Learning the new lens at Lost Pond
I recently got a new lens for the new camera. It's a Sigma 28-80AF zoom with macro focusing ability. I haven't taken any really good Muddy River pics with it, so I thought I'd experiment with it on yesterday's walk at the Lost Pond Reservation. Pokeberries are fruiting, so my first picture was a shameless steal from one of Alexis' recent pictures.
One of the things I instantly don't like about the lens is that the macro setting only works with the lens zoomed out to 80. That means I have to be no closer than four feet or so from the subject. This introduces a lot of camera shake, and also fundamentally changes how I shoot macro subjects. Normally I would be crouched down to shoot this moss, but I took this shot standing up directly over it. It introduces a distance to the process which I don't like.
The relatively shallow depth of field is nice. Other times I've tried landscape shots of forests, they seemed like walls of trees, this feels deeper and more complex to me (more like it actually feels to be there).
This was shot using the automatic exposure setting, so the camera picked up the hot highlight from the mushroom cap. I'd have preferred to underexpose it to get richer detail from the surroundings.
The moss and roots at Lost Pond are really worth seeing. If I had to bring a moss fan somewhere near Boston for a hike, this would be the place.
This is the floral disk of Devil's Beggarticks.
This is swamp loosestrife, after the petals have fallen from the flowers.
Dragonflies mating.
This was actually shot with the macro setting. I adjusted the levels in photoshop, since in the original her face had the same washed-out quality as the background.
The substrate here is very uneven, so the flowers are not in perfect focus. I felt the need to document this year's second blooming of Indian pipe however.
Panorama of the pond.
One of the things I instantly don't like about the lens is that the macro setting only works with the lens zoomed out to 80. That means I have to be no closer than four feet or so from the subject. This introduces a lot of camera shake, and also fundamentally changes how I shoot macro subjects. Normally I would be crouched down to shoot this moss, but I took this shot standing up directly over it. It introduces a distance to the process which I don't like.
The relatively shallow depth of field is nice. Other times I've tried landscape shots of forests, they seemed like walls of trees, this feels deeper and more complex to me (more like it actually feels to be there).
This was shot using the automatic exposure setting, so the camera picked up the hot highlight from the mushroom cap. I'd have preferred to underexpose it to get richer detail from the surroundings.
The moss and roots at Lost Pond are really worth seeing. If I had to bring a moss fan somewhere near Boston for a hike, this would be the place.
This is the floral disk of Devil's Beggarticks.
This is swamp loosestrife, after the petals have fallen from the flowers.
Dragonflies mating.
This was actually shot with the macro setting. I adjusted the levels in photoshop, since in the original her face had the same washed-out quality as the background.
The substrate here is very uneven, so the flowers are not in perfect focus. I felt the need to document this year's second blooming of Indian pipe however.
Panorama of the pond.