New toy and pond progress

I got to really like the Sigma 70-300, at first for close up stuff and then finding it useful for wandering round with. As value for money it is hard to fault, but once the macro lens was purchased it's limitations in that department were shown up, and it's 'agricultural' operation grated compared to my Nikon zoom - the lack of stabilisation was also a problem for Mr Wobbly-Hands. So I bit the bullet and got myself the Nikon version. It's great! Not had the weather or the time to put it to much use, but my resident robin posed the other morning.

Slight crop

A rainy Sunday saw me scratching my head for subjects, until it went dark and I took a couple of snails into the garage for a studio shoot. Using the macro lens, flash bracket and flash with a Lumiquest Mini Softbox I got some reasonable results. A better 'set' than a big rotting log is required!

Today was supposed to be fine, but it was showery. I just managed to gather some clay to provide a substrate to plant water plants in the pond in a dry spell. When the rain drifted away I added the clay to the pond and pressed some plant roots into it to add to the few I had planted in upturned turf sods. Once they all take hold it will start to look a bit more naturalised and the greenery will cover the exposed pond liner.

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The nights are drawing in

As the days shorten dusk comes earlier, so it's time to get in the garage again. My first attempts in the 'studio' gave me food for thought.With a little improvisation I have improved on the set-up somewhat. Still a way to go, but the basic idea is sorted.

By juggling the off and on camera flash levels, and the position of the flash on the tripod I got somewhere towards decent results in as far as softening the shadows went. being able to review each shot immediately makes it really simple to make changes. Digital is brilliant!

It's surprising how quickly snails move, so the ability to rotate the 'set' was handy, as was having the camera free from a tripod and flash cables. A bit of wood dumped on some gravel wasn't the most convincing 'set', but at least with things as small as slugs and snails it shouldn't be too difficult to improve on that. It would be fine for woodlice and other bugs though. One thing's for certain. Working with the subjects on a raised platform is much easier than trying to photograph then at ground level!

I think a better solution to the lighting would be two off-camera, diffused strobes triggered wirelessly with no flash from the camera itself. Although I am quite happy with what I've managed so far.

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