Uploads from John-Morgan, tagged closeup

Wheat Sheaf

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:29:18 -0800

A couple of years ago, the church gave out wheat sheaves in Sunday school in reference to some sort of Bible lesson. The sheaves themselves are interesting, so we keep them in a Lenox vase. I happened to notice the glorious lighting on the vase one late afternoon, so I had to take some shots. I love the bokeh in this one.

More Conquest

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:41:44 -0800

John-Morgan posted a photo:

Another shot from Conquest of the Empire. This one uses the Lensbaby and a wave aperture to create a more impressionistic look. The morning light and the shadows from the window frames add a kind of interesting pattern to the board.

Details: Handheld, Lensbaby, wave aperture, SOOC

detail and abstraction

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:33:52 -0800

John-Morgan posted a photo:

Shooting with the Lensbaby produces all sorts of surprises. In this shot, I love the combination of the super detail in the flower combined with the dreamy "brushstrokes" for the leaves and the stem.

Taken in Walnut Creek, CA

Details: Handheld, manual focus, Lensbaby double glass with f/4 and +4 diopter, cropped

Butterfly in Black and White

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:07:42 -0800

John-Morgan posted a photo:

Near my house is a bush with flowers that attract tons of small butterflies. They are very hard to shoot since they almost never sit still. Compounding the difficulty is the fact that I was shooting with my Lensbaby, which is manual and veryfussy to focus. But one butterfly was kind enough to pose for a short while as she enjoyed some nectar from the flower.

The extreme cropping of this shot is intentional. I liked the wash of tones and the dynamic of having the butterfly near the edge of the frame. I'm trying to capture the idea that she's just about to flit away.

Tell me if you like or not.

Details: Handheld, Lensbaby at f/4 aperture, crop, black and white filter adjustments, sharperning

Dandelion at Dusk

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:20:05 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

The dandelions in the Sierra are especially large. Here is a close up of the bottom half of one shot at dusk in Pinecrest, CA.

Details: Handheld, Lensbaby, +4 diopter, SOOC

Extraordinary Flower

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:01:05 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

While walking past the Walnut Creek library, I came across this amazing flower. I've never seen anything like it. Looks a bit like and orchid, but not really the right shape.

About the shot: Handheld, Lensbaby Composer with +4 diopter, SOOC

Lady in Yellow

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:17:43 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

It's been unusually rainy and dreary in the Bay Area. The weather is more like Seattle than what we normally see. During a break in the clouds, I went for a quick walk around the neighborhood and spied a ladybug on this clump of yellow flowers. Many shots later, I got a couple of nice captures.

In making this shot, I used a +10 diopter on my Lensbaby at f/8. The focus is sufficiently imprecise with this kit, that the best strategy is to become a human camera rail---focusing by swaying my body slightly nearer and further from the subject until nailing it. At that magic moment, I'll then fire off a bunch of shots until random body sway knocks me out of focus. It's an odd way to operate but seems like the best way to handle these settings.

About the shot: Handheld, Lensbaby Composer at f/8 with +10 diopter, cropped.

Dandelion Detail

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:07:59 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

The dandelions that grow high up in the mountains seem to be made of tougher stuff than the run of the mill variety. The anchors holding the seed parachute to the central part of the flower are thick and tough. The seed parachutes themselves are less gossamer. Here is a macro trying to capture both the pattern and the detail.

About the shot: Handheld, Lensbaby Composer at f/5.6 with a +10 diopter, SOOC

Butterfly in the Grasses

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Tue, 31 May 2011 21:38:11 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

This weekend I climbed up to Las Trampas ridge, about 2500 ft elevation overlooking the San Ramon Valley. While the views were nothing great owing to overcast and haze, the butterflies and other smaller parts of the trip were. Had to wait a long time for the wind to die down enough to get a clear shot, but it was worth it for this image of a butterfly perched on the dried grasses. I really like the effect of the Lensbaby on the grass while keeping the butterfly sharp.

About the shot: Handheld, +4 diopter on a Lensbaby Composer at f/5.6, cropped

The Greatest Generation - Alternative 1

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Sun, 29 May 2011 23:56:13 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

An alternative to the shot titled "The Greatest Generation." Same idea: US forces in the Ardennes during WWII looking for cover in the rain and the gloaming.

For Macro Mondays theme "tribute."

Same details: SOOC with natural light shot handheld with my tructy Canon 70-200mm L lens.

Spider Web

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Sat, 28 May 2011 17:34:04 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

While poking around underneath a big flowering tree in Livorna Park searching for yellow flowers, I ran across this wonderfully constructed spider web. I was lucky that the low angle of the sun at golden hour caused the web to reflect nicely in the backlight. The bokeh consists of light pouring through gaps in the leaves of the tree as well as its yellow flowers reflecting.

Details: Handheld, Lensbaby Composer with +4 diopter, contrast and sharpening adj

Watering the Roses

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Wed, 25 May 2011 13:01:40 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

While watering the garden a few days ago, I noticed how nice the arc of water looked on my roses. I set the sprinkler on auto and ran to grab my camera.

This was shot with the Lensbaby Composer at f/4. I love how the composer creates a kind of oval bokeh away from the sweet spot.

Details: Handheld, Lensbaby, crop, contrast and sharpness adj.

Violet Carpet

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Wed, 25 May 2011 10:42:44 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

There is a small garden in front of the faculty club at UC Berkeley. Right now, it is covered with a carpet of these small violet flowers interspersed with daisies. It's such a pleasure to walk to lunch and be greeted by these wonderful and delicate flowers.

This was shot with the Lensbaby Composer using the +4 macro at f/4. One of the cool things about the Lensbaby is that, since you are using little washers to get the aperture, the bokeh circles are perfectly round at all f-stops. I really like the wash of color in the background of this shot.

Details: Handheld, Lensbaby Composer +4 diopter, added fill light

The Color of Love

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 22:13:56 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

My son planted a bunch of tulip bulbs last fall, and they've just finished coming up. What a great addition to the front of our house. Here's a wonderful red tulip shot from aove just after a rain storm.

Details: Handheld, Canon 100mm macro, SOOC

Raindrops on Roses

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:43:11 -0800

John-Morgan posted a photo:

On a walk the morning after a rainy night, these roses were very striking in the backlight. I love how the raindrops on the surrounding leaves seem to offer a halo around the flowers themselves.

Details: Handheld, Lensbaby Composer at f/4, contrast and sharpening adjustments.

Crystal Lavender

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:30:49 -0800

John-Morgan posted a photo:

The rain made almost a crystal pattern on this lavender. The slight furriness of the petals seems to have captured tiny little drops with the occasional bigger drop forming on the botom of the flower.

Details: Handheld, Lensbaby with +4 diopter, cropped, sharpened.

Pearls

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:25:30 -0800

John-Morgan posted a photo:

One of the neatest things after a rainy night are the undistrubed drops of water on the plants the next morning. This fern displayed an especially nice pattern of small and large "pearls"capturing the reflections of the surrounding trees.

Details: Handheld, Lensbaby with +4 diopter, cropped, sharpened

Spider

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:21:39 -0800

John-Morgan posted a photo:

Found this spider on a morning walk around the neighborhood. I was lucky in that the light was shining nicely off her web and she was kind enough to pose for me. No idea the type of spider.

Details: Handheld, Tokina 35mm macro, SOOC

Parachute

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:32:17 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

A single seed parachute from a windblown dandelion hangs precariously on a plant stalk. Shot during a camping vacation in the Sierra.

Details: early evening, lansbaby composer at f/5.6, +4 diopter, cropped

Spider Web - Outtake

nobody@flickr.com (John-Morgan) — Sat, 28 May 2011 17:48:47 -0700

John-Morgan posted a photo:

Another shot of the same spider web, this time with more lens flare. Ended up discarding this one owing to the flawed exposure. Still, the flare is kind of interesting.

Note: Cropped from when it was first put up based on the sticky note.