Popeye

Insects abound in the Pilbara, especially around the water. This is one of the reasons I so dearly love my Macro - it means there are plenty of opportunities to experiment with the Macro.

This little guy took a liking to my husband. Unfortunately my husband's blue shirt did not provide a terribly authentic background so it was cropped out but, his eyes are pretty magnificent.

Canon EOS 50D f/5.6 1/200, ISO 100, 100mm

Painting with Colour and Light

I am not really a fan of most modern art. I know all artists are far more talented than I with their skills sets, however I feel I just don't understand a lot of it - it confuses me and I don't want anything confusing hanging on my wall.

One thing I do like though, is the use of colour to create mood and feeling. I don't mind it. I discovered completely by accident that I could do the same thing with my camera, much to my delight.

While exploring the Fortescue River, my mother-in-law directed me towards a tree that was bleeding. Yes, that's right bleeding. It's red sap was leaking out of an open would, the colour of blood. Upon closer inspection, the sap shimmered and sparkled and looked so unique and wonderful I just had to take a photo. I had my Macro lens on at the time, set to aperture priority mode. I set the aperture to very small (32) and took the picture. Due the small aperture the shutter was open longer than anticipated and I moved. I checked the photo and sure enough, blurry. What struck me however were the tracks of light created by the shimmers, clearly running over the blended colours. I did a double take. Actually not that bad.

Canon EOS 50D, f/32, 1/5, ISO 100, 100mm

It may not look like much to you, but I really like the softness, and the mood it creates. This has no editing. Sure, this was not the first one I took, because I decided to have a bit of fun with it, experiment, and eventually came to this one.

You can't tell what it is can you?

This is what I was photographing:

Canon 50D f/8, 1/250, ISO 100, 100mm

Can you see the shimmers as the light is reflected off pin-pricks in the sap? See the colours of the branch and how they are wonderfully blended? This photo has been enhanced slightly as the original was a little bit dull (Which I think helped with the softness . I was pretty stoked with my experiment though. Thus I learnt how to paint the colours created by light.

The Arachnid

I always feel putting an article in front of something makes it seem more important...or more pretentious.

Speaking of keeping your feet on the track, you need to be watching where you place them, otherwise you may very well step on one of these.

Canon EOS 50D f/8, 1/250, ISO 100. 100mm Macro

I'm pretty sure he is just a huntsman. But I love how two of his eyes are looking at me.