pixelens photography

Macro Monday : Beach/Sand/Dirt

I’m always looking for new ideas and ways to increase my learning with photography. One of the groups I joined on Flickr is Macro Mondays. Every week, a new theme is set then the following Monday, everyone uploads a maximum of five images to the group. This weeks Macro Monday was Beach/Sand/Dirt. The image below seems to be the most popular of my set for the week.

Tags: beach, macro, macro mondays, raynox, sand

Eye macro

The shot for my threesixtyfive project today consisted of a macro of my eye. I wanted to see how close I could really get so I used +1/+2/+4 Optex close-up filters stacked, and then attached my Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro Conversion Lens to the 50mm f/1.8 lens. Took a few shots, but got a couple more or less centered and detailed shots. Made some adjustments in Photoshop to achieve the final result.

Have had a few people asking about my process so here goes.

Shot this with my 50mm. Stacked +1, +2, and +4 close-up filters and used my Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro Conversion Lens on top of those. Took about 20 shots, 2 or 3 were this detailed, this one was closest to centered. Opened RAW file in Photoshop, adjusted white balance and increased clarity. In Photoshop cropped to about 90% so this is pretty close to how it was framed in camera. Duplicated the background layer, set it to screen mode. Reduced opacity of screen layer to 50%, and masked out everything except the iris and pupil. Added a B&W adjustment layer and reduced opacity to about 70%. Added a vignette based on the main background layer. I then added a curves adjustment layer, and then added a brightness/contrast adjustment layer above all the layers and adjusted the contrast a bit. And voila… so layer order from top to bottom was:

• Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer
• Curves layer
• Background layer set to screen mode with all but iris/pupil masked out
• Black & White adjustment layer
• Vignette layer
• Background layer (original image)

Tags: closeup, eye, macro, raynox, threesixtyfive

Published on NowPublic.com

I was contacted earlier today to see if I would allow the use of this image to illustrate an article on the proposed London drinking ban. Of course I allowed it!

Check out the New London Mayor to Ban Drinking on the Tube article over at NowPublic.com. Maybe I should make an effort to check out the new stories daily and add images I see fit…

Tags: beer, can, close up, macro, nowpublic, Published, pull tab, tab

Alternatives to Buying a Dedicated Macro Lens for your DSLR

Another great article over on DPS about alternatives to buying a dedicated macro lens…

If you want to experiment with taking Macro images but don’t have the budget to be able to afford a dedicated Macro lens for your DSLR there are a number of other Macro lens alternatives worth considering.

Each alternative has their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of price, portability and image quality - but it’s amazing at what can be achieved on a budget to give you a taste of the world of macro photography.

I’ve ordered the Raynox DCR-250, not mentioned in the article but I’ve seen GREAT shots with it,  and am awaiting it - it has been shipped! Read about some of the other macro lens alternatives available over at the DPS blog.

Tags: alternative, DPS, lenses, macro, Tips