Beetle and Flowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. Apriol 10, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Macro photograph of a beetle on spring California wildflowers.
I think I’m posting this one more or less because… I can! I was out last month trying to get to know a new piece of equipment, an extension tube. I’ve been experimenting to find out which of my lenses work most effectively with it, and trying to understand the best ways to use it in the field. On this day I figured out a few interesting and useful things. First, contrary to my expectations, the best way to shoot these subjects was to use manual focus and a 24-105 zoom lens. I would have thought that AF would have been more effective, but I found I could manually focus, then move slightly forward and backward with the shutter half depressed, and watch for the AF confirmation lights to come on. One of the biggest surprises was that this lens, which is not exactly known for its wonderful bokeh, turns out to produce really nice blurred backgrounds at large apertures with the extension tube. Who’d have guessed!?
So, a photograph of some anonymous beetle was one of the results.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.
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