do things the old fashioned way, just to see what your forebears had to contend with. Once in a while you end up with a satisfying result. It is good to know that you don't actually *need* technology, it just is incredibly convenient. So when I discovered this molted snake skin outside the studio door, I knew what I had to do..

Tasting notes: Leica R6, Leica 100 mm f/4 macro lens. Svema blue sensitive film.