A Little Macro Warm-Up

Practically a 1:1 shot, almost impossible to focus by hand. Like a lot of these photos, kept it for the colors. 105mm



Yay! Bug! 105mm



This flower was on the shade side of the building, made focusing hand held very difficult. 105mm



This one was on the windy side of the building, and I would not have included it (because I really didn't hit the focal point I wanted - again), except it was the best of 10 and the color is fantastic. 105mm



I enjoy this one because it looks like a field of flowers, in the middle of a flower. 105mm

Tonight I came home and had a swim, and in the wake of the resulting exercise high I decided to annoy my neighbors and shoot the flowers around my building. I hope to do my first real field outing this weekend, weather and filters arrival permitting, and I wanted to make sure I understood what problems I'd face before then. Hopefully, to figure out a way to avoid them.

I think my biggest challenge for field macro will be working with the tripod. Essentially every shot needs one. I could cheese out and crop my photos, meaning I could stay further away from the subject and hope for the best - but I didn't get a 12MP camera so I could have a 300px wide subject. The challenge is on! I just hope it isn't windy.

I really want to get one 1:1 shot in focus!

© Jeremy Buehler and Bug Noir (www.bugnoir.com), 2010.

Introduction to Night Photography

White balance set to a color temp of 2,500 Kelvins. 18-200mm



White balance set to a color temp of 10,000 Kelvins. 18-200mm



White balance set to a color temp of... somewhere between 2,500 Kelvins and 10,000 Kelvins. 18-200mm

Tonight was 'mess with night photography while I did laundry' night. I wasn't expecting much because it is very overcast. It turned out to be interesting none-the-less, as I got to experiment with shooting long exposures with different white balance settings.

None of the shots are during sunset; all were taken around 11:30 p.m. EDT. The color in each shot can be attributed to the light generated by the city of Toronto reflecting off the cloud cover. Apparently it would be a huge problem for astro-photography, but when messing around shooting clouds, it worked out well.

© Jeremy Buehler and Bug Noir (www.bugnoir.com), 2010.

Mill Pond, Richmond Hill, Ontario - First Day Out

One of my first victims; a grooming Canada Goose. 18-200mm



There are a couple of paths through the mostly deciduous woods. Some are paved, some are gravel and this one was bricked. In hindsight I should have framed the photo at the beginning of the brick portion of the path. 18-200mm



The first bugs on Bug Noir! These red ants were having a company picnic. 105mm



One advantage of shooting in an urban park is the wildlife is not afraid of people. In fact, whenever I went to the water, the ducks, Canada Geese and swans would swim to me. This little guy was quite curious. 105mm



Close up of a thistle head. 105mm



This white duck let me stand right on top of it. I originally shot the purple flowers blurred out in the foreground as the subject, and took this shot to explain the blurred white thing in the background. Ironically, this was the better shot. 105mm

So what did I learn today? The opposite of whatever I thought would happen on my outings will happen, and I will be woefully unprepared.

I didn't know what to expect of the Mill Pond, as I hadn't visited before. But I didn't expect brown water and green. I was hoping for more blue and perhaps colorful flowers. It isn't that kind of place, apparently.

My outing started in the harsh light of late afternoon, and next time I will go in the morning. The path around the pond is only on the east side, so in the late afternoon the sun is in the west and all shots toward the water were into the sun. I suppose I could have used filler flash on some, and I will remember for next time.

I was inwardly lamenting the absence of colorful tropical birds (the birds I saw most were Canada Geese - grey, white and black), when I found someone's lost pet poster describing their missing cockatiel. Maybe it'll find a mate and go feral and I will have better luck with birds in a couple of years.

I still have a lot to learn when using this camera. I needed my tripod. I didn't think I'd shoot macro but wound up shooting more with the 105mm than with the 18-200mm. It's a great lens. Also, the wind, although really light, was enough to push flowers around. That didn't help my slow reactions on the camera controls when shooting at 150ish mm.

In time, victory will be mine! I think I need to practice shooting more indoors to get used to manipulating the settings faster. And I need my polarizer... I pick it up later this week.


© Jeremy Buehler and Bug Noir (www.bugnoir.com), 2010.

New Camera, New Freedom

This is the first test photo I took with the 105mm. I was making sure the lens worked after taking it out of the box. Much potential for macro!

I purchased a Nikon D300s after two years of not having a digital camera. It's a considerable step up from the pro-sumer Nikon Coolpix 5700 I had previously, and while I'm not yet through the manual, I can already tell I'm going to have a great time with this camera.

I don't want to bash the old Coolpix; it was a fine camera for its day. But the convenience of digital point and shoot did not make up for the freedom I lost compared to using my Canon Rebel G 35mm film camera. I missed switching out lenses, the ability to zoom to 300mm and the freedom of action an SLR body and lenses provided.

Fast forward to today. I have the 405 page D300s manual in front of me, and I'm learning how far digital technology advanced in the last decade. The camera itself is a thing of beauty. While it's heavier than I was expecting (especially with my tripod shoe attached), every other aspect seems to fit just right. Time to hit the gym! ;)

I haven't taken any 'real' photographs so far, only a few to test out the lenses, flash kit, etc. to make sure everything works. And it does. I look forward to spending the rest of the weekend getting to know my new sidekick. Very exciting times!

© Jeremy Buehler and Bug Noir (www.bugnoir.com), 2010.