18 April 2011

Mosaic Monday: Bug Brigade


Time for Mosaic Monday, and I'm ready this week (for a change) thanks to a major break in my schedule that so fortuitously coincides with gardening season. One of the more surprising and fun discoveries I made last year with my DSLR (purchased on Ebay with my modest tax refund) was how clearly I could photograph bugs. It isn't always intentional; sometimes while I'm focusing on a flower, a bug I didn't notice with the naked eye will suddenly become clear in the viewfinder, as with the tiny yellow spider in the middle row, or land squarely in the frame, as the moth did on the gaillardia next to the spider image.

I also appreciate being able to choose between autofocus and manual focus; the spider definitely needed manual focus (as well as manual aperture and shutter speed) so that I could choose the depth of field and the exact area of focus, whereas I was lucky to catch the painted lady butterfly at bottom left with autofocus just before it flew away. I can also switch quickly, as I did for the photo at right: this lovely field of wildflowers near the crest of the Magdalenas suddenly offered a more interesting shot when the fly landed right in front of me, so I switched to manual to be sure I caught it in focus. (Confession: I had to take four shots to get one that was in focus. Just another reason I LOVE digital: no wasted prints for the 90% of shots that don't come out so well.)

6 comments:

Lisa Gordon said...

Anna, this is just fantastic. I love it!!
Great work.

Mirage said...

I love the title! And the photos are crisp but the one below (blue flower below post) is the most stunning!

Gypsea Nurse said...

ok.. can we say stunning?
Gorgeous pics!
Smiles~
C

By the Bluegrass said...

Wow! This is such a cool and beautiful mosaic. I just love it. Can you tell me what type of camera you have that you found on ebay? By reading your bio, we seem to have some common interests. I have been looking into graduate programs, too. I really use to be into making jewelry. I'm more into sewing these days. I also hope that my kids see that following one's passions is important, even for a parent.
xo,
Sena

Mary said...

Oh, these are wonderful, Anna! I just love that moment of serendipity when some fascinating little creature crawls or flies into view... Thanks for sharing your talent at MM. :)

Silver Jewelry said...

This is such a cute post! i love it! hope u r doing well!
Its really a great.