319: Twig Corals

Discovered in local woodland on Sunday, this rotten twig sports many tiny, coral-like fungal growths. I knew I wasn't going to get a decently lit and well-considered shot out in the cold woods, so it had to come home; and here we have it.
The twig was about 25mm(1 inch) wide, and measures about 2200px on the full 3888px wide image. This makes it about 13mm wide on the sensor, so the magnification ratio is around 1:2.

Settings: f/9, 1/180, ISO 100, 50mm Pentacon M42, 29mm extension, 1/4 flash, white cards, foil, black velvet, tripod. Slight levels adjustment and very light sharpening.

278: One Dozen Ladybirds

Settings: f/5.6, 1/10, ISO 100, 50mm Cosinon M42, 19mm extension, tripod.

182: Twisty Twigs

This could be mistaken for a twisted little old tree shot at night-time - near a nearby sodium street lamp. In reality, it's a bit of an old fuschia bush (1/2 metre long,) lit by a halogen lamp on the upper right, and a handheld flash from the upper left.

Settings: f/5.6, 1/4, ISO 100, P-FA 50mm, 1/4 flash, tungsten light, black cloth, tripod.

065: Russian-Style Pen Top

Today I felt that I should take a pictue of the wooden pen on my desk, as I do quite like the top of it.
A plain background didn't look like it would work, and I just happened to have an interesting patterned coin purse nearby, so that got put behind it. It seems to work quite well as the styles of both objects used are both relevant and fit together; but I keep wondering if the background might have worked better if it were blurrier. The wooden doll-top is sharp and clear, but it doesn't 'pop' out as much as it could. The similarity of colours is probably to blame as well.
But all in all, it's a worthwhile picture.

Settings: f/8, 1/180 sec, ISO 100, 50mm M42, 29mm extension, low flash, white reflectors.

050: Third Snow Bench

f/2.8, 1/200 sec, ISO 200, SMC P-FA 50mm.
There's a lot to be said for that Rule of Thirds. It may be an old and very commonly used rule, but it can really have a strong effect in a composition. I cropped this photo slightly so the shapes conform more closely than I shot it to. I find that the image is somehow more harmonious and ordered than it already looked.
Whether it needed to be or not is always a relevant question, but I mostly took this image with the rule in mind, as it has a collection of strong lines. Of course, the rule of thirds can work just as well on subjects with no immediately discernable geometric patterns, such as wooded landscapes.
It's just a rough guide, really. It doesn't have to be enforced rigidly, but just keeping simple compositional rules in mind when behind the camera is always very useful for taking better shots.

Using a 50mm lens on the 50th photo was a coincedence, I just needed something fast outdoors. I did use my FA50 1.4 instead of my usual Cosinon 50 1.8; I wanted autofocus.

045: Cracked Bark

This is from part of a sawn section of tree trunk, on which the bark has experienced curious cracking patterns. This is only an example of the variety of serpentine, ring-like cracks; but this area pictured has only half its bark, and the trunk wood that shows through is quite beautifully patterned. The bark's dark patches are where it is damp.
The range of colours is fairly subtle, but the textures are quite contrasting. They would have been more pronounced in a brighter, more direct sunlight, but only if it had been at the right angle to catch the texture correctly for the shot. At least the diffused sunlight here made no noticeable shadows.
f/8, 1/50 sec, ISO 200. DA 18-55 at 40mm.

Apart from just a little sharpening, contrast and white balance tweaking, there was a fair bit of post-processing involved on this image; most notably on the lower third, which was very subtly shadowed. I applied a white gradient overlay to brighten it, just like dodging a large area while making a print. This evened out the tone of the whole image - I just prefer it flatter like that.

I think this is another of those planet-surface-like shots... Although maybe not as much planet surface as a satellite view of a dried-up lake.

034: Pear Tree Bud

I have a habit of going on about texture and magnification, but I can't help but be fascinated by the way things look close up. The transluscent, parchment-like quality of the bud's skin is hardly visible to the naked eye (at least mine,) but close up like this you can clearly see its bronzed skin-like texture and the occasional vein. The occasional wartyness of the bark is shown up as a collection of fine, swollen splits.
Apart from this, the main reason I took this photo was to depict the shape of the twig at the emergence of a bud. The branch crooks quite far sideways at every bud and presents itself as a series of zigzagged Y-shapes.
I also just noticed that every bud grows about 120 degrees around from its neighbour, creating a fascinating triangular helix pattern along the axis of the twig. I don't know how common this is, as I'm not a botanist; but it certainly occurs on pear trees.
Aperture f/5.6, all other settings as yesterday.

016: Lamplite on a Wood Kitty

A cute wooden cat drinks its bowl of wooden milk. On a wooden floor.
I used the same lens again (see yesterday,) but an LED torch to illuminate the kitty. I was intending initially to use flash. The room was dim, so I put a torch down beside it to help me focus manually. But the image in the viewfinder changed my plan immediately - no flash this time! I barely adjusted anything, it was just right as it was. f/4.5, 1/5 sec. I rested the camera on a wooly hat, and the "floor" is the wood-veneer top of a speaker cabinet.
The result is very much to my liking. It's pretty good considering how basic and contrived the setup was. It's not so much a testament to spur-of-the-moment thinking, but more about how unexpected developments can make a real positive difference to the outcome of photo.
Being away from home today, I am relieved that I remembered to bring my camera's USB cable. Otherwise no photo!

003: Mushrooms of Wood

A group of mushroom-like carvings fashioned from tree trunks, which I came across these in a clearing in some local woodland. Do these serve a purpose or are they merely the result of a forester's idle fancy? Either way, they caught my attention today with their unexpected forms.
They somehow seem like stakes with safety caps.

That same walk in the woods this morning was filled with small birds. We could hear two woodpeckers tapping on differently sized trees (judging by the difference in pitch.)
Plus a list of other birds we spotted:
Jay, Woodpigeon, Great Tit, Willow Tit, Blue Tit, Robin, Blackbird, Chaffinch (possibly.)
Our toes got slightly frozen again today, it's been an unusually cold winter. All the better for ice photos, though.
I didn't take any photos of birds today as it was too cold to stand around and wait, and I wasn't in a waving-a-large-lens-around mood. Besides, the birdwatching hide was a long way off and on the other side of a main road.