229/365: "There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

4 more pictures in notes above! Please visit the stamen pictures and roll your mouse over the image to see what the full size flower looks like :)

Yesterday's pictures of a tiny baby spider had me thinking that it's time to add another layer of challenge to my photography, in the form of the Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro conversion lens. Even though we've had this lens for a couple of years, I wanted to have ample time to practice with my 100mm lens first. Macro lenses have a steep learning curve and can be very frustrating to use until you understand how to use them properly. In fact, about 100,000 pictures down the road, I *STILL* and *WILL ALWAYS* take plenty of garbage pictures. It's part of the price tag of working in macro. :)

I'm really glad I waited to use this conversion lens. Instead of becoming instantly annoyed, I was immediately comfortable using it, since I've had so much practice learning to judge distance and dof with my 100mm. The closer you get to a subject with a macro lens, the more razor thin the focus slice is, and the Raynox is unforgiving with the hair-thin dof. However, since I have used my 100mm at close range so much, I was prepared and pleasantly surprised that I already knew what to do with the Raynox, what types of shots and angles to try for the best possible outcome. With such a fine slice of focus, you want to try for a flat or side shot, and don't even bother with really small apertures like f/2.8. So I upped mine to f/6.3, compensated for the loss of light from the conversion lens by upping my ISO to 320, and looked for subjects that were very well lit for the best probability of a crisp picture. And, just to toss in a bit more complexity, all of these pictures today were taken with manual focus because the subject area is too small to get accurate auto focus.

When I noticed this "flying green grain of rice" land on a Star Thistle blossom, I saw a great opportunity to practice! I was able to take about 6-8 pictures, some of which were totally blurry, a couple that were just a bit off, one that wasn't half bad, and this one, which I am delighted by!! The lighting could be better but I am not complaining! My first practice session with this conversion lens and I got THIS picture!!! There are prisms visible in the compound eye and check out that amazing pebbly texture on the back! And that jewel-like emerald green! This tiny Sweat Bee is only about the size of a grain of rice!!! AMAZING!!!! I'm totally delighted. If I use a tripod or even a monopod, I'll have even better luck with clarity. Very promising!

Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895/1896 – February 17, 1986) was an Indian speaker and writer on philosophical and spiritual subjects. In his early life he was groomed to be the new World Teacher but later rejected this mantle and disbanded the organisation behind it. His subject matter included psychological revolution, the nature of mind, meditation, inquiry, human relationships, and bringing about radical change in society. He constantly stressed the need for a revolution in the psyche of every human being and emphasized that such revolution cannot be brought about by any external entity, be it religious, political, or social. Wikipedia: Jiddu Krishnamurti

Explored on August 18, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.