For the Love of Fruit

 I spent the day yesterday with my macro lens and a light box. That's what I do on a rainy cold Vermont day. I have photographed  a lot of fruit and I have to say grapes are my favorite. I took no less the 1227 images. Some of the tricks I use ( besides a spray bottle ) a can of silicone spray to make them shiny. An eye dropper to get that one perfect drop of water where you want it. A very sturdy camera mount. I built it myself from old tripod parts.  Lighting is a given. The best "new" thing I have found is tethering. I have a Mac book pro and the software was not very expensive. Add a shutter release cable and the camera is stock still for the best focus. Water and a mirror offer some great effects. The irony of all this is I am allergic to fruit. I became allergic as a teenager and have not had one bite since. I pay homage to my love of fruit that I can no longer have.

                                                                                   

                                                                                 

He Waited

When you happen upon a little guy like this it is truly a photographer's dream. His brothers and sisters were all running around the camp I was visiting. Of course I was chasing them and trying to sneak up on them for that"GREAT SHOT" but to no avail. I finally gave up and walked around to the front of the camp and sitting in a flower pot was this cute little guy. Just like you see in the picture. He waited for me to get my shot and ran off. I was very thankful. I was smart enough to have a telephoto lens on so I didn't have to get too close. Shooting wildlife can be tricky. Especially birds. My first 1000 images or so were all birds and wildlife. If you want to get to know your camera start out that way. I learned so much on the fly so to speak just sitting by a rock out in the woods waiting. I had to keep resetting the aperture with the changing light and different angles. This little red squirrel made it easy for me. He waited!

Race against the Sunset

Sometimes the sky just won't be ignored. I knew it was getting dark and I was losing the light. I had been taking pictures through the back roads of farm country on my way home. As I drove on the sky just kept screaming to get out and shoot this. So I did. The first few shots were fuzzy and dark until I realized my ISO was to low. It was a race against the sunset. My exposure was 1/3200 my f stop was 4. focal length was at 70. I had a canon EFS l series 70/200 mm lens. No filter. My camera was Canon T1i. The sun had set by the time I got all this figured out. But I still like the shot. What I learned that day was know my camera better to get the shot quicker. I don't do "AUTO" anything. The more I shoot the faster I get at the right exposure and f stop. I take my camera everywhere.

Two Headed Cat

Our two cats , Camel and BB often take naps together. They are not related but look so much alike (except for size) they blend into one cat sometimes. I thought this image was one of their best "blended naps" Looks like a two headed cat to me. 

Peanuts for Pictures

This little guy came to the back of my restaurant every day for his peanuts. When I started taking pictures he was one of my first subjects. The tamer he got, the closer I got with my lens. My first real DSLR was a Canon Rebel Xti. It came with a kit lens and I practiced different settings with different light everyday .By the end of the Summer I got this and a few other shots I am really proud of. That was 6 years ago. I no longer have my restaurant and I have upgraded my camera 3 times plus a whole gear bag of lenses and equipment. I will always be grateful to that friendly little squirrel that traded peanuts for pictures.

Pets and Posing

 When I moved in with my partner a year ago I was delighted to adopt her small menagerie of animals. (2) dogs, (3) cats and (2) red squirrels we saved from the wild. As time with them moved on they got used to me and my camera. I started to notice it seemed as if they all were posing for me. I use a Canon T1i with a EFS 17-55mm f/2.8 lens. It took me a while to figure out the best time of day for the right light to hit the couch. Then all I would have to do is sit with my camera and the posing would begin. They are real hams. lol I don't have to chase them around. Taking pictures of pets is ALWAYS fun! It is probably one of the first things a new camera owner does. I did it my self many years ago. Living with these K9 models and there ability to sit still for me is a treasure. Oh by the way....the Pomeranian is Kai and the toy Pom Chi is Peanut. I am still trying to teach the cats how to sit but I fear that is a long task. As everyone knows it is really the cat's world and we just live in it. I don't mind chasing them. I get my exercise that way. 

Macro is fun

I started with a rose in my light box. I had a spray bottle and kept adding water drops.Then I tried to get one big drop on one petal. I had so much fun. It took 77 pictures to get this this one image.