I have been out of commission the past few days with a bad case of the flu, and unfortunately more concerned about coughing up a lung than getting out in the great spring weather we have started to have here.
I just snagged a 1978 Nikon 50 mm 1.4 lens off of Ebay that I plan on reversing and doing some extreme closeup work with. Michael Brown finally mentioned it enough that I bid on one. He seems to know a thing or two about macro work. 😉 It is amazing how many of these things are for sale there, and all still fetching some good prices, even at nearly 30 years old! I don’t think I got the best deal, but I was tired of waiting through the cut-throat auctions that happen on these things. Some wiseguy bumped the auction price up by 30% in the last 10 seconds. So I have an itch to play with that a little.
Hepatica are one of the great starts to spring in Michigan for a nature photographer, so I scanned this one from the archives – was shot back in May 2000 (on film of course, Fuji Velvia). Much of the dreamy appearance is from a multiple exposure – an effect I still like doing in-camera today. Far from being an extreme closeup, but a reminder that spring is definitely here at last.
Take care Mark, feel better soon.
Hi Mark…. Hopefully by now you’re on the mend. Looking forward to seeing what you produce with your new lens. I really like the softness of this image that you have created here.
G’day Mark,
Man, I’d forgotten what a bada** photographer you are.
Hope you get to feeling better soon.
Cheers
Carl
Hey Mark, oustanding image, sorry to hear about your flu.
Thank you all.
I wish I could say the same Daniel. This stuff just kicks my butt enough that I want to crawl into a hole.
Forget about the flu! Some of my best work comes from that wonderfully altered state of mind you get when you are congested to the gills. 🙂
cool beans, I invested in a 50mm too via ebay. (Probably not as pricey as yours though). I still need to get a ring to attach it to my 100mm macro though, something I keep putting off.
Lovely image of the hepatica, one of my fav. wildflowers.. their colors are so varied and delicate. hope you’re feeling better 🙂
Very beautiful image. The hepaticas are just starting to bloom here as well as the bloodroot. Get well!
This is an absolutely beautiful shot Mark!
The comp and overall tones really grab!!
Have fun with the 50mm, but get yourself together first and keep that lung down!! 🙂
Mark, I hope that you get to feeling 100% soon and can get back out into the woods! 🙂 This is a very beautiful and dreamy shot.