Archive for category Animals
December 9, 2010 – Bug
Posted by Dave in Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on December 9, 2010
Bug
Thursday, December 9, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1994
Bug!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm macro lens, cheap macro ring flash. 1/160s, f/18.0, ISO 100.
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November 8, 2010 – Alpaca
Posted by Dave in Animals, Picture of the Day on November 8, 2010
Alpaca
Monday, November 8, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=729
Okay, we’re back. Here’s a picture of an alpaca to celebrate! I had an awesome weekend – I went to Yosemite! Just for a day and a half though. And, the weather ended up being really bad for a good part of the time I was there. Oh well, that’s the way it goes sometimes. But, I think I still managed to get a few decent shots. I’ll try to post one or two later this week, after I’ve had a chance to go through them a bit. (That being said, notice how you’re still waiting to see more of the shots I got from the east coast a few weeks ago? Yeah, that’s the way it goes also.)
In the meantime, alpaca.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel XT, Tamron 28-300mm VC lens. 1/200s, f/5.6, ISO 400. Focal length: 130mm.
Popularity: 10%
November 4, 2010 – Bee and Flowers – 300th Post!
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Animals, Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on November 4, 2010
Bee and Flowers
Thursday, November 4, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1960
Hey! Guess what! Here’s a hint: it says in the title. Yeah, this is the 300th Picture of the Day! (Or is it the Picture of the 300th Day?) Woooooooo!!! Crazy, right?? This blog has been going for just under 18 months now. I honestly didn’t think I’d still be sticking with it for this long. But, here we are, for whatever that’s worth.
Since you all stuck with me this far, I’ll go ahead and make a promise to continue posting the most awesome pictures you’ve ever seen paired with hilarious commentary at least until we get to post number 600. Those will be on my other blog, but I’ll keep posting stuff here too, just so you guys don’t feel left out.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 lens. 1/200s, f/5.0, ISO 400. Focal length: 90mm.
Popularity: 15%
October 19, 2010 – Ant
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on October 19, 2010
Ant
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1965
What were you expecting, more fall colors?? Nah, not today. Instead, we’re going to go with an insect picture, just because I know how much my friend-in-law likes them. (That’s what you call somebody who is your friend by marriage, right?)
This one wasn’t taken with my normal macro setup. So I think that’s worth talking about. I took this one while out hiking, whereas most of my insect pictures are taken around my neighborhood. The macro stuff I usually use (macro lens, extension tubes, macro flash, sometimes a tripod or a monopod) can be kind of bulky. It’s fine if I know I’m going to be looking for bugs, but on a hike, bugs aren’t really the goal. So, that led to the question of what I should bring along. Ideally, if I did see a cool bug worth taking a picture of, I’d want to be able to do so. But, all the stuff I’m already bringing on hikes (camera, 3 lenses, plus filters, extra batteries, etc) is kind of annoying, so bringing even more stuff, like a lens specifically for macro and a flash, is not really desirable. So, as a compromise, I’ve started just bringing a couple extension tubes. They’re pretty lightweight and small, and they’re pretty rugged, so you don’t have to take as good of care of them as you do lenses. After doing some experimenting, I decided I could get “close enough” by using the tubes with my telephoto lens. (That worked better than with my wide angle or my standard range lens, for what it’s worth.)
The day I took this picture was really the first time I really tried it out in actual use, and I was glad to see that the hacked-up setup did indeed work “well enough”. It definitely wasn’t as pleasant to use as my regular setup, but it got the job done. Good thing, too, since I was on a hike that was supposed to have really great views (but didn’t, they were only mediocre) on a day that was supposed to have really nice weather (but didn’t, it was that bland featureless overcast that just kills me. And then it started raining), so it was nice to have other things to take pictures of. Although the fact that I didn’t have a flash meant that I had to crank up the ISO, but the results were still passable.
So, to summarize, here’s the setup I bring with me on hikes these days, for those who are curious. Camera (Canon EOS Rebel T1i), with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens attached. I usually have that in my hand the entire hike. Then, I have a small camera bag attached to the side of my backpack. In there, I have two lenses (Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 and Canon 55-250mm IS), two extension tubes, two filters (circular polarizers for the 11-16 and 17-50 – need to get one for the 55-250, but haven’t bothered yet), 3-4 spare batteries (they’re super cheap on eBay), a couple spare memory cards (that I haven’t needed to use in years), and a lens cleaning cloth. That’s all the important stuff anyway. Then, I sometimes also (when I remember) bring along a gorilla pod, but I basically never get around to actually using it. I really should use a tripod more often, for those times when I want to slow down a river or get some depth of field. But… whatever.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens with Opteka extension tubes. 1/250s, f/7.1, ISO 800. Focal length: 55mm (Well, that’s what the lens was set at..)
Popularity: 17%
September 29, 2010 – Bee and Orange Daisy
Posted by Dave in Animals, Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on September 29, 2010
Bee and Orange Daisy
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=2002
Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday! Except that, umm, it’s Wednesday. Yesterday sort of didn’t really happen, at least as far as this blog is concerned. Whatever, get over it. It’s Wednesday! That’s awesome! And you get a bug picture today! Yesss!
There’s not many bugs up here in Seattle. At least, not in my neighborhood. There’s one kind of spider, and there are bees. So, that’s what I get pictures of when I go out to get bug pictures. Really, I should take some field trips to the woods specifically for bug pictures. Maybe I’ll do that at some point, and actually see some different bugs. Actually, that’s really not a bad idea. But it hasn’t happened yet. Well, it happened once, I went to Carkeek Park and actualy found some different bugs. But I mean I should do it again. As far as the flower, I keep calling these things orange daisies, but I actually don’t know if that’s what they actually are. They have a whole bunch of them planted right at the entrance to the south parking lot at the zoo here in Seattle, so I take a lot of pictures of them. Because they’re pretty. And I like to take pictures of pretty things. That’s the way this blog works.
Also, it seems like having a claw sticking out from right next to your eyeball could be useful. I’m not sure for what, but I’m sure you could figure out something to do with it. It’d be a bit creepy, sure, but man, that’d be handy for reading the newspaper and stuff. Or if you had a pair of broken sunglasses, you could totally still use them.
In other news… It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about it, so I’m going to go ahead and give another plug for Flattr.com. Flattr is based on a really cool idea: you pay a couple bucks every month, and then when you see a website or article or something you enjoy or find useful, you click the Flattr button (that looks like the one below). Basically, it’s like a Facebook Like button, except that, at the end of the month, everybody you Flattred that month gets an equal cut of your couple bucks. (Or, it all goes to charity if you don’t find anything you like in a given month..) It’s nice because it’s only a couple bucks, and it makes a big difference to small- and mid-size blogs and such that aren’t big enough to make any money from advertising (or, alternatively, don’t want to bother their readers with advertising. Hi! I’m Dave!) I’ve been doing it for a couple months now, and it’s very cool. The biggest problem I’ve found so far is that the number of websites that have Flattr buttons is still pretty small, so it can be difficult to find things to Flattr. So, if you have a site or a blog, you should absolutely sign up, and let me know! Okay, plug over, that’s the last you’ll hear about it for awhile (other than the boilerplate stuff at the bottom of every post and on the sidebar, but, whatever.)
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm Macro lens, Phoenix macro ring flash. 1/160s, f/18.0, ISO 100. I think I may have also used an extension tube or two.
Popularity: 14%
September 13, 2010 – Gnat
Posted by Dave in Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on September 13, 2010
Gnat - Reverse-mounted lens
Monday, September 13, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1037
Welcome back from the weekend, everyone! This picture was taken almost exactly a year ago, immediately after I had originally gotten my reverse-mount lens adapter. (End of August, to be a little bit more specific.) I chose it today because it’s particularly illustrative of some of the cool parts and some of the not-as-cool parts about using a reverse-mount for macro shots.
First, the good parts. This was taken with a 13 dollar attachment and the 18-55mm kit lens. So, “very minimal financial investment” would be appropriate to say. This bug was freaking tiny. I mean, it’s a gnat. You know how big gnats are. They’re little dots. So to be able to see all of this detail is (I think) really cool. I could go on and on about that, but, that’s the basic idea.
Now, the bad parts. This list is longer than the “good parts” list, but that’s not intended to say that the negatives outweigh the positives, it’s just that I can speak more specifically to the drawbacks. The first is the extremely limited depth of field. One thing I really love about this picture is how well it illustrates that. I mean, you can SEE how narrow of a band you’re working with. That’s a gnat, for god’s sake, and only 2 of his six legs are even discernible. So, forget about using autofocus, you just need to pick a focus point, then move forward and back until your subject is crisp. Then, hopefully your shutter finger is fast enough to get the shot before you sway backwards or forwards by a fraction of a millimeter. (Did I mention that taking these shots is ridiculously aggravating??) This will sound familiar if you read this blog with any frequency, but: a big part of the limited depth of field is just due to macro photography in general. But it’s exacerbated by the fact that you’re using a reverse-mounted lens (as opposed to one that’s macro-specific.) This is because, since the electrical connections for your lens are now at the *front* of the lens, your camera can’t control the aperture, and thus you’re taking pictures with it set wide open. Because of this, using the kit lens (or other less-expensive lens with a usually-undesirable small maximum aperture size) is actually helpful. If you were using a lens that was stuck at f/2.8 or wider, it would be even worse.
My other favorite frustrating thing about using a reverse-mount is that you end up working with an extremely small amount of light. This picture was taken with very-late-afternoon light (probably an hour before sunset) shining directly on the subject. But yet, I still had to resort to using ISO 1600 and a 1/80s shutter speed to even get it to expose. (It was “hand-held”, but I had the camera wedged up against the tree. It was an image-stabilized lens, but your electrical connections aren’t connected, remember?) Full-on mid-day sunshine is better, but still, you’re stuck with higher ISOs and slower shutter speeds, unless you’re using a macro flash. So, I apologize for the ugly graininess, it was really unavoidable. I believe this issue is really unavoidable with extreme macro photography. It may not be quite as bad with a regular-mounted macro-specific lens, I’m not totally sure if different optical setups are able to help with this sort of thing or not, to be honest. But, it’s a true fact that macro photography is a different beast.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Reverse-mounted 18-55mm kit lens. 1/80s, ISO 1600.
Popularity: 15%
August 26, 2010 – Bee or Wasp? No! A fly!
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on August 26, 2010
Fly, Genus Spilomyia
Thursday, August 26, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1652
Anybody know if this is a bee or wasp? I think the answer would lie in what the stinger looked like, or if there even was one. Unfortunately, you can’t see it. Sigh.
UPDATE: A reader named Joan Knapp (see her blog here) pointed out that this is actually a fly, “Genus Spilomyia”. So there you go!
What do you mean that flower looks familiar? Umm, right. This may or may not have been taken at about the same time as yesterday’s picture. Actually, all three pictures I’ve posted this week came from last weekend. I think that’s actually the first time I’ve ever done that. Normally I try to spread things out so as to not saturate the blog with one subject. Plus, then I can post two pictures that are really similar but yet a little bit different months apart, and nobody says anything. Oh, wait, nobody says anything anyway. Right.
Notice how the eyeball patterns are different? Weird. Have I mentioned lately that you guys should all sign up for Flattr?
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens, cheap macro ring flash. 1/160s, f/18.0, ISO 100.
Popularity: 16%
August 16, 2010 – Spider Eating a Bee
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on August 16, 2010
Spider eating a bee
Monday, August 16, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1639
I know, I know. A lot of you really hate this kind of thing. But, this drama was happening just outside my house last night, so I figured I’d share. This guy had built a web that went clear across the little alcove over my front door, which got me right in the face when I walked outside. I suppose after he had nabbed this guy, he got a little bit cocky.
Before last night, it had been awhile since I had brought out my macro ring flash. I don’t really have a good excuse for that though. I really need to get back on it. I suppose one reason I don’t use it that much is that we just don’t have many bugs out here in Seattle. And, the bugs we do have are just the ordinary kind – flies, bees, and spiders. I’ve seen some ridiculously awesome bug pictures out there, of wild and exotic things, and we just don’t really have that stuff around. But, that’s no excuse, I know. I promise, I’ll try and get out at least a couple more times before the end of the summer.
In the meantime… Have I mentioned Flattr.com yet? (Yes. Yes I have.) You all need to check it out. I’m serious. After playing with it over the weekend, I’ve decided that the biggest issue right now is that they need to get more Flattr buttons out there. Meaning, they need more publishers to sign up to give people stuff to appreciate. So, if you’re reading this, and you have a website or a blog or even just a Flickr feed, you should totally sign up. Then, let me know (either by commenting below or sending me an email: dave (at) davefry (dot) net), and I’ll happily click away on whatever Flattr buttons I see. I’m not even going to tell you that you need to Flattr me back, that’s how magnanimous I am. Do it! Seriously! Now!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm macro lens. 1/160s, f/22.0, ISO 100. Focal length: 90mm.
Popularity: 13%
July 21, 2010 – Bee and Daisy
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Animals, Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on July 21, 2010
Bee and Daisy
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1611
So I always seem to gravitate towards posting some kind of macro shot, either of a bug or a flower (or, well, both..) on Fridays. Not exactly sure why I feel that way (that’s a total lie, I know exactly why, I just don’t feel like sharing), but it’s the truth. And, I know, this isn’t Friday, it’s Wednesday. But it might as well be Friday, because I’ll be out of town the next couple days, and thus I won’t be posting anything. Which means that you get to look at this little guy for the rest of the weekend.
This is the first picture I’ve posted (and among the first I took) with my new (to me) Tamron 90mm macro. So far, I’d say I’m reasonably happy with it. I had some decent results, but I also had some that were less than stellar. I’m not going to blame the lens for those just yet though, and to be fair I’ve only taken the lens out on a couple walks around the neighborhood, and it’s definitely shown some promise. Hopefully you’ll all get to see some more pics from it in the coming weeks and months and years (I know, bold statement, given that I’ve only been doing this blog for just over a year now.)
Have a great weekend!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens. 1/250s, f/10.0, ISO 200. Focal length: 90mm (duh!).
Popularity: 13%
July 9, 2010 – Crazy Bug
Posted by Dave in Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on July 9, 2010
Insect
Friday, July 9, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1608
I realized earlier today that it’s been a little while since I’ve posted a crazy macro bug shot. So here you go. I’ve got a fair number of bug shots that I just haven’t for whatever reason put online anywhere yet, so I had to dig this one up in order to post it today. I took this one earlier this spring, when I went on a little field trip to one of the parks here in Seattle (Carkeek Park, for those that know the area), because I was sick of the lack of bugs in my neighborhood. (Crazy, right? That I’d be complaining about there *not being enough* bugs. Weird.) I was using my recently-acquired macro ring flash, and two extension tubes with my Canon 50mm prime. (I don’t know the exact lengths of the extension tubes, but it was the two longer tubes out of the set of 3. With the third one on there, the already tiny working distance was just too short to be of any use..)
It’s really not very hard to get cool bug shots if you’ve got the equipment (and the equipment is surprisingly affordable!), but it does require a lot of patience. Both looking for bugs to take pictures of, as well as not getting too frustrated when they inevitably fly away before you get set up. Also, getting the bugs in focus is a real pain in the ass.
Another issue that I had with this particular set up is what I just hinted at: the small working distance. In order to focus, the bugs are only an inch or two from the front of your lens. So depending on how skittish the bug is, it can be hard to get close enough without them flying away. Also, they move a lot (especially the crawling bugs), so it can be extremely frustrating. But, it’s fun, so it’s worth the perseverance. (Wow, spell check told me I spelled that last word wrong, and after correcting it, it’s totally spelled differently than I would have expected.) Ideally, it would be nice to have a macro set up that would get me a similar level of magnification (or even more!) with a longer working distance. That’s where 100mm and 180mm macro lenses come in to play. Also, my macro flash isn’t adjustable at all, it just fires at full strength every time. Which means that sometimes there’s just no way to NOT overexpose the picture, because I’m already at the smallest aperture my lens will go to, at the lowest ISO my camera will do. I suppose the options would be to either use a different lens (that can go smaller), to manually cover some of the flash, or to use a neutral density filter. Perhaps I’ll try those later.
Anyway, have a great weekend everyone!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens with Opteka macro extension tubes. 1/160s, f/20.0, ISO 100.
Popularity: 17%
June 18, 2010 – Emu
Posted by Dave in Animals, Picture of the Day on June 18, 2010
Emu
Friday, June 18, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=728
Hey everyone! A long time ago (back when my readership consisted of about 10 people (if you counted generously, and included my cat)), I asked what people’s thoughts would be about moving to a 3-post-per-week format, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The response at that time was overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the 5-per-week rhythm (2 out of 2 responses is 100%, right?). But, based on this week’s performance it looks like I’m subconsciously moving in that direction. I’d like to think that next week will be back to normal, but hey, the ice is broken now, right? We’ll see how it goes. 
Before I go any further, I’d like to point out that today I have made it significantly easier to subscribe to the blog to get regular updates. At the bottom of every post (including this one!) there are links to either subscribe to the RSS feed or to receive all of the posts via email. (The email option is brand new, but the RSS feed has actually been around since day 1, but until now it was fairly difficult to find…) So, if you’re currently relying on memory alone to remind you each day to check for a new bite of delicious content, now you no longer have to! Wow! Just go meandering on down to just below the Notes, and click away!
So, about this picture. This is an emu. That’s… uhh… about all I’ve got. See you next week!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel XT, Tamron 28-300mm lens. 1/125s, f/6.3, ISO 400. Focal length: 218mm.
Popularity: 10%
June 11, 2010 – That’s Not Pollen
Posted by Dave in Animals, Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on June 11, 2010
Tiny Red Spiders
Friday, June 11, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1558
When I decided that it would be worth my while to crouch on my knees all the way down there on the ground to take this picture, I thought I was looking at a tiny white flower with little bits of red pollen on it. It wasn’t until I actually looked through the lens that I realized that the little red bits of pollen were MOVING. That was pretty creepy. Then, it wasn’t until even later than that, when I was looking at the images on the big screen back at home, that I realized that those aren’t little red insects, they’re actually little red SPIDERS. I mean, wow, that’s straight up freaky right there.
Just thought I’d share…
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens with Opteka macro extension tubes. 1/160s, f/18.0, ISO 100.
Popularity: 39%