Macro 1

  This is the beginning of a series of posts on Macro, originally I was going to just write one giant post with all the different options from DIY to macro lenses and lighting options, but I decided(mostly having to purchase a few new things and waiting for them to come in decided it for me) it would be best for all if we break it up into some short posts. Now most likely they are not all going to come out one right after the other, there will be 1-2 different topics in between each Macro post.

The first few in this little series are going to be about cheap ways to obtain Macro shots, ranging from reverse lens to close up filters, each obtaining their own post.

A close up filter is basically an in expensive magnifying glass for your lens, a set of four ranging from +1 to +10 will run you about $10-$15. The things I like about close up filters, is they are small and easy to bring anywhere, they are really simple to use, you just have to screw it onto your lens, they fit onto all of my lenses, and they are really cheap. There are, however, quiet a few drawbacks for them. The first one, obviously, being the quality. This really is one of the lowest quality options, you may not be able to get as close up as you would like to without beginning to distort the photo. Also it's not really the best option for getting a true Macro shot, you may pick-up a little extra detail, but it's not going to be as much detail as the other options out there.

Here is a short series of photos I took with +2 to +4 close up filters:

A little extra tip, always have s small spray bottle with some water in your camera bag, this is a tip someone told me a few years ago and it has helped me get some excellent shots. A lot of times I use it for spiderwebs when the sun is hitting them just right. However, I also used it in these photos for the water droplets!

How-to Macro coming soon....

A how to Macro photography post will be up on Saturday, here is a bit of a preview!

Long Exposure

   Long exposure photos are one of my favorite to take and to look at.This technique is very self explanatory, you want to set you camera for a long exposure time so it can capture all the available light.  

One of my favorite parts of this technique is "painting" with light. Basically all you do is "paint" with a flashlight/lighter a picture, while the camera is taking the photo.

These are two finished photo's from my living room fireplace. For these two photo's I took multiple exposures of the same area with different parts lit up, then combined them together. The reason I decided to put both in the blog is because I cannot decide which one I like better. I used 3 exposures for each final product.

The one in the right I just drew in the fire. The one on the right is the same original fire but on the mantle I also highlighted the frame, birdhouse, and figure. Let me know what one you like better and why! :)

  Here's how I did it:

       Step One: Set up my tripod and took these 4 photos:

To take these photo's I set my camera for a 30 second exposure time and f/22(If you want a more technical explanation of what an f/stop is, you can read this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number). I did not have my wireless remote, so I had to hit the button then run to the other side of my living room with the lighter(not lit until I got to the fireplace, we must practice safe photography) this is why some are a little shaky. I am sure if my neighbors saw what I was doing they probably would have thought I was crazy, thank goodness for blinds. 

  Step Two: I uploaded them into Photoshop and pretty much cut and paste them together. The tops of the photo's were pretty easy to transfer over:

The bottom was a little trickier, mostly because when I first transferred it over it was too big and just looked like it did not belong, so I re-sized it and used the blur tool to blend it all together like this:

Make sure when you go to blend together the layers you select "all layers".

The after that, just make sure all of the new additions to your photo don't leave any unsightly lines that are going to give away the fact that everything was not originally one photo. If you have any of these lines and they are not too noticeable, try to use the blur tool to blur it together.If that doesn't work with out destroying the photo try re-selecting and re-copying over the section of photo you want.

Here is another example of long exposure photography I took form the hill by my apartment. Unlike the above photos it was taken in just one exposure.

Another popular use of long exposure photography is for taking photos of moving water(rivers, waterfalls, etc.) I don't have an example of one of these photo's right now, but I will try to post one soon.