Garden pics - beware, one of these is sure to offend

Tropical Rhododendron, also called a vireya, this hybrid is called Harry Wu



Another vireya, name unknown



OK, neither of the first two could survive in the garden. They were in the greenhouse. Pretty though.

mushrooms in broken down straw



rhododendron hybrid



rhododendron hybrid



ladybirds doing what the birds and the bees do



comments on the ladybird pic? I tried something different and I like the result. 1/800, F4, forced flash, dcr250/150 stacked, 5 MP EZ, -1 EV, zoom backed off to 180mm. I picked the high speed because this pic is actually catching them in the act. The male lifts himself off and wiggles fairly quickly from side to side. This pic has frozen the movement. I tried to soften the light with the -1EV, it was a very bright day here. I forced the flash because I wanted to get some light in between their bodies. I backed off the zoom to try and get some Depth. Gee, I just reread what I wrote and maybe I need a new name after all.

Hey Bill the Expert,

Yup, I think you qualify for a new name.... great shots with plenty of forethought, obviously! Congratulations on your "graduation" and thanks for sharing,
--
(Still Rookie) Randy

Bill the rookie said:

ladybirds doing what the birds and the bees do

Click to expand...

You mean: "ladybirds doing what the ladies and the birds do"...

Bill the rookie said:

comments on the ladybird pic?

Click to expand...

Extraordinary pic!!

Bill the rookie said:

I tried something different and I
like the result. 1/800, F4, forced flash, dcr250/150 stacked, 5 MP
EZ, -1 EV, zoom backed off to 180mm.

Click to expand...

I also stacked both raynox and liked the result. But why did you stacked them and zoomed to just 180mm? Wouldn't you have a cleaner result with only one of the lenses, and more zoom?

Come on... you should have closer looks with both stacked!! Show to us!

Bill the rookie said:

I picked the high speed
because this pic is actually catching them in the act. The male
lifts himself off and wiggles fairly quickly from side to side.
This pic has frozen the movement.

Click to expand...

Very interesting....

Bill the rookie said:

I tried to soften the light with
the -1EV, it was a very bright day here. I forced the flash
because I wanted to get some light in between their bodies. I
backed off the zoom to try and get some Depth.

Click to expand...

Outstanding shots, Bill. Thanks for sharing!
L.

--
My gallery: http://w3.impa.br/~luis/fotos



FZee50 + Oly EfEl50 + TeeCon17 + Raynx 150 & 250
Nikn CeePee4500; Cann SDee500

great shots, i enjoyed very much aspesh the insect porn,
--
thx mark. (kalimistuk)



my pics at,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalimistuk/
my Highspeed pics at,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalimistuk/sets/72157594566402216/
my Macro pics at,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalimistuk/sets/72157594487257853/

Bill the rookie said:

comments on the ladybird pic? I tried something different and I
like the result. 1/800, F4, forced flash, dcr250/150 stacked, 5 MP
EZ, -1 EV, zoom backed off to 180mm. I picked the high speed
because this pic is actually catching them in the act. The male
lifts himself off and wiggles fairly quickly from side to side.
This pic has frozen the movement. I tried to soften the light with
the -1EV, it was a very bright day here. I forced the flash
because I wanted to get some light in between their bodies. I
backed off the zoom to try and get some Depth. Gee, I just reread
what I wrote and maybe I need a new name after all.

Click to expand...

Good work
--
fz30,Tcon17,waiting for DC with interchangable lens
http://www.picturetrail.com/hexie9

Thank you, maybe Journeyman, still way too much to learn to qualify as expert.

and a pretty good job on the insects as well.
--
cheers
Rafael (FZ30)
http://rafael.zenfolio.com/ (referral code on my page)

Ladybird Beetles are too big to get a good Depth of Field so I tried to stack and 5 MP so I could back off the zoom and get more of the beetle to stay in focus.

I have a couple of stacked beetle pics at full zoom but only one half of a back was in focus. This was an experiment that I thought turned out well. Some day I will get a light dome and do some F stop and speed experiments to really nail down the best compromise between DOF and Sharpness.

Thanks Raphael, Those were my faves also. That beetle pic was the only keeper out of 25. I was experimenting pretty heavy and got a lot of junk. They stayed there for about a half hour after I spotted them. Had plenty of time to play with F stops and Speed.

I was going to put post the phrase "insect porn" as the title but figured that would get me banned. LOL

I have been experimenting with other combinations besides F11. It is often windy here and F11 doesn't allow me any wiggle room (pun intended).

Thanks. I appreciate it. Now I am off to water some plants in the garden. I always take my camera with me. You never know.

Bill the rookie said:

Ladybird Beetles are too big to get a good Depth of Field so I
tried to stack and 5 MP so I could back off the zoom and get more
of the beetle to stay in focus.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I still don't understand...

At the same magnification and maximal aperture, the two raynox zoomed back will give you shorter focus distance than the 250 alone and more zoom. So, with the two raynox you would get less DOF, not more (again, at the same magnification and aperture).
Am I saying something silly? (probably... I don't know how to compute DOF).

Bill the rookie said:

I have a couple of stacked beetle pics at full zoom but only one
half of a back was in focus. This was an experiment that I thought
turned out well. Some day I will get a light dome and do some F
stop and speed experiments to really nail down the best compromise
between DOF and Sharpness.

Click to expand...

I see...
I will try to find out how to compute these DOF with the raynox.
Perhaps someone here knows...

Thanks!
L.

--
My gallery: http://w3.impa.br/~luis/fotos



FZee50 + Oly EfEl50 + TeeCon17 + Raynx 150 & 250
Nikn CeePee4500; Cann SDee500

Bill the rookie said:

I was going to put post the phrase "insect porn" as the title but
figured that would get me banned. LOL

I have been experimenting with other combinations besides F11. It
is often windy here and F11 doesn't allow me any wiggle room (pun
intended).

Click to expand...

Nice 1 Bill, i also think it would be time for me to pack it in if i thought two ladybirds as it was porn LOL
--
FZ-50 TCON-17 DCR-250+150 RD30 Canon S/Lite 420EZ
Jim

hehe just for your info there is a group on flickr for insect porn, hehe.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/insectporn/pool/
i put these in lol.



on top

Bill the rookie said:

I was going to put post the phrase "insect porn" as the title but
figured that would get me banned. LOL

Click to expand...

lol,

Bill the rookie said:

I have been experimenting with other combinations besides F11. It
is often windy here and F11 doesn't allow me any wiggle room (pun
intended).

Click to expand...

--
thx mark. (kalimistuk)



my pics at,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalimistuk/
my Highspeed pics at,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalimistuk/sets/72157594566402216/
my Macro pics at,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalimistuk/sets/72157594487257853/

Thanks Mark. I looked and there are lots of labybirds there but mine is better! Gee, I am losing my humbleness. I will post it to there. I was thinking of adding flickr to my account anyway.

great shots!!
jo
(expat!)