031: Frost Crystals

f/5.6, 1/40 sec. ISO 100, 50mm M42, 51mm extension.
This ice had formed on a dowel which protrudes slightly above the surface of a garden table. It was icier before I went indoors to get my camera and set up the lens, and I caught this not long before it disappeared in the morning sunlight. I could see it melting as I composed the shot, so I had to work quickly.
I have made myself a small bean bag for the very purpose of resting a camera on for difficult hand-supported shots, but this time I didn't have it with me so my wooly hat had to suffice. It was only just chunky enough when folded a couple of times and the camera needed more than a little hand support so I turned on shake reduction. I presume it did some good at 1/40 sec. as the image is just about acceptably sharp. I could have done with a tripod and a bit less direct sunlight. Turning up to ISO 200 wouldn't have hurt, either.

030: Black Radish

It won't be long before winter is over, but a few of these dark roots still lurk in the garden, refusing to be categorised easily in the kitchen. They are appreciated when cooked, but actually making the decision to prepare them is not a light one. Not only do they have to be banished from he bosom of the Earth but I need to consider a suitable way to cook them beforehand. Their hearty, robust nature [in structure and taste] does not sit well with many delicate, subtle ingredients. Their strength and stubbornness makes them probably the most wintry vegetable I can imagine.
But I can see at least a couple of these being roasted in the near future - so that's a plan already.

Photo settings were f/8, 1/100 sec. ISO 100. M42 50mm, 9mm extensions.
I haven't had much time or opportunity to take any genuinely decent photos today, but the frozen snow from yesterday added some interest to potential outdoor scenes. I think the radishes possess a great variety of textures and shapes, if not a great deal of colour. Spiky fresh leaves sit on top while gangly dead stems flop below them. An algal bloom encrusts the root tops, highlighting both the root's skin texture and the time it has spent in the ground. A scattering of crusty snow finishes off this picture - not a great image, but one that I can relate to.

029: Butternut Squash

This is the kind of squash you don't get in the shops: One with a proper stem attached. I particularly like the stems on the remaining ones I grew last year - chopped off with a few inches to hang them by or hold on to. There are also the characterful, unexpected warts that supermarkets would frown on. A harmless reminder of the wholesome uniqueness of home-grown food.
I have three squashes left in the cupboard, including this one. Every squash I cut open will make me feel a measure of remorse for destroying an object of understated beauty, but I know that I will enjoy eating them much more for the effort it took me to grow them.
What is not seen of this particular fruit (squashes are berries) in this shot is its short heart-shaped form, quite unlike most butternuts. I expect it's partly that way because it didn't grow as much as it could. I blame the slightly late planting and newly-dug clay soil on this.
I haven't made up my mind if I'll grow butternuts this year, but I'll definitely be having a go at growing "Turks Turban" squashes. Also perhaps another unusual variety if I have the space.
The photo was taken with the same settings and setup as yesterday (see post.) I enjoy seeing the combination of warm, earthy tones with smooth and bristly textures. The way the squash feels in my hand is definitely invoked by this picture.

028: Red, Green & Blue

These acrylic paints are in the colours we would usually associate with the additive primary colours, but here they are displayed as subtractive ones. (Although only at the origin of the paint blobs - we see them now as a collection of RGB pixels.) The green doesn't look particularly bright, but it's just the pigment mixture in the paint.
The red doesn't look so neat because it was thicker than the others and took a bit of 'styling' to make it's blob look more like the other blobs. Now the edges look a bit wet, but at least it's the most blurred. The blue looks neatest, so that's good that it's in focus. It's got a nice gloss to it.
Shot at f/8, 1/180 sec. ISO 100, low power flash, 27mm extensions, also a slight crop and neatening.

027: Plastic Orc

More an objective study than a composition, this small plastic orc stands proudly on the pink ground, his weapon glistening with the blood of his enemies... Does he like pink? Who knows. I thought it worked in an unusual way.
The figure concerned is from an old HeroQuest set that I painted [some] of the figures. Maybe I'll get round to painting some more of them. I think I'll have to buy a size 000 brush first, as I want them to turn out a little better than this one. (you can really see all the imperfections when looking this closely.) I like very much how I did the bloodstain and the drybrushed areas, but it's not all neat, especially around the gloss yellow. Better stick to matt finishes in future.
I took this at f/16 on an old Super-Takumar 50mm f/2 lens (with an 8mm extension ring) and all other settings as usual. This lens seems to give some dodgy results exposure-wise, but I like using it occasionally.
This is only one half of a picture of two similar figures, but I cropped it as I thought just the one looked better. I also removed some dust spots. I'm not very happy with the shadow, but I don't think I could have improved it much. Also the background has a nice gradation to it.

026: Pen Tops

I felt like taking a picture of some pens today. Again, an expample of not having a satisfactory range of colours, but there are plenty of differing forms and details to make up for it. The camera was tilted to the left and I regarded the image as landscape through the viewfinder, but the auto-levelling function decided it was a portrait format shot... I could have rotated it, but I kept it as it was as I prefer it.
I also could have dusted the pens a bit first. There's a surprising amount when you look closely.
Settings were f/7.1, 1/180 sec. ISO 100, low power flash, 18mm lens extension. I used a generous amount of white reflectors around the bundle of pens, which were tied together with a rubber band and stood in a mug.

025: Glass & Metal

Another combination of metal and glass here, but using much more magnification this time - a detail of the rear section of a cathode ray tube from an old oscilloscope. The extreme close-up of this detail is quite industrial-looking, like laboratory equipment.
I used a total of 46mm of lens extensions for this image (including M42-PK adapter), at settings of f/11, 1/180 sec. ISO 100, low power flash. Afterwards I increased the contrast and sharpness, and also corrected the rotation slightly.
I got curious about the magnification ratio of my thrown-together setup. The width of the glass rod on the final uncropped image is 1128 pixels. The 10.2 Megapixel Sony APS-C CCD used by the Pentax K10D is reportedly 23.5x15.8mm. Raw Therapee outputs a full image at 3888x2608px, so that works out at about 165px/mm.
With a ruler I got an approximate measurement of the actual rod as 7mm.
If I presume the ratio is 1:1, the glass rod's width would be 1128/165 = 6.84mm.
So the approximate magnification ratio is 7/6.84 = 1.024:1. That's near as anything a 1:1 ratio. Pretty good considering I paid next to nothing for this lens. The detail is very sharp at the plane of focus. I reckon the contrast's a bit lacking, but this may have been because of glare from the flash light - I had it reflecting at a few different angles in this shot.

I really should get out my bellows with a reversed wide-angle lens and start shooting at some near-microscopic levels.