Tag: Sourland Mountain Range

Macro Moments Challenge #36 Bokeh

The word bokeh is a Japanese loanword to the English language. The term refers to the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image. Note that bokeh is not the same as a blur. Bokeh is the quality of the blur. Visible bokeh is often achieved by shooting at very wide apertures to blur the background.

One of the characteristics of macro photography is that subjects are shot at close distances. While this close camera-to-subject proximity can lead to visually pleasing images captured from a unique perspective, macro photography presents unique technical challenges. One of these challenges for macro photographers is achieving sharp focus for all of the subject’s essential elements. This is dependent on depth-of-field (DOF).

In macro photography, DOF depends primarily on just two factors: aperture value and magnification. At any given aperture value, the higher the magnification ratio, the smaller the DOF. These factors are why DOF is so shallow in macro; the magnifications are more significant than in any other type of photography.

If the lens's aperture is too wide, the DOF will be too shallow, and many areas of the subject will be out of focus. To increase the depth of field and bring more areas of the item into focus, the photographer must decrease the aperture of the lens. Aperture is controlled by the f-stop setting on the camera or lens.

You can see an example below where an aperture of f/16 produced a DOF too shallow to bring the entire flower into sharp focus.

14 April, 2017 | Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) | Nikon D5100 | Nikkor AF-S 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 | f/5.6 | ISO 100

It was a challenge to execute the bi-monthly Macro Moments challenge. I do not have a dedicated macro lens. I shoot with Kenko extension tubes attached to my AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. It is not an ideal setup, but it was the least expensive way to try macro photography.

To shoot macro with this lens and extension tubes while getting a depth-of-field that produces enough depth of field, I have to shoot at around 48mm with the extension tubes, at an f-stop between 22 and 32. The extension tubes are the only way I can control the magnification ratio. I had to experiment with the various tubes, which meant taking many test shots, removing one of the tubes, re-attaching the lens, etc.

The result is the Rue anemone photo in the featured image for this post, which also doubles as my submission for this challenge. The bokeh is noticeable but not as prominent as it would have been shooting wide open.

Macro Moments was created by avid macro photographer, Susan Gutterman, to share the beauty of macro photography and learn from other photographers. A new challenge begins on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month. The winner’s photo may be featured on her blog and used as the banner in the announcement for the next challenge.

Macro Moments Challenge #35 Hepatica

Over the weekend, I went hiking in the Sourland Mountain Preserve and observed numerous wildflowers along the trail. The flower in the post header is Hepatica. Hepatica (Hepatica Nobilis var. obtusa) is a herbaceous perennial native to eastern North America.

Once again, I used the Kenko Auto Extension Tube Set DG but mounted my AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. I used the 36mm extension tube for most of the shots. With this extension tube and the lens at 48mm, the macro ratio is 1:1.03.

It was difficult to get these shots despite using a Manfrotto PIXI Mini Tripod. There was a slight breeze, and I had to be patient. It was a sunny day, but the leafless trees created shadows. After tweaking in Adobe Lightroom, I imported the image into Nik's Dfine 2 to remove ISO noise. The image seemed a bit bright to me, so I applied a Fuji Velvia 100 preset and set the exposure slider to -1.66.

Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa | 14 April, 2017 | Nikon D5100 | Fujinon 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6

For this macro challenge, I could not decide which photo to submit for the challenge. I chose this image because I like the colour and the flower petals.

You can see the entire album on Flickr.

Macro Moments was created by avid macro photographer Susan Gutterman to share the beauty of macro photography and learn from other photographers. A new challenge begins on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month. The winner’s photo may be featured on her blog and used as the banner in the announcement for the next challenge.

Macro Moments Challenge #34 - Spring had Sprung

Macro Moments was created by avid macro photographer Susan Gutterman to share the beauty of macro photography and learn from other photographers. A new challenge begins on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month. The winner’s photo may be featured on her blog and used as the banner in the announcement for the next challenge.

Susan Gutterman has invited me to participate in a bi-weekly Macro Moments photography challenge. If I may paraphrase Susan, Macro Moments is a place to share the beauty of macro photography and learn from each other. A new challenge begins on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month. Susan announces the winner from the previous challenge when posting the new challenge. The winner’s photo may be featured on her blog and used as the banner in the announcement for the next challenge.

The theme is Spring has Sprung. That coincides well with my Spring post from Sunday. That post was an entry for the weekly theme-based challenge by Frank Jansen.

I mostly shoot on the weekends. On Weekdays I am occupied with work. We have had one sunny day this week, and I captured some images of the crocus poking through the dirt. It was windy yesterday, and I had a real struggle with my small subject vibrating in the wind. Hopefully, I'll have something worthy to post before April 4th.

I had hoped to share a new photo, but ... spring has only just begun in this area. Two weeks ago, snowstorm Stella dumped about eight inches of snow in the Princeton area. There is still ice and snow on the ground, but I expect that today's rain will melt the rest.

The photograph I am sharing today was taken in April of 2016. I was on a hike in the Sourlands Ecosystem Preserve in Hopewell, New Jersey. The hike was hosted by the Sourland Conservancy. I had just bought a set of Kenko auto-extension tubes and used the hiking opportunity to practice.

A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria (or both) living among filaments of a fungus in a symbiotic relationship. The combined life form has properties that are very different from the properties of its component organisms.Lichen on Wikipedia

When shooting this lichen, the challenge for me is that they were often found in damp areas of the woods and low to the ground. This sometimes precluded the use of a tripod. But included soiling my clothing. This patch of lichen was on a log that had fallen among the leaves and ground cover. Using the tripod was difficult. It was hard to get low down without kneeling in the mud and wet leaves. I opted to shoot handheld in aperture priority mode. I used my AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX at f/8 using my Nikon SB-600 Speedlight flash to provide additional light. My goal was to capture both gametophytes (the low, leaf-like forms) and sporophytes (the tall, stalk-like forms).

Since I started shooting macro with the Kenko extension tubes, I have discovered that the AF-S Nikkor 85mm f1.8G is better for shooting macro that the AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX. The 35mm focal point is so close to the lens that I risk scratching the glass. The 85mm puts the focal point about half a meter from the front of the lens.

Yesterday, while getting some coffee beans at a Buy the Cup in Rocky Hill, I stopped to capture some macro photos. The blossoms were starting to bud. I had my camera with me and snapped this image. I think it represents the topic. Spring has sprung.

Cherry Blossom Macro