Common Chickweed (stellaria media) and Common Field Speedwell (veronica persica)

Common Field Speedwell,  veronica persica.

Back to high magnification again, but prioritising good composition.  I have now progressed to a Canon 1D, so, with its larger format I will need high magnification just to fill the frame if I am photographing small flowers.

Common Chickweed, stellaria media

I am looking for small crisp, well-lit flowers that stand out from their background, constructively supported and balanced by surrounding foliage and plant elements.   I am finding that getting the lighting effects that I am looking for means taking photographs only at the beginning and end of the day, which means that, even when well into summer, I am still shooting at high ISO; but that's what a Canon 1D is for.

Dove's-foot Crane's-bill (geranium molle)

Dove's-foot crane's-bill, geranium molle

Doves-foot crane's-bill, geranium molle

Another crane's-bill, this one much smaller and much less well known; dove's-foot crane's-bill, geranium molle.  I found it growing on a path through farmland, so no inspiring shafts of light: and as the flower is so small I couldn't get the camera low enough to look upwards into the light.  It is also not as photogenic as herb robert; so, all in all, much more of a challenge.  If I can get a good image it will mean that I have added more than I usually do, as the starting material is less promising.  That means a better photograph.

The two images shown here are, to me, 'work in progress'.  I'm sure there there are good images to be found with this plant, but I haven't worked it out yet.

Herb Robert (geranium robertianum)

Herb robert, geranium robertianum, looking up into the light.

Herb robert, geranium robertianum

Herb robert, geranium robertianum, is a gift to natural photographers.  The flowers are small, brightly-coloured, neat and clean-cut.  They appear throughout most of the the year, from March to November.  They each last only a day, but are then replaced, so they always appear fresh.  The buds are equally attractive.  The fruiting heads are fascinating, with the famous sharp spike of the 'crane's bill', capable of propelling the ripened seeds several metres.  The plant itself is also neat, and the fern-like leaves are variegated, displaying all the colours between red and green.  The plants can be found in woodland, as here or in open ground.

To produce these images I waited until the evening, when the sun, low in the sky, was sending shafts of light through gaps in the canopy.  I then got down as low as I could and took shots up into the light.

Other recent images of herb robert can be found on my website at http://www.imagesofthecommons.com

Common Field Speedwell (veronica persica)

Common Field Speedwell, veronica persica

The common field speedwell is easy to find and easy to photograph, provided yo are prepared to get right down in the grass.  When taken in back-light the colours are very intense.  The problems of depth of field, of avoiding a static, passive impression, and of obtaining a satisfying composition, remain.  Here I have tried, in one case, to use the surrounding vegetation, and in the second case, the nature of the light to try and create depth and movement.

Common Field Speedwell, veronica persica.

Lady' Smock, or Cuckoo Flower; cardamine pratensis

Lady's Smock, cardamine pratensis

Lady's Smock, cardamine pratensis

I have wanted to photograph Lady's Smock for some time, but it appears in my field only very rarely. It is actually a member of the 'bittercress' family (cardamine), examples of which have appeared in this blog several times already.

I caught it, finally, on a dewy morning, with the flowers either in bud or just emerging.

The problem here was complexity.  I took many images showing a profusion of buds and opened flowers, but decided that these were too confusing.  I present two simple images here, hoping to capture the essence of the flower , a sense of awakening, and the fresh dewy morning.  Having chosen the subject matter and the composition, the photography itself was less challenging than it has been lately, as the light was much better, but there are still problems with striking the balance between 'depth of field' and the isolation of the image from the detail in its surroundings.  

Common Field Speedwell (veronica persica)

Common Field Speedwell (veronica persica)

Common Field Speedwell (veronica persica)

The common speedwell (veronica persica) has been a long-term project.  How do you capture its essence?  Unregarded, very beautiful, reticent, always hiding in the grass.  And then the usual problems:  how do you make a satisfying image out of a single flower?  Or how do you contrive a grouping with a solitary flower like the speedwell?  Here are two attempts.

Something Old, Something New

Red Deadnettle, lamium pupureum

I have been trying for some time to get an image of Red Deadnettle (lamium purpureum) that I was really pleased with.  The flower is unusual and exotic, but that seems to render image-making all the harder; or is it that our settled views of conventional flowers prevents us seeing an abnormal one objectively.  Anyway, I have now produced an image that I am quite satisfied with.

Common Fiedld Speedwell, Veronica persica

Also for a long time I have thought that Common Field Speedwell, Veronica persica, should make a good subject, without ever getting round to photographing it.  Well, I have put that right now.  I'm sure that I have produced the best possible image, but at least I now know that this plant has great potential.

Spring in Full Swing

Ground Ivy, glechoma hederacea.

All the Spring flowers are out now, and its time to try again at flowers that I have photographed in the past, but never in my view, got right.  One of these is ground ivy, glechoma hederacea.  This is a very common flower, but seems to be very rarely noticed.  The flower itself has a fascinating structure, giving you the strong feeling that 'there must be a picture in here somewhere.

Hairy bittercress, cardamine hirsuta.

One of my aspirations is to produce photographs that have the attributes of paintings, watercolours in particular.  The opportunity arises only rarely, since it usually involves photographing a subject through another subject.  I got the chance here with hairy bittercress, although it did, of course, add to the difficulties of getting the camera into the right position.  

Red Deadnettle

Flower bud of red deadnettle,  lamium purpureum.

Flower of Red Deadnettle, Lamium purpureum

Back to high magnification, and my most challenging wildflower.  Red deadnettle occurs all over the place, and is no doubt regarded as a common weed.  But the tiny, individual flowers are very interesting - shaped like a pitcher, with detailed markings on the entrance, presumably to guide incoming flying insects.  The flowers would also seem to be very beautiful, having many of the attributes of exotic orchids.  The challenge lies in the fact that for all the interest and beauty of the flowers, I have yet to take a satisfactory photo.  The images here include one taken of a bud - a tiny globe of ruby red.  Images here are taken at a magnification of about 3X.  

Other Signs of Spring

Wild plum, prunus insititia

Wild plum, (prunus insititia)

Of course there are many different sorts of blossom out now, and they're usually much easier to photograph.  You can just wander around and take shots.  Hard work can resume in due course.  Here is some wild plum in flower (Prunus insitia)

Spring at Last

Hairy Bittercress, cardamine hirsuta

Hairy Bittercress, cardamine hirsuta

Well, it really is Spring now - the bittercress flowers are fully open, and the light is a lot better, even when the sun isn't out.   Lining-up a shot is still difficult;  the surface of the moss-garden is so uneven that I can't really say that I am composing pictures -  I am simply fighting to find somewhere secure to wedge the lens support into, and then seeing what images can be produced;  but I think things are getting better.      

Back to Natural Light

Hairy Bittercress, cardamine hirsuta, in natural light.

Hairy Bittercress, cardamine hirsuta, in natural light.

Hairy bittercress is a shade-loving plant, just like the mosses it grows amongst.  So I have now decided that it should be photographed in the shade, that is in natural light.  Overall the light was better than it was at the beginning of this series, so the conditions were not quite so demanding, and I could concentrate on trying to capture the true nature of the flowers.

Hairy Bittercress as a Subject

Hairy bittercress, cardamine hirsuta

Hairy bittercress, cardamine hirsuta

Last weekend I took some photos at high magnification of hairy bittercress, cardamine hirsuta, which were more or less satisfactory, except for the fact that they were set against a dark background.  This accentuated the white flowers, but rendered the image 'low-key'.  I was hoping that there would be enough sun this week-end to cast light into the recesses of the moss garden and alleviate such problems; no such luck.  So I have created a light background by stuffing some garden fleece into the cavity behind the flowers.  Some results are shown.  As images they are not bad, although the leaves of the plant itself are very dark, which again has the effect of reducing the key.  But I am reluctant to stray too far from 'natural photography', and I don't want to get into the habit of carting white sheets around the countryside, even though this is still using natural light.  I am going to have to find a more acceptable way of illuminating subjects.      

New Attractions in the Moss Garden

Hairy Bittercress, cardamine hirsuta

Hairy Bittercress, cardamine hirsuta, emerging into the Spring sunlight. 

Hairy Bittercress, cardamine hirsuta

Well, its Spring now and the flowers are coming out, competing for attention with the mosses in the garden.  The first to appear was hairy bittercress, cardamine hirsuta, which displays a cluster of small, pure white flowers.  It appears to favour the shady cavities in the moss garden, so we are again going to need high magnification, and we will still be short of light.  So accurate focussing will still be a problem, as there is still no prospect of using a tripod, and shutter speeds will be slow.  In response I am trying out my Mark II miniature camera support.  It appears to offer an improvement, but I have still to achieve the sharpness that I think is necessary.           

Another Moss at High Magnification

Peristome of Cyphaea Heteromalla

Peristome of Cryphaea Heteromalla

In trying to find a another moss with a photogenic peristome, I came across Cryphaea Heteromalla, which grows only on trees.  I was hoping that this would mean that it would prove easier to get a tripod up close enough, but this proved illusary, at least to start with.   The key difference was that the light was better, and I got some reasonable images.


So I think I have established that it is possible to get acceptable images at magnifications of 5X, but the difficulty of getting attractive enough groupings of subjects remains.  I expect that it will mean examining possible subjects very closely before setting up to take images.    

The Peristome of Homalothecium Sericeum: Presentable Images at High Magnification

Peristome of homalothecium sericeum, magnification 5X

Peristome of homalothecium sericeum, magnification 5X.

Following on from my last attempt, I have now mounted the camera on a heavy wooden block with screw-mounted legs, to give adjustment in two dimensions, retaining the focussing rack for the third dimension.  The result is images that are just about acceptable at low definition.  I am not sure how much better images are possible 'in the wild ' at a magnification of 5X, short of spending a lot of money.  (perhaps someone will enlighten me).  The problem remains:  are these images anything more than curiosities, or is it going to be possible to make something that is satisfying from the standpoint of design or art?  The next step must be to get more than one fruiting head in the frame, and it doesn't have to be homalothecium sericeum.

Mosses 'In Flower'

Peristome of Homalothecium Sericeum

Peristome of Homalothecium Sericeum

The sun was out this morning, and that makes all the difference when photographing 'in the field' at high magnification.  The moss homalothecium sericeum has been shedding spores for some time now, but I haven't had the opportunity to take any photos.

As we're about to find out, a magnification of at least 5X is required, and that requires high light levels.

The mosses look somewhat as if they are in flower, but things are much more advanced than that;  they are actually shedding spores now, and the function of the peristome is to slow down the release.  Fertilisation took place some time ago.
I am very glad to have taken photos at 5X magnification 'in the field', but the images are far from perfect.  It is very difficult to 'find' the subject at these magnifications, and I was reduced to shooting hand-held at whatever I could find in the view-finder - clearly not satisfactory.  Somehow I have to find a device that will scan the camera accurately in three dimensions, given the completely uneven surface of the moss-garden.

There is also the problem of 'composition'.  Is there enough in these images to constitute a satisfying image?  It would be better if I could find a pair of heads, but both the width and the depth of the subject is less than three millimetres here, so the prospects are not good.  Cropping the image is always possible, but I am reluctant to dip much below 12 mega pixels per image.

One of the positives to come out of the day is that I have found that it is practical to shoot with ISO at 3200, use my normal level of noise reduction in the Canon software, and then remove any residual noise by hand.  I am using the Canon 550D here, which is my usual habit when I am trying to 'work something out'.  I will revert to the Canon 7D later.

Back to Basics

I was having a frustrating time getting images that I saw as good enough (ie outstanding).  One of the reasons for my disquiet was that I had no idea what should be possible, given indifferent light.  So I found some bryum capillare 'in fruit' in a situation where it was possible to set up a stable tripod, use a focussing rack, use LED light, and keep the wind off.  The best of the results are shown.  I think these represent the present limit of what I can achieve with my cameras.

The aperture here was set at f/16, and the shutter speeds achieved were typically 1/60 sec.  This suggests that I was already near the practical limit in my original images of the moss garden.  To do better I would have to wait for better natural light or use flash.

This doesn't absolve me of the need to get good photographs of the moss garden - the whole ethos of the current project is to provide an artistic photo-record of the field and the wood, which includes the moss garden.  I want to prove that this small patch of land can provide everything needed for a one complete photographic portfolio  

Trying Another Tack

 The miniature tripod improved performance (slightly) but destroyed spontaneity.   So I am now going to try a bean-bag.  The light was still very poor, so I again resorted to illuminating the subject with LED light.

I couldn't achieve an improvement using the bean-bag.  The images are OK, but not up to previous standards.  So it's back to the drawing board.

Trying Out the new Device

I have made a 'Mk I' tripod for the front of the macro lens.  It's not easy to use, and as with all tripods, it puts a stop to spontaneity.  But I managed to take this . .

And this. . .

Are these improvements?  Well, the depth of field is deeper, at an aperture of f/10, and I have reduced the negative exposure compensation by 2/3 of a stop.  As a result the images show very little noise, even though the ISO is still set at 1600.  So I think this is better, but not yet good.  I am still scrabbling for images, rather than being deliberate about them.

.

Getting to Grips with the Moss Garden

This is the starting point: a straightforward macro image, with a magnification of 2X.  The fruiting heads are those of bryum capillare.

Now some LED torchlight has been introduced, which allows a magnification of 3X.  I don't think I need more magnification than this: - I like to give my subject room within the picture.

Now the camera has been weighed down with a heavy chain.  Magnification is 3X.

There is still some way to go.  To get an acceptable shutter speed I am using an ISO of 1600 and an aperture of f/7.1  Good images  would really need another two stops, to allow an ISO of 800 and a aperture of f/10.  The options are to do a better job of keeping the camera steady without a tripod, or to introduce  more light.  (I am reluctant to use flash in the field).

I need to work on that miniature tripod . . . .

The Challenge of the Moss Garden

I value the hidden beauty of the commonplace.

Simple flowers.

Simple Trees.

Simple Plants.

My current challenge is a moss garden.  The moss garden grows on a pile of broken stones, all that remains of a cow-shed that burnt down in the 1970s.  I want to photograph individual leaves and fruiting heads.  So I need 1X - 3X macro, lots of light, and accurate focussing. But the stones slope away, and I cannot get a tripod close enough.  So I am trying to make a miniature tripod to fit on the front of the lens . . . .