My world through my camera lens
My Wife brought some Pussy willow home to decorate for Easter.They made a great subject for my new 105mm macro and even newer Nikon R1C1 speedlight set-up.
I watched a few YouTube videos to get the hang of the basics I also read and re-read the manual and started making test shots. This was the one That I thought looked best. You can count the hairs and what’s more This shot was handheld at f/14 . All the PP was done in CaptureOne 23
Back in 2013 I did a post about my friend the Beekeeper.You can read that here. I’ve always had a fascination for bees and often sit and watch them work their way over my lavender and other plants in my garden.
I sat there a few days ago with my Nikon Z6 and a 300mm lens, and this little guy shows up and places himself in profile. The shot is handheld, I supported the lens on my knees. It’s heavily cropped too, but as I wrote in the original article I never did buy that Macro lens. Although I hear that Nikon have now produced a 100mm Z-mount lens to a reasonable price. So who knows?
Just for a bit of fun here this the same shot in black and white. I’m still playing around in Capture One
Nikon Z6
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4E PF ED VR
PP Capture One
Here is another Dandelion. Because of the breeze I found one low to the ground and used my prone body as a windbreak. I must say that Adox CMS 20 is worth the effort. The negatives are practically grainless. I must say that my ASA dial on my Hasselblad has never been to such a low value before. In fact it’s the slowest film I’ve ever used. Other than that it’s just a normal process with a couple of things that are different.
1. I had to use a proper stop solution (Ilfostop).
2. You fix the film for only 30 seconds. I felt like I just poured in my T-max fixer and poured it out again.
Other than that everything else was the same as usual. I think that given an even better scanner than my V700 I could squeeze even more from these negs. But you have to use what you have. I have printed this shot for framing and it looks great so all in all I’m very pleased with this film. There will be other shots using this film very soon. But until then you can enjoy this one and the last two.
Taraxacum officinale, or the common dandelion to us less proficient in Latin. Here with a visiting insect.
Hasselblad 203 FE
Carl Zeiss 80mm F/2.8 FE on E56 extension tube
Adox CMS 20 at 12 ASA.
Developed in Adotech II for 8.5 mins at 20˙C Stopped with Ilfostop and fixed with T-max fixer for 30 seconds.
Scanned with Epson V700
Silverfast SW.
A little change of pace:
Adox CMS 20 first try. 120 roll film exposed at 12 ASA. This exposure was 1.5 seconds. Taken on my Hasselblad 203 FE with a Carl Zeiss 80mm FE on E56 extension tube.
Developed in Adotech II mixed at 1+29 = 500ml=17+483 ml for 8.5 mins at 20˙C .
Stopped with Ilfostop for 1 min and fixed with T-max fixer for 30 seconds.Wash as normal 10 mins.
Scanned using my V700 and betterscanning.com holder and Silverfast SW
So you want to get close-up and personal with your subject. However you haven’t the funds to purchase that macro lens. Well there is hope, and a much cheaper solution to get you closer. I’m talking about the humble reversing ring. Cheap and cheerful and it does a good job if used correctly. What is a reversing ring? Well as the name implies it enables you to mount a lens reversed onto your camera housing. You screw the ring onto the filter thread of your lens and there is a bayonet mount to attach the lens to the camera. You have to order the one that
1. Is the same size thread as your lens, and
2. Is the right type for your make of camera.
While on the subject of lenses. I use an old manual focus lens or an old autofocus lens that has an aperture ring If you haven’t got one all is not lost you can use a G type lens you just haven’t got an idea of what aperture you are using. I have found that a 28mm lens is a good place to start. Although I have used a 50mm without problems. It’s all to do with ratios and the like. Anyway as it’s the picture that is important I won’t go into that side of things so just trust me. The choice of lens will however affect your working distance to your chosen subject.
So how do you work the aperture of your lens? The aperture on your lens is spring loaded so that your aperture will in effect be f22 when mounted and when you look through your viewfinder or at your live view screen you will see a darker image than what you are used to. However by locating the aperture control lever on the lens you can open the aperture manually for composing and focusing your shot. This can be tricky to do, you can tape the lever open or Blu-Tac it. I prefer to hold it open and move the camera into focus. I then close the aperture to the desired value and adjust the manual settings on my camera to match the measured light and bracket my exposures. It’s a bit of a fiddle but you are rewarded for your efforts.
So to sum up the humble reversing ring is a cheap and cheerful introduction to the word of close up photography. You can get good results. The title shot and the orchid below are a couple taken with an old manual focus Sigma 28mm lens from the 80’s.
Have fun
A Linguistic bit of fun A Hassel blad by a Hasselblad. My wife had put so hazel twigs in a jar of water and they sprouted tiny leaves I took this shot in window light using the Carl Zeiss 80mm FE with all three of my extension tubes attached. I used a fav film Rollei 80s and stand developed it in Caffenol for 50 mins at 20℃ with agitation for only the first minute and then left to rest in a water bath for 49mins.
Here’s the Recipe
1l water
Washing soda (Stabil) 16gr/l
Vitamin C (Santa maria) 10 gr/l
Potassium Bromide 1gr/l
Instant Coffee 40gr/l
Inversions for the 1st minute and then left to stand for 49mins
Stop and fix as usual
More details on Caffenol here
davidapw.wordpress.com/caffenol/
SPRING!!
A lonely Crocus pokes its head up from the long grass The snow has melted because it’s just under the vent from my bathroom fan.
I thought I’d have another stab at this picture I took of the orange rose. I used the orange filter in Silver Efex Pro 2 and added a Vignette with preset in Aperture. I like this result . What do you think?
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