Today I wanted to experiment with some macro photography. While I enjoy doing macro stuff, I have never tried arranging things like this before. It was fun and I will try to do some more experiments like this soon. I have a few ideas.
To get 1:1 macro I use a 50mm lens and a teleconverter, macro on a budget as it were. You need a lot more light this way, which can be a problem. But it´s still possible to get some pretty nice photos this way.
I wanted to start doing some kind of weekly themed posts. The tricky part was deciding on what the theme should be. It seemed like a good idea to go with something that was not limited to one medium, to allow for some more variety. Another thing, which is a bit silly, is that I really wanted all the words in the title to start with the same letter. That seems to be how you are supposed to do it.
So I went with Monochrome Monday. I figured having a theme for the first day of the week would help me getting a good start. There will probably be a lot of photography, but I have a few other ideas as well.
We will start it of with some photos of an old car that has been used for working on telephone poles, antennas and other difficult to reach stuff like that. I used the 18-55 kit lens here. That particular lens doesn´t see much use now, but it has some advantages. It´s also my widest lens.
I don´t have that much experience with converting photos from color like this and there are so many different ways to do it. I used the channel mixer, which I think turned out alright. What kind of method do you prefer?
A summer night on a nearby beach, painted in MediBang Paint Pro. Trying out the watercolor brush a bit. MediBang is a pretty neat piece of software, very lightweight and responsive.
Many of the trees around here are in bloom right now, a very beautiful sight. One of the many great things about this time of the year.
This is the SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm f4 again. I feel like I have a good grip of how this lens behaves now.
I think yesterday was our warmest day so far, a taste of what awaits us once summer starts for real. We are in one of those transitional periods where the weather can´t be trusted and you are always dressed wrong. But I still enjoy it, especially with all the flowers coming in.
We had a blue sky and lots of sunlight yesterday, which means the light was pretty harsh and a bit of a challenge. We don´t really get a whole lot of overcast days here during the summer, it´s tends to be either sunny or raining.
Once again it´s flowers and other plants, photographed, with the SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm f4. I will do something different at some point, I promise. Maybe. Flowers is the subject I started with back in the day.
I took a detour last after a visit to the library to look at all the flowers of late spring that are cropping up in the park. The central parts of my city have some really wonderful parks. A pretty big variety of flowers for this time of the year, compared to my hometown which is a good bit further north.
All of the photos you see here were captured using the SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm f4. It´s nice to have a some zoom lens when you take the camera for a walk for some extra flexibility, though this particular one does not go very wide. There is a value in working around limitations though.
There was not a lot of post processing done with these photos, just a few minor tweaks. It didn´t seem necessary to me. But what do you think, do they look alright? I am a bit uncertain about the colors. I have tried adjusting my screen to display them properly, but I really don´t know.
What is your favorite spring flower?
We do not have much in the way of nature or parks right around where I live. At least not compared to my hometown. I guess being close to the sea makes up for some of it. But there are some neat things to be discovered anyway, if you look around a bit.
These photos were all taken with the SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm f4 lens. It´s a pretty nice lens to bring along for walks, small and sharp. It also does closeups very well, and I do love my closeups.
This is a really good website for those of you who are into drawing or painting. Or if you are a photographer who would like to make your work available to others as reference material. Maybe even both of these things.
Paint My Photo is a site for sharing photos that can be used for reference and inspiration. It has the advantage that all the photos in the library are available for use under the same terms, which makes it easier and safer for artists. At the same time, it’s a more controlled environment then many other places and photographers don’t have to worry about giving up the rights to their work. You should take care to read all the terms and conditions if you become a member on the site to make sure it sounds fine to you personally though.
It does come with some restrictions. For example, the reference photos may only be used for traditional work, not digital. But it´s still a very useful resource. There is also a very friendly community to take part in.
I upload some photos for reference myself at times, but my gallery is still rather empty. I will try to remedy that at some point.
My ability to create any kind of art is still pretty limited. But I figured I could at least help someone else out by sharing some of the great resources I have made use of over the years. So this will be like a series of sorts.
Let’s start with a great tool for figure drawing, which is also completely free. Because its great practice if you want to improve your drawing skills. But finding either classes or models can be quite difficult, as well as expensive. Or maybe you are already taking classes but want to practice some more. Either way, an online tool is very convenient. I will drop the link right here so I don’t forget about it.
They include tools for faces, hands and animals in addition to normal figure drawing stuff. I have been using the option for faces the most myself. There are some options to help you narrow down what you want to practice, like only sad faces or only aquatic animals for example. I haven’t used those options very much however.
What’s your favorite artist tool?
All over Art 