A line of dew drops reflect the the morning sunlight on this blade of grass out in our front field.
Nikon D600, Sigma 105mm lens, ISO 800, f/6.3, 1/1600 second exposure.
The morning dew was heavy today, and this daisy fleabane blossom seems to have every millimeter of its surface covered with it—almost as if it had gotten the Fabergé treatment!
Nikon D600, Sigma 105mm lens, ISO 800, f/20, 1/250″ exposure.
Nikon D600, Nikon 50mm lens, ISO 1250, f/1.8, 1/1250″ exposure.
As the rain came down off of our front porch roof, it dripped on to the hostas growing below. Water was pooling on the leaves and cascading from their very functional tips. I struggled with the proper shutter speed to capture this as the leaves themselves were moving quite a bit as the rain hit them. This 1/500″ exposure just about captures it…
Nikon D600, Nikon 24-120mm lens @ 68mm, ISO 2500, f/6.3, 1/500″ exposure.
I saw this morning glory blossom floating on the surface of our pond, but it wasn’t until I’d zoomed in close that I noticed the fine puckering of the water around its edges due to the surface tension. I was about to change lenses when I heard a rush of wind and the roar of rain coming in over the hill above our front field. I made it to cover just as the sky let loose. By the time the storm had passed, the blossom had been submerged.
Nikon D600, Sigma 140-400mm lens @ 400mm, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/250″ exposure
Okay, I’m having waaay too much fun with my new 55mm lens. I’ve been working today to compose “in camera” without any cropping — using the constraints of the aspect ratio and the narrow depth of field to define my subject. I’m really enjoying this process. It feels much more intimate — like I have to get closer to my subject and be more deliberate about what I’m framing. It feel less “accidental”, allowing the lens to create the magic.
So many times I take photos of the the colorful and detailed fronts of flowers. This time I look underneath as a black ant climbs about in the latticework of Queen Anne’s Lace.
Nikon D600, Sigma 105mm lens, ISO 800, f/8, 1/1250″ exposure
A delicate tendril of morning glory vine twists around a ripened grass head in our front field.
Nikon D600, Sigma 105mm lens, ISO 800, f/5, 1/2000″ exposure.
Here’s another example of macro photography showing you something that you otherwise wouldn’t see. This soldier fly was busy sipping on the tiny flowerets of this grass seed head. I didn’t see the bright red mass on its side until I blew up the image. I’m still not sure what it is – whether it’s some kind of bladder for storing nectar or a parasite of some kind…
Nikon D600, Sigma 105mm macro, ISO 800, f/8, 1/500″ exposure.
John Hadden Photography 