Phil's photos with the keyword: Close up

British coins photographed with my recently acquired 60mm macro lens......at it's closest focus the 5p coin fills the frame (and slightly overflows it). This is an old lens (first released in the 1980s I believe) which I bought "pre-owned" but it is also an excellent general-purpose and / or portrait lens for Nikon APS-C cameras where it has the equivalent field-of-view of a 90mm lens on a full-frame camera. Camera: NIkon D500 Lens: AF Micro Nikkor 60mm f2.8 Software: Nikon Capture NX2 and Gimp 2

Phalaenopsis orchid "Happy Rose" photographed using back-light (the sky) which gives a more accurate idea of the colours than my previous attempts using flash. Camera: Nikon D500 Lens: AF Micro Nikkor 60mm f2.8 Processed with Nikon Capture NX2 and Pixlr Editor

A test shot with my new macro lens which I received today, the AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 from Nikon. I got this lens in "used but mint" condition for 1/3 of the normal retail price so I'm very pleased with the results so far. It can also be used as a standard / portrait lens.....with a Nikon APS-C (DX) camera it produces the same field-of-view as a 90mm lens would on a full-frame camera. (The coin is "Royal Arms" issued in 2019 by the Royal Mint). Camera: Nikon D500 Lens: AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 Software: Nikon Capture NX2 (unprocessed except for a slight crop).

Phalaenopsis (known as "Moth Orchids" and abbreviated "Phal" in the horticultural trade) is an orchid genus of approximately 60 species. Phalaenopsis is one of the most popular orchids in the trade through the development of many artificial hybrids. It is native to southern China, Taiwan, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia (Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.), New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Queensland. (Wikipedia). Camera: Sony RX100 compact. Processed with NIkon Capture NX2.

Banks of Solar storage batteries inside the old mill (which is now a museum) at Hardcastle Crags in West Yorkshire, England. Photographed with a Nikon D300s camera and AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2 and PicMonkey.

Ananas is a plant genus of the Bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae), native to South America and Central America and which includes the species Ananas comosus, the pineapple. This genus originated in Mesoamerica and was brought to the Caribbean Islands by the Carib natives. In 1493 Christopher Columbus saw plants of this genus in Guadeloupe. It was brought from Brazil to Europe and from there was distributed to the Pacific Islands by the Spanish and the English. Commercial pineapple plantations were established in Hawaii, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Florida and Cuba. The pineapple has become one of the world's most popular fruits. The tough leaves grow in large rosettes, arising basally from a crown. These leaves are long and lanceolate with a serrate or thorny margin. The flowers, arising from the heart of the rosette, each have their own sepals. They grow into a compact head on a short, robust stalk. The sepals become fleshy and juicy and develop into the well-known complex form of the pseudocarp fruit, crowned by a rosette of leaves. (Wikipedia (edited)). Camera: Sony RX100 Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

Wild flowers photographed in Raven's Clough Wood near Brierfield in North-West England. I'm not certain what these are....they appear to be members of the Orchidaceae family (Orchids), probably one of the "Marsh Orchids" (Dactylorhiza) which can be very variable in appearance and difficult to identify. Camera: Sony RX100. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

Just a snapshot of a pair of crystal dolphins in a glass sphere....it took quite a few attempts to get the focus right and the reflections in the right place. Camera: Nikon D300s Lens: AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

A high ISO test shot with my new telephoto lens, a Nikkor AF-S VR 70-300mm ED zoom. Camera Nikon D300s. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

A Galileo thermometer (or Galilean thermometer) is a thermometer made of a sealed glass cylinder containing a clear liquid and several glass vessels of varying mass. As the temperature changes, the individual floats rise or fall in proportion to their respective weights and the density of the surrounding liquid. It is named after Galileo Galilei because he discovered the principle on which this thermometer is based—that the density of a liquid changes in proportion to its temperature. (Wikipedia). A high ISO test shot with my new telephoto lens, a Nikkor AF-S VR 70-300mm ED zoom. Camera Nikon D300s. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2. More information here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_thermometer

Another test shot taken with my new Samyang 8mm "fisheye" lens. This lens produces a 180 degree (measured diagonally) full-frame field-of-view on a APS-C camera. This is a manual-focus lens (with non-Nikon cameras the exposure settings are also manual) and although it is quite difficult to focus...it took me three attempts to get this shot focussed as the bike was in the shade underneath bushes.....the results so far have been excellent. Camera: Nikon D300s + Samyang 8mm full-frame fisheye lens. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

In Norse mythology a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting half of those who die in battle, the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin whilst the other half go to the goddess Freyja's afterlife field, Fólkvangr. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses. (Wikipedia). Camera Sony RX100. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

Some of the harmonicas from my collection. The "Art Deco" ones (at the top and on both sides of this photo) date from the 1930s whilst the others are more recent dating from the 1960s to the present. The red Hohner (top) was made for the World Trade Fair in Chicago, 1933. Some of the oldest ones were in a very bad condition when I bought them but I've cleaned and restored them and they all now work well. Camera Sony RX100. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

Photographed on farmland near Burnley, North-West England. This was taken with an "ultra-wide" Samyang 10mm manual-focus lens from a distance of about 1 foot.....the horse appears to be smiling although he / she was actually trying to eat the camera. Camera: Nikon D300s Lens: Samyang 10mm f2.8 Processed with Nikon Capture NX2

Wild flowers of the Malva family (which are commonly known in this country as "Mallow") photographed near Pendle Water, Brierfield, in the North-West of England. I'm not sure which variety these are....there are many variations in shape and colour including a "Tree Mallow" which can grow to 6 feet (approx. 2 metres) or more. Camera: Nikon D300s. Lens: Samyang 10mm f2.8

A close-up test shot with my new lens photographed in a field next to the cemetery in Barrowford, Lancashire. The lens (hood) wouldn't fit through the fence and the horse wouldn't keep still but I think the result is probably better than the way I had originally intended. Title from the film "Casablanca". Camera Nikon D300s. Lens Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 DX.

A group of Summer flowers, mostly geraniums and pansies, photographed today on Brierfield railway station whilst waiting for a (delayed, as usual) train. The trains are ancient, uncomfortable and seldom run on time but the station, at least, has been improved with the addition of a small garden and flower boxes. Camera Sony RX100 and processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

A Sterling Silver £5 coin from Gibraltar, photographed with a Sony RX100 camera and processed with Nikon Capture NX2. "England expects that every man will do his duty" was a signal sent by Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, from his flagship HMS Victory as the Battle of Trafalgar was about to commence on 21 October 1805. Trafalgar was the decisive naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. It gave the United Kingdom control of the seas, removing all possibility of an invasion and conquest of Britain. Although there was much confusion surrounding the wording of the signal in the aftermath of the battle, the significance of the victory and Nelson's death during the battle led to the phrase becoming embedded in the English psyche and it has been regularly quoted, paraphrased and referenced up to the modern day. As the British fleet closed with the opposing combined fleets of France and Spain, Lord Nelson signalled all the necessary battle instructions to his ships. However, aware of the momentousness of events to come, Lord Nelson felt that something extra was required. He instructed his signal officer, Lieutenant John Pasco, to signal to the fleet as quickly as possible the message "England confides [i.e. is confident] that every man will do his duty." Pasco suggested to Nelson that "expects" be substituted for "confides" since the former word was in the signal book whereas "confides" would have to be spelt out letter-by-letter. Nelson agreed to the change (even though 'expects' gave a less trusting impression than 'confides'): Thus, at around 11:45 am on 21 October 1805, the most famous naval signal in British history was sent. The exact time the signal was sent is not known (one account puts it as early as 10:30) as the message was repeated throughout the fleet and logs would have been written up after the battle but Pasco puts it at "about a quarter to noon" and logs from other ships of the line also put it close to this time (Wikipedia).