Tag: Red Pagoda Succulent

Lens-Artists Challenge #237 Bringing Softness

This week Bren challenged me to use processing magic in my photographs. I am particularly pleased with this push to use more of the features in my Adobe Lightroom Classic software. It has been a while since I left my college classes. I enjoy photography, and I have gotten comfortable with my camera. I must say that I often rely on the same settings and processing steps. So I want to thank Bren for showing me what I have been missing. Now I know what masking and clarity can do for my images.

There are so many advances to this program. Today it was fun to try using masking to either bring down the clarity or increase clarity to highlight the subject. This technique can be applied to flowers, landscapes, and architecture. Lowering the clarity and creating softness in those areas frames the subject in an image, be it a tree, path, bridge, even a door or house, or just a dreamy-looking image. 

In these photographs the difference is subtle
Along with changing the clarity I also changed the background lighting
I took this photograph in Bodie, Ca.

My pareidolia is playing tricks again. Can you see what I see in the following photograph?

Iris from Horton Iris Garden
Red Pagoda Succulent

With this technique, I am able to improve my photographs.. But mostly I use i my macro lens or I choose a large aperture to decrease my depth of field and try and set my subject apart from the background.

I hope that you enjoyed my blog post, and again thanks Lens-Artists.

Getting Closer

Macro photography done well, takes patience. I usually think of myself as a patient person. To get a good image it should be clear. That means I need to stop motion. A small breeze on a summer’s day appears like a gale force wind when seen close up. I stepped away from using past macro lenses because each time I placed the lens on the camera the winds would start up.

I recently converted a concrete birdbath into a succulent garden. Last year I cleaned, filled, and refilled the birdbath. I bought a water stirrer gadget to encourage birds to visit, and keep mosquitoes away. With all my effort I only saw an occasional bird stop by. Word did not get around my neighborhood. So this year after holes were drilled in the concrete I filled it with many different succulents. The up-side is that these plants are not subject to the wind. 

So armed with my new macro lens I ventured out to my backyard. My first attempt to use the Fujifilm xf 80mm lens with my Fuji xt2 camera.

Captured this Red Pagoda Succulent
This dragonfly appeared at just the right time.
Watched me and let me get closer!

Camera Totin’ Days outing to Green Acres Nursery fit right into my macro practice.

Cornflower
I think this is a Chrysanthemum, but I could be wrong.

I like the way this lens handles the sharp and soft parts of the image. This is called depth of field.

Using the focal length of 80mm I think this lens did a great job of capturing this portrait.

A customer at Green Acres captured
With a bit of imagination you can see the kid jumping for joy!
I spied a carpenter bee hovering around.

This lens passed the test! I have a new focus! Yes!