[...]
>
> Frank Ess:
> Macro-01:
> OK! Frank, which is the subject, the hose coupling, the ant, or the bee? I
> can only wish the bee wasn't there.
To my eye the subject was the tension between the bee and the ant. I'm
interested in knowing how to make that more obvious. I realize the OOF bee
fuzz distracts, and perhaps more equally-divided attention might have made
it easier to lose track of the details and focus on the space.
The camera on the two new photos is the little folded-lightpath pocket
Panasonic. Water and shock-resistant to twelve feet and
four-feet-to-concrete, respectively. I am very pleased with its ability to
get right in there and look at stuff. A little grainy at times, but what the
hey?
> Macro-02:
> This I like! My deductive eyeball tells me that this is the top mechanism
> of a pair of clip-ons, made into a mystery machine via superb macro work.
Yes, clip-ons. Mr BluBlocker failed to properly calculate the forces
required to keep the U-shaped spring arm in place, and once displaced the
clip is robbed of its flip-up capability. This photo and one other persuaded
the vendor to send me a fresh pair without my having to return the busted
ones.
Back in the day I used to delight in the pages of a monthly magazine, either
*Reader's Digest* or *Coronet* or something of that ilk, that presented
mystery photos of the kind of details shown here and named their true selves
in the Answers section.
Although the EXIF says flash wasn't used, I'm certain it was, in both
photos.
> Macro-03:
> I am not sure what you have here, but I am certain that doesn't matter. It
> is both interesting and mysterious, and has me scratching my head.
>
Speaking of mystery photos: would the phrase "snap shot" be a good clue? I
remember a discussion on one of these forums about visual puns. I still
maintain there is no such thing: without language, whatever is offered as a
"pun" may be clever and amusing, but there has to be another word to
describe that concept. If there is a word in your mind, it can't be a purely
visual phenomenon.
This image was on transparency film, by fluorescent desk-lamp light, seems
to have been done with my newly-acquired 50mm Canon Macro lens, which would
make it very early 1980s, if I recall correctly. Camera could have been
either a Canon AE-1, AE-1p, or A-1. The subject is male (body) snaps along
the opening side of a case that holds a 500mm Tamron reflex lens. The female
components are on the flap.
Thank y'all for your comments. Mine:
Tim Conway - OUZO: It's a nicely designed label, well-represented; I see the
reflective bits on the dark and blue lettering as allowing me to appreciate
the third-dimensions in the image.
Tim Conway - Strawbs: Just one thing I don't like about this image: it
stimulates my old-fashioned DON'T CUT THINGS OFF WITH THE EDGE OF THE FRAME
reflex. (I am very tolerant of misplaced out-of-focus-ness, as much of my
output demonstrates.)
Tim Conway - York: The cut-off doesn't seem to matter as much for inanimate
objects as opposed to (fomerly) living fruits. I'd have liked the candy
paste's color to match better with its memorable taste/feeling. Whiter, I
mean, more contrasty with the chocolate. Hard to get that and a reasonable
reflective surface.
Duck's MG emblem: As an MG fanatic and owner (still have the fifth sitting
behind the house awaiting restoration or lightning strike) any view of the
octagon produces an uptick in my ticker-rate. I like it, like especially the
evidence of recent but not thorough cleaning/waxing. I know which end of the
car this is on, so my old-fashioned LEAVE MORE ROOM IN FRONT OF THE SUBJECT
FOR SOME TRAVEL, ESPECIALLY IN SUBJECTS KNOWN TO TRAVEL reflex came into
play. (Move the MG left of center.) Nice play among the colors.
Duck's Dodge emblem: Once again, nice play among the colors; centering the
emblem is not as bothersome in a more-straight-on image.
Duck's Buick: My kind of closeup. I'm grateful for the view, and for the
fact that this memorable insignia has not been polished to meet the demands
of some kind of cleanliness fetish. Can't ask for a better presentation of a
worldly object.
Richard Anderson's Fungus: The more I look at it, the more I think there is
some upper right-to-lower left motion in it. I'm pretty sure it's not as
active as it looks. Orange is the color of insanity, according to some; I
know I will remember this image when - if - I ever eat cornflakes again.
Bowser's dandelion - I think I know that guy: always will do anything to
stand out from his more conservative neighbors. He's a remarkable dude, but
how long does that last?
Bowser's rusty tractor - I think if this were in color I'd have missed some
of the delicious textures on the flat parts. As it is, I am entranced,
wondering how the rust picked its path(s) through the metal. No doubt this
is one I'll be coming back to.
Bowser's helmet - Nice, interesting capture, this one has the kind of detail
that probably operates equally well in either mono- or multi-chrome. I can
see the supporting structure, but can't quite make sense of the bright
element down there; must be a chinstrap or a cheek guard? Would hiding it be
a Good Idea? I dono.
Sid's brake disks - Liking the three-D-ness of the image, something that
isn't always available or desirable in close-ups. Another instance where I'd
bet the color version would be inferior. The shape's the thing. I don't know
about motorcycles, but the use of drilled rotors on heavier cars has been
pretty much outmoded by the introduction of pad compounds that do not
produce the "outgassing" phenomenon resolved by the holes. Of course their
cosmetic contribution in some applications is undeniable.
Sid's pink flower - I never can remember which is a stamen and which is a
pistil, or vice versa. I do know they are a problem to photograph, and you
either have to decide equitable focus is a minor concern, or give up. I'd
rather look at a picture of something than of nothing, which is what you get
if you give up. Perhaps I'd get some worthwhile lessons if someday we have a
"Pistil Mandate". It might have been better in this image to either show
more petal, or show less petal. I don't think I'd be able to decide, either.
Which is not the same as giving up, but headed that way.
Sid's daisy or daisy-like flower - Very clear, very appealing, very well
done.
Dan Petre's Alfa model - Marvelous. Used as I am to brighter, catalog-like
models photos, I like to see one more real-world-like. Nicely atmospheric, a
welcome change of pace.
Bob Flint's snails - I'm just going to appreciate and enjoy this one, being
glad that one of them seems to be contemplating a different path than one
taken by the herd.
Bob Flint's dandelion - Well done, easy to look at and like. Surely meets
the mandate and rings all the right bells.
Bob Flint's white flowers - Very impressive depth of focus. Wonderful detail
and very evocative of the atmosphere in pleasant surroundings. I wonder if a
closer crop to eliminate the start of a second compact mass at the right
edge might be as pleasing.
Andrew Reilly's tree - I don't think this stretches the mandate so much; we
are surely standing close and looking up. And of course it's hard to not
like a tree, but I'm not that much of a hugger, so I don't get that close
that much.
Andrew Reilly's jasmine tendrils - Oooh! Oooh! Jasmine! Such lively beings,
eh? Almost as lively as Morning Glory, which will take over *everything* if
you are not careful. I'd probably have cropped a little differently, or
maybe have moved just a bit to the left to have the tendril backed by more
of the dark - if I'd been able to look far enough to see the possibility,
which in all honesty is not that likely. I've forgotten which of the
mandates I put my jasmine tendril picture in, but it's here somewhere.
MG's azalea - Very. Pink. Presence. Enjoyable, certainly; hard to dislike or
improve upon without fracturing the buzz.
MG's crane flower - Very. Pointed. Presence. Good angles in the frame. Would
some shallowing of the focus made the underpinnings less of an intrusion;
only after a lingering view did they put themselves forward.
MG's ladybirds - ...bugs in my lingo. Good contrast between the regularity
of the individuals' patterns and the flow of their comings-together, as well
as the patch of unpopulated bark. I'd be more excited if nature had provided
them with brighter colors, as our local ladybirdbugs display.
Chemiker's lovely old butterfly - Multiple As.
Chemiker's chest with columns - Somehow it all seems so cheerful to me. I
can feel the delight awaiting within, but I'm not much of a jewelist, so the
scale is not quickly obvious to me. The uncertainty doesn't hurt my
appreciation of the classic tidbits. No reasonable cure for this, but none
really necessary, either.
Martha Coe's Spanish bluebells - What did she do with the *good* pictures of
these attractive flowers? I see little to recommend this image: nature gave
us these things to enjoy, in person or vicariously, but it isn't always easy
to make them poignant. Centered and too much extraneous detail?
Martha Coe's rhododendron - Nice enough. A little closer crop, maybe?
Martha Coe's rhododendron fudge - Not close enough. If I'd seen this one
first I might have let it slide, but she showed she knew what close is, and
she didn't do it here.
Peter Newman's Dahlia - Good colors, very lively, reminds me of a lady of
the evening I once new. She was called Dahlia, and just loved bursting onto
a scene.
Peter Newman's orchid - Fascinating; all the elements are so suggestive of
I-don't-know-what, or if I do, I'd rather not say, here. Textures and colors
survived the reality-to-screen transition. Good.
Peter Newman's dahlia - Nice drawing. Very attractive, well-oriented,
appealing colors.
Alan Browne's Time's up! - Pressed the Snooze button once too often, did
you? Even the MacMaster misses from time to time, I guess.
Alan Browne's itsy bitsy - Much more like it. Good detail in the in-focus
parts. It is "eensy beensy" in some dialects.
Alan Browne's mushroom - I really like the mushroom textures, marks and all.
Do I need that much table?
Tony Cooper's available - I like everything about it: colors, detail,
angles. Possible prize-winner.
Tony Cooper's pretty face - Ditto.
Tony Cooper's in bloom - Ditto.
That's the best I can do. Thank you for your kind attention.
Frank Sheffield
San Diego CA
USA