The trees are budding and blooming here, but there is precious little else to shoot yet, for macros anyway. I had another go at the cherry blossoms, with a little less magnification this time, and got a few of other shrubs and trees nearby.





Lilac flower buds (very early stage)




Pussy Willows






Box Elder flower buds

[bluestringer]

Love these. Beautiful color and detail. Well done.

[Jean Poitiers]

Bonjour,

Thanks ... and a flash ring is going to be a new "must" for me ...

Salut, John le Frog

[Philoslothical]

Love these. Beautiful color and detail. Well done.

Thanks. Glad you like them, it's fun stuff to shoot.

Thanks ... and a flash ring is going to be a new "must" for me ...

Definitely worth getting. I only waited so long due to budget constraints. As I mentioned in my last post, if you can find one that lets you alter the power level of the flash, it'll be much easier to use.

[GeoJerry]

Excellent! I really liked #3 and #5 especially. How did you use the tubes?

[Philoslothical]

Excellent! I really liked #3 and #5 especially. How did you use the tubes?

Thanks! I'm not sure what info you need about the tubes? All of these were shot handheld, with one or two sections of the 3 piece extension tube set. The magnification would be about 1:2 for the wider shots, and between 1:1 and 1:1.2 for the closer. I didn't keep notes this time, so it's hard to say with any precision.

The tubes themselves are great. They're Vivitar AT-22 tubes, and they have the mechanical aperture linkage to allow for proper stop down metering with an M series lens or newer. I did have to sand the bases of them to short the camera contacts.

When using the ring flash, I don't use the stop down metering. I set exposure manually, chimp like the proud primate I am on the first couple shots, and go from there. It's just easier this way when using a "vintage" flash.

Here are a couple more of the lilac buds. I don't have more of the pussy willows, kinda caught them at the end of their bloom. These are about 1.45:1 magnification. I wonder what the function of the sticky stuff that looks like confectioner's sugar is.

[Jean Poitiers]

...Definitely worth getting. I only waited so long due to budget constraints. As I mentioned in my last post, if you can find one that lets you alter the power level of the flash, it'll be much easier to use.

Bonjour et merci encore,

Yep, budget constraints do slow things down a bit ... and thanks for the tip on the power level alterations ... I have found a few candidates and I am awaiting the Father's Day period ... strong hints will be given for an entry-level ring set-up.

Salut, J Frog

[Jean Poitiers]

Thanks! I'm not sure what info you need about the tubes? All of these were shot handheld, with one or two sections of the 3 piece extension tube set. The magnification would be about 1:2 for the wider shots, and between 1:1 and 1:1.2 for the closer. I didn't keep notes this time, so it's hard to say with any precision.

The tubes themselves are great. They're Vivitar AT-22 tubes, and they have the mechanical aperture linkage to allow for proper stop down metering with an M series lens or newer. I did have to sand the bases of them to short the camera contacts.

When using the ring flash, I don't use the stop down metering. I set exposure manually, chimp like the proud primate I am on the first couple shots, and go from there. It's just easier this way when using a "vintage" flash.

Here are a couple more of the lilac buds. I don't have more of the pussy willows, kinda caught them at the end of their bloom. These are about 1.45:1 magnification. I wonder what the function of the sticky stuff that looks like confectioner's sugar is.

Good to know ... J

[riff]

Nice set! The lilacs are especially nice.

[Philoslothical]

Thanks, riff!

Had a nice fine rain here today, got some sweet shots of the cherry blossoms covered in droplets... working on them now.

[GeoJerry]

Thanks - I've been thinking about getting an extension tube, having never tried them, and always wondered if they were useful in terms of good image quality. Your pictures answered that one for me!

[Philoslothical]

Tubes don't reduce IQ at all - they're just filled with air! They do eat light though. You lose a couple stops, and have a smaller effective aperture due to them. It's a good tradeoff, especially if you're using a flash with them.