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.

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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 . . . .