Here it is, the result of several gigabytes of photos and many hours of editing and sorting. The final project for ART390, Digital Photography.

Series A:
  

Series B:
  

Series C:
  

Series D:
  

Series E:
   

Series F:
  

Series G:
  

Because I do everything with great redundancy… here are the sets that didn’t go in the final project. These are backup sets, or sets that were considered as alternates.

Series V:
  

Series W:
  

Series X:
  

Series Y:
  

Series Z:
  

In the past few weeks I have been trying a variety of subjects, mostly flowers, but also some of their "visitors". I have found photographing bees to bee very difficult. It is very hard to get a bee to sit still for a photo. They like to fly around, I guess checking out the best pollen in the neighborhood. When you do get a bee to stand still for you, such as the one above, there is a limited amount of time to get the focus right before they move again, and then there is an issue with the contrast. Some cameras seem to focus on bright subjects and ignore dark subjects. Since most bees are dark colors, they get lost and the camera focuses on the flower they are resting on. Another issue I have once I do get a bee in focus and sitting still long enough for a photo is that they tend to collect pollen with their heads, therefore, the least flattering side is showing. Sunflowers seem to be a good spot to catch bees since they are open and allow for access from multiple sides.

I’m using my new lens and it seems to be helping. I am still very limited with how close I can be to a subject, but when I get a subject in focus, the details aren’t lost anymore, making macro photography worth doing. Another thing I am seeing with the new lens is that there is no blue hue around the edges of the photos anymore. With my old 2 element lens I had a lot of "cheap glass" issues. This one is super clear and brings out details nicely.

"Make six images of a public space. This could be outside in a park, parking lot, grocery store—anywhere that the public can go"

"Make six more images of a private space"

I have been fighting with myself about this photo for days. I feel like there is a lack of contrast in what otherwise could have been a really cool shot. Anyone else have an opinion?

Just showing off my new macro lens:

Opteka 10x HD² Professional Macro Lens for 55mm Digital Camera Lenses

• 4 elements optical glass
• includes caps for both sides
• includes carry case

I’m a geek, so what?

kularski’s del.icio.us Bookmarks: Sunday, July 06, 2008

Opteka HD2 55mm 2.2x High Definition Telephoto Lens

Opteka 70" Pro Tripod for Photo

Just looking through 47th Street photo tonight after ordering a new HD macro lens to use for my project. Found a few neat little toys I would like to play with. First item is a nice telephoto add on for my camera that would give me the effective power  of 22x optical magnification. Don’t know how useful it would be, but its certainly a cool little add-on. The next thing is a 70" tripod, which is taller than mine and would let me do portrait shots (camera on its side). Its also taller than my current tripod, which would  let me shoot things over my head.

Just for fun shots

"Written proposal with two sample photos due."