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Took a few experimental shots yesterday, using a Cokin P filter holder and <a href="http://www.dslrusers.com/viewtopic.php?t=6812&highlight=">ElRonno's magnifying glass technique</a>. The magnifying glass used is just a $2.95 unit from a discount store. It was actually pretty hard to find a magnifying glass in Westfield Knox.

Manual focus and "shade" WB was used on all 3 photos. Moderate USM was applied in PS.

<b>aster vista</b>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hangdog/42237748/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/32/42237748_462add3c3d.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="aster vista" /></a>
34mm, f/5.6, 1/400s handheld from above. The high shutter speed was necessary because the flowers were moving in the outdoor breeze. I was unable to get the right WB with any of the presets on this one & didn't set the WB manually, so I colour corrected the daisies in PS by increasing the amount of red, for a less blue colour. This one's my favourite of the three because the shallow DOF gives a layered, 3D effect.


<b> red riot</b>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hangdog/42218159/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/30/42218159_512d808d59.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="red riot" /></a>
70mm, f/11, 1/160s handheld from above. Saturation was slightly boosted in PS, but in hindsight this was unnecessary.


<b>the end of an ear</b>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hangdog/42219007/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/26/42219007_2ef917096b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="the end of an ear" /></a>
70mm, f/5.6, 1/15s with the camera resting on the kitchen counter. It's not that interesting a photo, I just wanted to use the title.

--Chuan

A delight to see some poetry in pictures Chuan,

At the end of a busy day these are staying on the screen while I brew a cuppa!!

Nice shots, just shows what a bit of good old Aussie ingenuity can achieve!

Bob.

It was actually Belgian ingenuity Moggy

I love all three of these photos Chuan... Especially the first with the flowers fading in and out of focus...

Some very impressive shots...

Sheetshooter, Bob & John: thanks very much for your encouragement, I really appreciate it.

(& thanks to ElRonno for sharing the tip!)

--Chuan

Great shots Chuan. The first is particularly good with the varying layers.

Nice collection of shots... I had a quick question about your magnifying method, I'm figuring your not just holding it up infront of the lens, so how does it work ? (can you post a description or better yet a photo of your setup?). Thanks.

Thanks, Mark & Alpha_7.

My setup has a Cokin P-type filter holder clipped onto the appropriate lens adapter (67mm for the shots above, as I used the 18-70mm lens), like the bits shown <a href="http://tinyurl.com/8mbfe">here</a>. I actually bought a complete kit off eBay, with many adapter rings in different diameters, since I also wanted some filters.

On the cheap magnifying glass which I bought, a metal band encircled the lens and threaded into the handle, so I simply unscrewed the band from the handle and the lens popped out. Because it was smaller than the Cokin holder, I stuck some spare door/window foam sealant strips to the inside faces of the filter holder and wedged the magnifying glass lens inside.

It looks pretty dodgy and has the limitations of a <$3 optic, but it'll do the job for now!

--Chuan

Nice shots Chuan,

I was quite impressed with ElRonno's technique

HD, the 1st one is a cracker, draws your eyes to the one petal in focus, the colour on my mac screen is superb, yep, this one is a keeper no doubt. Others are good too.

Max

hangdog that first one is an absolute pearler Love the 3D effect.

Love the colours in all the pix.