Focus on Life: Week 14 :: Up close!

Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime is hosting a year long challenge which is... sublime... as you'd expect with such a studio name. The challenge is named 'Focusing on Life' and every week Sally is sending a prompt on what should we focus the following week.

This week the prompt was... Up close!

The macro shot! 

Start exploring the details of the ordinary up close and glimpse a world that you may never have noticed until you observed it magnified! Get up close and personal with the subject of your choice and snap a macro shot! 

How close can you get?

Aah... a photographic challenge... the best part? I have 4 lenses on my Canon Rebel XT. Prior to this week I knew this much of them: one if for distance shooting (it snaps the most beautiful pictures in the distance), one is for gorgeous soft focus and 2 for normal pictures. Now... which one should I use?! I tried the soft focus one - while I give you it makes a wonderful blurred background it didn't allow for macro details. I (reluctantly) tried the 'big' one, the telescopic lens - of course it wouldn't work... The one I'm using every day is decent, but I knew it is not perfect.

At this point, instead of trying the 4th lens I decided to do the unthinkable: research! Funny enough the first link in google was for Canon lenses (not that the idea behind wouldn't apply to the others :)). And so I discovered I want a lens about 100 mm in length and f 2.8... in the meantime I had all my lengths and f-stops written down - and guess what? While the 4th lens will not go that high in aperture (it's a mere f 4-5.6) it was the only one remotely close in length (90mm).

Now I had my best-in-the-given-conditions lens and this is what happened (pictures are edited for contrast only, no colour correction, no nothing else):

I still have one blooming orchids from back in February! The most beautiful one :)

See how soft and delicate the petal is? quite amazing

This is more for fun than macro-style - the card my mom made for me for March 1st; she's into quilling and I love her snow-drops!

I promised myself I won't  buy flowers this grocery trip but they are mighty smart at our local store: they amass the flowers at the entrance. You come from the mostly chilly outside and get greeted by the amazing scent - and these freesia have a powerful scent! Only the yellow ones :)

Enough with the flowers - next we move to animal kingdom: the 2 African Dwarf frogs William got for his birthday :) I told him we can have frogs - no snakes, though! But I know another mom who said "it's either me or the dog!" and then she took care of one of our dogs for years :) that's a story for another time. If you click on the picture you'll get some interesting detail on his skin.

And last, but surely not least: the glass lizard William got from a gift store in one of our travels last year. We both loved his beautiful colouring!

There it was, my macro world of today.

Thank you for your visit - and thank you for stopping to chat, I love all our lovely conversations.

Please remember to visit the rest of the group - we have gathered at Miss Sally's, as usual. I am sure there are lovely pictures to be seen and interesting stories to be heard. Maybe some tips too!