Mountain Mahogany

[drdan]

The seeds of the very common mountain mahogany brush here have spirals which change shape with moisture content. This gradually "screws" the pointed seed into the ground. I believe some of the larger trunks of this bush are used for quality wind instruments.

Sony 717, circular polarizer, diffuse light on a cloudy afternoon, tripod but blowing wind, auto focus and exposure.

 

[Dew]

lovely shot .. very "abstract-like" ... i love what u did with the dof and the earth tone colors

 

[drdan]

Thanks. I like the mostly gray and red color which can look kind of elegant together.

I still have a lot to learn about DOF and macro. I tried using aperture priority and F8.0 to increase the DOF but apparently that required a much slower shutter speed which meant I could not even come close to getting a clear picture.

My technique now is to take a bunch of pictures and hope one or two turn out. I think I took upwards of 50 shots of the mountain mahogany. Sometimes I get a focus on something I didn't intend and it turns out to be better than what I was after.

Any tips on focus, DOF and dealing with the constant wind would be appreciated. This camera doesn't have good enough resolution on the LCD screen (at least for my eyes) to use the manual focus very well. Plus most of the macros I shoot are waving around in the constant Colorado wind which makes manual focus very difficult.

 

[Dew]

i dont have a lot of advice for shooting in the wind .. but im sure someone around here does

if you live nearby, i would check your weekly forcast and look for calmer wind days .. sometimes it takes this kind of plaining ... im looking to get some "rain" shots ... checked my local forcast, i beleive it rains tuesday ... sometimes its necessary to plan ahead to get what you want

 

[drdan]

Thanks, good advice. It is, of course, calmer some days but finding a day where the prairie wind is not blowing enough to make every flower and bush dance all day long is a once or twice a year thing.

After living here for 14 years, I am so used to the constant wind that I usually don't even realize it's blowing until it I see that macro waving around. Still, there are so many pretty and unusual plants on the prairie that I love taking those macros, wind or not.

 

[photobug]

There are several clamps available (google for Plamp) that can be effective in holding plants still.

Maybe more effective would be to use a couple of those round collapsible reflectors as a wind break. A windshield screen would work fine & most have a silver side, which makes a nice reflector in other uses.

Combine the two and you might have a fighting chance.

 

[Harpper]

My technique now is to take a bunch of pictures and hope one or two turn out. I think I took upwards of 50 shots of the mountain mahogany. Sometimes I get a focus on something I didn't intend and it turns out to be better than what I was after.

LOL you too? That's pretty much the technique I use. My LCD monitor is not bright enough or clear enough to use outdoors. It works for indoor shots but I love taking pictures outside. I also get those great unintended shots you are talking about. Some of my best shots are accidents but I learn from them so that they can be reproduced. This is a nice macro shot you have here.

 

[mrsid99]

Just a dumb idea but if you mount your camera on a tripod and use the delay timer maybe you could use yourself as a windbreak.

 

[drdan]

THANKS Photobug! The Plamp is exactly what I wished someone made. It also occured to me that maybe one of those compact, telescoping umbrellas would help.

http://www.tripodhead.com/plamp.html

 

[drdan]

Just what are you implying about my width mrsid99?

 

[LaFoto]

Teehee , I like this conversation going on here ---

... and I have always liked your photos, DrDan, especially the macro shots. Apart from being "kind to the eye" because of their soft and soothing colouring which I appreciate very much in photos, they show me something unknown, something that I wouldn't get to see otherwise, and I appreciate that as much!

With what little experience in photography I'm having, and with what equipment I have, macro photography for me is as fascinating as it is difficult, since I only have a macro function in my telephoto lense, and it only works at between 200 and 300mm. With that, you will realize that DOF is very limited (2 mm, I assume), and much light is required, while my hand has to hold still the "long tube". I'm seriously thinking about getting myself a x10-filter for the little lense (2.8-80mm), which will allow me to actively go very near my object in focus. But the € 66,- ........(groan)!!! :roll: