Time to Grab the Macro

So while adventuring to Deep Dale Gorge, we pulled over at a tranquil pool down Deep Dale Gorge. Armed with my smartphone and my bare feet I ran (well, what passes for running in bare feet over rocks) to the waters edge to throw some stone, see some fish jumping and take in the colours of the red wall, green foliage and crystal clear water.

The smart phone started snapping away. The reeds in front of me were attracting all manner of dragonflies. I carefully stepped forward, step by step, until I was standing in the reeds, surrounded by dragonflies and with only my smartphone in tow. Sure, I snapped a few dragonflies with my smartphone, but when I realised they would sit comfortably beneath my smartphone lens not 30cm away, it dawned on me it might be time to grab the macro lens I spent a lot of money on and was sitting on the back seat of my car.

Running again in bare feet back to the car, I grabbed my camera, swapped my lenses and dashed cautiously back to the reeds. Thus started the shutterbug, snapping, checking exposure and experimenting with exposure. Still getting used to using my fixed macro, I had to experiment with different exposure settings. I learned that in that particular situation, a fast shutter speed was key given the propensity for camera shake and wind.

It was almost as good as the butterflies at Iguazu Falls.

Canon EOS 50D f/5, ISO 100, 100mm (Macro)

Canon EOS 50D, f/5 1/320 ISO 100, 10mm (Macro)

Canon EOS 50D f/3.2 1/500, ISO 100, 100mm (macro)

Guess who loves the macro??

Needless to say, I had a lot of fun. I could fill this post with numerous happy emoticons.

I do still need to master editing and reducing the grainy noise that cropping causes. But I think I can safely say that at the moment, my macro is my favourite.