Photoblog 2.0

Caught in the Freesia Drops, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

After a night of gentle rain I went out into the garden on a bright, overcast windless morning. The patterns in these water drops on the freesias caught my attention (by the way, the shape reflected in the drops is a leucospermum flower).

Related stories: Sun Catcher, Sunrise in the Freesia Forest.

[Nikon D300, 200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm terms), 36mm extension tube, +4 diopter close-up filter, 4/5 of a second at f/36 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]

Fantasy in the Key of Freesia is another freesia and water drop image I haven’t blogged before:

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Wet Leaf, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

I saw this small leaf with water drops in our side yard and couldn’t resist taking the time to photograph it.

Related photo: another wet leaf macro.

[Nikon D300, 200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm terms), 36mm extension tube, +4 diopter close-up filter, 1.3 seconds at f/40 and ISO 100, tripod mounted using a Kirk Low Pod.]

I’ve written about using noise for aesthetic purposes. I’ve also explored the possibility that noise generated by boosting a camera’s sensitivity (ISO) will become a historical artifact and thing of the past. I’ve also explained my strategies for effective noise post processing.

It’s time to take a look at a technical challenge that decreased noise generation at higher ISOs solves.

The other day I went down the block to photograph apple and cherry blossoms close-up on a sun-drenched but windy afternoon following days of rain. The challenge here is that for these extreme macros I almost always want as much depth as I can get so that reflections in water drops and the surface of the blossom all are in focus. At ISO 100, my typical setting for quality work, this implies a long shutter speed even on a bright day. Shutter speeds longer than a second just don’t work when there is a breeze!

If I could get acceptable results in terms of noise, boosting the ISO would seem to be the solution. At higher ISOs it would seem to be easy to get the shutter speed up from the 5-10 second range to something like 1/25 of second. At 1/25 of a second, I would need the Gods of timing with me, but I could wait for a still moment and have a decent chance.

I think noise isn’t a detrimental issue in these photos, so boosting the ISO for maximum depth of field at faster shutter speeds works to make these technically “impossible” photos possible.

You can judge for yourself from these results. All were taken using my Nikon D300, tripod mounted, with my 200mm f/4 macro lens and a 36mm extension tube. The lens was stopped down as far as possible (with slight variations in recorded aperture, as noted), so the only significant exposure differences between the photos were ISO, shutter speed (and, on the other side of the exposure equation, the amount of available light at the time of the photo because natural light does not stay constant in the late afternoon).

ISO 1,000 at 1/25 of a second and f/36:

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ISO 640 at 1/60 of a second and f/36:

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ISO 640 at 1/60 of a second and f/40:

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For comparison, here’s a ringer, shot conventionally at ISO 100 and 6 seconds and f/45. The blossom was relatively steady despite the wind because of its position relative to the tree trunk. This was my last shot of the series as the sun set. I like the soft quality of the blossom in the sunset light, but you’d be hard put to say that the noise characteristics are significantly better than its high ISO bethren.

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Water Jewel, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

As sunshine came through the rain clouds I photographed this water drop on our peony bush. There’s nothing like a water drop formed by rain and lit by sunshine for creating a whole minature world of color.

Related images: Waterdrops on a Peony Leaf; Earth in a Drop of Rain; Drops of Sky; Mars Attacks.

[Nikon D300, 200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm terms), 36mm extension tube, Nikon 5T close-up filter, 1/8 of a second at f/45 and ISO 100.]

Hanging On, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

In a sunny intermission between squalls of rain I photographed this rain drop hanging onto a climbing geranium blossom. Even fully stopped down, in the sunlight the exposure was only for a fraction of a second, and the next second the drop had fallen down and was gone. As I dismantled my equipment, a passerby asked if I was photographing a groundhog (yesterday was Groundhog Day!).

“No,” I replied, “just a water drop.”

“Well, at least they can’t see their own shadow.”

Or, maybe water drops do see shadows in their short lives.

[Nikon D300, 200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm terms), 36mm extension tube, Nikon 6T close-up lens, 1/6 of a second at f/40 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]

Waterdrops in the Sun, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

In the beautiful morning sun of a crisp new morning after all the rain, I photographed these water drops on a leaf using nested extension tubes.

Related images: Earth in a Drop of Rain; Wet Leaf.

[Nikon D300, 200mm f.4 macro (300mm in 35mm terms), 72mm of combined extension tubes, 1/10 of a second at f/40 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]

Earth in a Drop of Rain, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

In a break in the recent wet weather, I went outside into our garden to photograph rain drops. Looking down on this large drop, nestled in the cup of a petal, I was reminded of an entire green world with blue oceans, continents, and cloud cover.

[Nikon D300, 200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm terms), 36mm extension tube, 4/5 of a second at f/40 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]

Rain Drops on Poinsetta, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

The other day it was raining, but bright. I snapped these photos of rain drops on the poinsetta on our front porch. Amazing, the way rain drops just look different in their dispersal patterns and the shape of the drops than water drops generated in other ways. Perhaps it is the distribution of many sizes of drops, the shape of the drops, the chemistry of rain, or something else. All I know is that drops of rain are pleasing in a way that drops of water from a hose, and irrigation system, or a spray bottle just aren’t. Intelligent design patterns, indeed!

[Both photos: 200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm terms), 36mm extension tube, f/40 and ISO 100, tripod mounted; exposure above at 2.5 seconds and exposure below at 5 seconds.]

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Suspended Animation, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

This is a water drop image from about six months ago that I never blogged, so here it is! The sun had just come out after a brief shower, and these drops were suspended on a spider web.

[200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm equivalent terms), 1/8 of a second at f/40 and ISO 100.]

Camellia Petals, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

My new Nikon D300 showed up today, and of course I had to play. This is an extreme close-up of petals of a camellia blossom fresh from my garden. The flower was wet with rain. To get the effect of light coming through the petals I positioned the flower on some small LED lights, then surrounded it with a black velvet cloth. The point of this style of photography was to emphasize the transparency of the petals.

Related images: Camellia, Camellia Decolletage.

[Nikon D300, 200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm terms), 35mm extension tube, 3 seconds at f/45 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]

Life on the Edge, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

This is another photo from my wounded heel series: I’m good to go with my camera and tripod out to the garden, but not much farther.

In the photo, water drops are resting on the edge of a cyclamen petal. For me, the water drops on the upper petal could be the eyes of a strange, living creature on the edge of a startling discovery.

I’m hoping I’ll be well enough to go back to the Wave in the late Spring. I’ve applied via the lottery system for a permit to go with my oldest son Julian and my photography buddy Mark.

[200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm terms), 2/5 of a second at f/40 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]

Cyclamen Waterdrops, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

This photograph of a cyclamen petal reflected in myriad water drops is another entry in the wounded heel suite.

Related image: Cyclamen Drops.

[This photo: 200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm terms), 36mm extension tube, Nikon 6T close-up filter, 1 second at f/40 and ISO 100, tripod mounted using a Kirk Mighty Low Boy.]

Red Waterdrop Suspension, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

Coming home from Zion and the Wave, my heel hurt like heck. The doctor looked at the x-ray and said, “Hang up those hiking boots for a while, son.”

So, I’ve books to finish and a couple of interesting projects that are as much Photoshop as photography. But I miss my night hikes and the peace and freedom of the wilderness. How great to find these waterdrops in our garden of a Sunday morning. It’s important to remember that worlds of wonder can be tiny as well as vast, and near as well as far!

[200mm f/4 macro lens (300mm in 35mm terms), 36mm extension tube, Nikon 6T close-up filter, 3/10 of a second at f/45 and ISO 100, tripod mounted using a Kirk Mighty Low Boy.]

Intricate Detail of Nature’s Perfection, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

This image shows a wildflower in a field covered with drops of mist in the very early morning. As a friend also put it in another context, I think the photo also shows “the extraordinary beauty, intelligence and intricate detail of Nature’s perfection.”

Related story: Beyond the Fields We Know.

Light, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

On Saturday, Rachel took care of the kids (God bless her!). Phyllis and I hiked down to Cataract Falls on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais. I carried a backpack of camera equipment and my Gitzo tripod (collectively described by Phyllis as “the other woman”).

On Friday, it had rained heavily and I was hoping that Cataract would be running hard. The rain was a bit unseasonally early, and the dry ground had absorbed most of the run-off, so the falls weren’t particularly impressive.

But deep in the folds of Mount Tamalpais, beautiful and bright sunlight glinted over the ridges, and struck fat remnant raindrops nestled in the trees. I pointed my camera up into a wet bough, directly at the water drops and sun.

[105mm f/2.8 macro lens, 157.5mm in 35mm equivalent terms, 36mm extension tube, +4 diopters close-up filter, 1/5 of a second at f/32 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]