A Drop Of Water

[Jay Gould]

Hi, Seeing the drop of water quivering in the wind, I wanted to see if I could capture the center of the drop and fade out. The bud was only 1" in length.

Camera: 5D2
Capture date/time: 20 June; 9:01am
Light condition: very overcast
Lens: EF 100 Macro f/2.8
Extender: none
Tube: none
Flash/Comp: none
ISO: 800
Exp Prog: Av
Speed: 1/500 sec
Aperture: f/4.5
Exp Comp: 0
Metering: Evaluative
WB: Auto
AF Drive: One Shot
Tripod: yes

All C&Cs gratefully appreciated!

Cheers, Jay

[Alfred Forns]

Your are going for tough ones but like your approach The selected dof is good to showcase the drop and covering the entire bud would not be an option.

Having a recognizable reflection in the drop would have been great ... not sure I like the second bud included I like the bg and tech info very much !!! Excellent Jay !!! .... btw how are you liking the 100 lens so far?

[Jay Gould]

Your are going for tough ones but like your approach The selected dof is good to showcase the drop and covering the entire bud would not be an option.

Having a recognizable reflection in the drop would have been great ... not sure I like the second bud included I like the bg and tech info very much !!! Excellent Jay !!! .... btw how are you liking the 100 lens so far?

I like the 100 because it accomplishes the task and is light compared to the 180. I need to experiment using extenders and tubes with the 100 to see how much increased working distance can be accomplished.

Since I am starting with a 2.8 I can put on a 2.0 extender and have a 4.5 which shouldn't be a problem.

I found Tell's post about using tubes to increase working distance while maintaining 1:1 rather interesting. I have to test that with a tape measure under controlled conditions.

I am sure that when I return from South American a 180 might be in my future.

I am certainly having fun and enjoying the macro process. Mike has been helpful with his online course; I am also doing a landscape/macro workshop in California for three days with Mike and Jack Graham in October. Then going to Death Valley with Jack for a couple of days.

All good fun!

Cheers, Jay

[Jay Gould]

Hi Al, I am just learning to use the Clone Tool. Here is a repost removing the second bud, and testing the system regarding posting a 2nd image :)

[Mike Moats]

Hey Jay, having fun with the new lens, good job on the clone. If you get a chance to shoot this again run the bud and stem on a diagonal rather then straight across the frame, a diagonal will have a less compose and more natural look. You'll get this in your upcoming session. Well done on your focus and BG. great colors.

[Jay Gould]

Hey Jay, having fun with the new lens, good job on the clone. If you get a chance to shoot this again run the bud and stem on a diagonal rather then straight across the frame, a diagonal will have a less compose and more natural look. You'll get this in your upcoming session. Well done on your focus and BG. great colors.

Mike, while the bud and stem were straight out from the bush, would you turn the lens 45 degrees to shoot it on a diagonal even though not presented that way in situ? I will not be shooting this particular bud again; two hours from the caravan.

What do you mean by "less compose"?

Thanks for your comments.

Jay

[Alfred Forns]

His is doing real well Mike !!!!

Jay that was on tough area to clone I did some work using quick mask and got it a little smoother but not by much !!! Did well !!!

[Julie Kenward]

I definitely like the repost better - that second bud wasn't doing anything for the water drop! I think what Mike was trying to say was by having the bud on a diagonal across the frame it feels more natural and less composed. When a flower goes straight across the frame it looks unnatural and unnatural = man moved it (a.k.a. "composed!).

[Ed Vatza]

Definitely prefer the second attempt. That was a pretty large area to clone. You did well.

[Jay Gould]

Thank you all; just a thought: in this case if the bud/stem were on a diagonal then the drop of water would be unnatural in sticking to the bud rather than running down bud and down the stem. Make sense?

[Mike Moats]

Hey Jay, I would have run the stem on a slight diagonal into the upper right corner, and the drop would still be on the bottom. Take a look at the image I just posted of the grass with dew drops, there hanging from the side of the grass, so sometimes dew drops aren't always on the bottom. In nature not many subjects are perfectly horizontal, vertical or level, people make things that way but in nature things tend to run on angles rather than in perfect allignment, so when I said it looks composed it's because that's how a person would create it rather than nature's way. I realize you said that it was coming straight out of the plant, but nine times out of ten it would probably not come out perfectly level.

[Jay Gould]

Hey Jay, I would have run the stem on a slight diagonal into the upper right corner, and the drop would still be on the bottom.

Mike, do you mean into the upper left corner: the bud pointing to the ULC and the stem towards the LRC?

[Mike Moats]

Hey Jay, got my corners mixed up on the last post, I would have started the stem coming out of the lower right corner and the tip of the bud would end up in the upper left corner. I'm not talking about right in the corners just having the line of the subject on a slight diagonal off from the center line of the frame. Having the stem coming out of the right side in the lower third of the frame, angleing the bud to the upper third of the frame on the left side