Still Life

I started Theme 3 with a pretty clear goal in mind. After all, the setting was macro photography, and based on what I gathered from my resources on this setting (listed here and here) all I needed to do was find some pretty flowers and maybe some insects lurking around and I would have my perfect set of brillliant nature photos. I don't understand how somewhere along the way I failed to realize that it's around forty degrees outside and still practically lifeless. And yes, I understand how good photographers are supposed to make anything turn out looking absolutely breathtaking and whatever, but try taking pictures of tree bark for half an hour (which, after about five minutes, I stopped doing). The problem with outdoor macro photography during the winter is that not only are there no insects, plants, or flowers, which usually are the subject of these photos, there's almost no color whatsoever. Color is a very important detail in such photos because it provides a heightened sense of closeness to the subject. And the only thing that I felt could spice up my photos, snow, was missing (minus a few flurries that I managed to capture one day). Photography in this setting is also a lot harder than auto and even black and white setting because camera adjustment takes a lot of patience. When I first started, some of my photos came out unfocused. This occurs because of the Depth Field Rule, which I learned a little about from a youtube video. Apparently the closer you zoom towards a subject, the less in-focus most of the subject will become because the thinner the depth field you have. I experienced this rule multiple times while trying to take my photos, which is why the photos below are not zoomed in incredibly close. For this particular week, I took all outdoor shots. I know I promised that the themes would be more personal topics rather than general ones like "nature". But since macro photography is most associated with nature shots, this set was a bit less personal and more focused on the outside world rather than myself. This theme is offically called "Still Life".


In case you are unfamiliar with art and don't know what a still life is, it's a genre of painting or drawing that deals with an arrangement of objects. Still life is a depiction of usually inaniminate objects, like cups, bowls, and fruits. But in this case, I thought "Still Life" was the perfect term to describe winter photography. As I stated in the beginning, I viewed outdoor macro photography as a huge challenge at first. But after I actually started taking my photos, I realized that winter did have life. It was subtle life, like a flash of green from the moss clinging to a rotting log, or the young flowerbuds protected in their shells from the cold. Before, I would have never noticed it, but now I really admire how even in seemingly the most barren of seasons there is a quiet promise of Spring.

This log was very interesting, mostly because it had a blend of so many shades of green and brown on it. Had it been in the midde of Spring, I'm sure that it would have been teaming with bugs and all kinds of other creepy-crawlies, which would have been perfect for a another close up. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't zoom in even closer to really get the texture of this log.

These berries seemed to particually stand out in the winter landscape.They're such a glossy, vibrant red. And they're clusetered so thickly I'm almost reminded of a pomagrantae. After seeing browns and dull greens all day, this pop of color really caught my attention.

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The first hint of Spring, daffadoils, have just poked up from the soil. This picture was a bit unfocused , probably because I was lying in the grass with the shutter practically in the middle of the leaves. But I guess it does give the picture a softer glow

 Remember when I said that I couldn't wait to see the woods evolve over time? Well, two weeks later, they look practically the same. Which is pretty disappointing. I mean, shouldn't trees be practically in full bloom by now? In the woods surrounded by bare branches, this evergreen stands out. Even a trace of snow still on it too.

Of course, these buds, protected against the cold by a thick, furry shell (not quite sure the technical term for it), remind me that even throughout the winter, life remains, ready to emerge in full force come warmer weather. Can't wait to see these bloom!

 

 It was great to be outside again, although holding my camera with my numb fingers was not as awesome. But what was awesome was the fact that my photos were in COLOR! Oh color, how I've missed you. After my first two weeks of  just playing around and not really focusing on an actual camera setting, the macro setting was really a reminder that I have much to learn. I'm really glad that I have had the chance to explore these different modes of photography though. Action mode shots next week! My old camera was really bad and motion photos never turned out pretty, but I'm really excited to see how they will look with this one!