Hey guys & gals, I don't post pics very often, but I've been thinking (uh oh).... many of us don't have the opportunity to venture forth deep into the great wide world and find wonderful, dramatic scenes to photograph, for a variety of reasons. I'd just like to post a reminder that little, beautiful worlds - tiny Edens, if you will - can be found all around us; in this case, a couple hundred feet away from my house. There, in a corner of a field that abuts the woods, was a small patch of buttercups, and I found it... and I'm sure that somewhere by you, there, too, is a little paradise waiting for you to come by with your camera!

[Philoslothical]

Lovely set. Between the buttercups and ground ivy (actually mint family, in shots 5 and 8), this could be my back yard. Nice detail on the skippers.

Which lens did you use for these?

[luftfluss]

I never knew that ground ivy is mint! I guess it would be suitable for tea, then?

1st shot was the Helios 44-M, the rest were with the Quantaray (Tamron) 70-300 1:2 Macro, the blue-eyed grass w/hoverfly & the ground ivy were shot with the Quantaray + Raynox DCR-150.

[Dewman]

All are very nice, but I especially like #6 ! Incredible sharpness.

Dewman

[daacon]

Some great shots in this series , thanks for sharing.

[slowpez]

The blue-eyed grass is my favorite too. I enjoyed your little eden and thank so much for allowing us to enjoy it with you.

[Philoslothical]

I never knew that ground ivy is mint! I guess it would be suitable for tea, then?

1st shot was the Helios 44-M, the rest were with the Quantaray (Tamron) 70-300 1:2 Macro, the blue-eyed grass w/hoverfly & the ground ivy were shot with the Quantaray + Raynox DCR-150.

It makes a nice tea, and it's used as a salad green, too. It's not exactly minty, but it it has a pleasant scent and flavour. The wiki page for it seems decent.

Thanks for the lens info. I need to pick up a helios sometime. They have a nice character to them.

[luftfluss]

All are very nice, but I especially like #6 ! Incredible sharpness.

Dewman

Thanks! It's a fun place to shoot, I must have around 50 keepers from 2 weeks of shooting there. Also got a few ticks.

Some great shots in this series , thanks for sharing.

Thank you!

The blue-eyed grass is my favorite too. I enjoyed your little eden and thank so much for allowing us to enjoy it with you.

Thanks, the blue-eyed grass is very pretty, that area catches the late afternoon/early evening sun wonderfully.

It makes a nice tea, and it's used as a salad green, too. It's not exactly minty, but it it has a pleasant scent and flavour. The wiki page for it seems decent.

Thanks for the lens info. I need to pick up a helios sometime. They have a nice character to them.

Thanks for the info, I have some ground ivy in my back yard.

The Helios is a fun lens, as you said it has nice character. My girlfriend bought this one for me, I think she paid $22 from a local junk shop, it was attached to a Zenit.

[Bob Harris]

I really enjoyed viewing this thread, you got some great light for your photos. Keep them coming, I enjoyed the view. Bob

[luftfluss]

I really enjoyed viewing this thread, you got some great light for your photos. Keep them coming, I enjoyed the view. Bob

Thanks, Bob, it was a fun discovery for me, and I agree that the light really does make the photos.

[MSL]

Since you mentioned the first shot was done with a helios I went back and took a look at that one in relation to the others. I looks a bit dark, and you might want to try brightening as long as you don't start clipping highlights. I'm impressed with a lot of the other images. Critters just don't stay still for me, especially as I don't have a long lens that does macro so I'm usually in too close. Overall a really nice set.

[Philoslothical]

One of the things I like about the first shot is how it gives a true feeling of deep shade, just dappled with spots of sunlight through the (presumed) tree cover. It could be interesting brighter, but not every shadowy shot is underexposed, either.

Btw, from my own experience, buttercups blow out their highlights if you so much as look at them the wrong way. Pretty flowers but a pain to shoot. I think it's because they're surprisingly reflective on the petals inner surface.

[luftfluss]

Since you mentioned the first shot was done with a helios I went back and took a look at that one in relation to the others. I looks a bit dark, and you might want to try brightening as long as you don't start clipping highlights. I'm impressed with a lot of the other images. Critters just don't stay still for me, especially as I don't have a long lens that does macro so I'm usually in too close. Overall a really nice set.

Thanks for the feedback, I greatly appreciate that you took the time to do so. I'll try elevating the shadows and mids a bit to see if I like it.

One nice aspect of the Quantaray/Tamron 70-300 is that I can be as close as 3 ft in macro mode. This patch of buttercups was small, about 10 sq ft. It is indeed a challenge to capture these wee critters, but it's something I've been working on for several years and I think I've improved slightly in my ability to predict where the butterflies will flit to. It also helps that I spent much of the time low, either on my haunches/knees or prone.

[luftfluss]

One of the things I like about the first shot is how it gives a true feeling of deep shade, just dappled with spots of sunlight through the (presumed) tree cover. It could be interesting brighter, but not every shadowy shot is underexposed, either.

Btw, from my own experience, buttercups blow out their highlights if you so much as look at them the wrong way. Pretty flowers but a pain to shoot. I think it's because they're surprisingly reflective on the petals inner surface.

You've presumed correctly about the tree cover and ya, buttercups can do hell when trying to expose for the scene. It's pretty apparent where i clipped highlights on reflections, and how badly the yellows got clipped in #10. OTOH, I love how the reflected sun illuminates the underside of that Peck's Skipper.

[Philoslothical]

I think it's fine, and the skippers are wonderful. Your third shot above is better than I have done on a buttercup. I see you knocked it down 2/3 of an EV, which is exactly what I've been doing lately. Even a full stop, it helps a lot with bright flowers in sunlight. Sometime soon I'll post a few of my swallowtails, and you'll see what I mean with the Dame's Rocket flowers they're on.