It is still the Sigma 70/2.8 that I use, and I still have not shot any typical macro image. The Image of the Day is again a landscape. Who said, you can’t do epic landscapes with a 70? There is even a swan in this image 🙂
I’ve taken it at f8, 1/250s and ISO 200. Mind, this lens is not stabilized, so you need a pretty high shutter speed if you don’t use a tripod. But when you keep it steady, Goodness, this lens is as sharp as it gets, and it easily outperforms the resolution of the D300’s 12.2 megapixel sensor.
From tranquil late-afternoon landscape to high-tension black and white pattern: I found this stack of lumber on my way to the river in the first image. It’s again f8, this time at 1/400s. For the toning I have used a gradient mapping. That’s something I have never done before, the result is a little bit random, but I like it and will probably dig a little deeper that way.
The next one is the most “macro” as it gets today. Again f8, 1/100s, but this time I went pretty near. Tension again, and a little morbidity.
The last one is a hut at the side of the street. It belongs to a farm, and this is not the first image I’ve taken from it. This time I did it mostly as a resolution test. The grain of the wood is a pretty good indicator for that, and again the result is tack sharp.
That’s it for today. Four images, four genres, four good uses for a macro lens, and again I feel what I always feel when I learn to use a new prime: It’s incredibly exciting. You have a fixed frame, a fixed perspective, very simple conditions, and nothing sparks creativity as much as that. All these restrictions come together, only to set you free. Try that with a zoom!
The Song of the Day is “Yes, The River Knows” from the much underrated 1968 Doors album “Waiting for the Sun”. See a video on YouTube.