Little green frogs

For years I thought green frogs were some kind of myth since I could never spot one.
Then one day somebody told me that if I looked carefully in the pond I would probably spot some.
And I did.


adapted Kodak Ektanon 102mm f2.7  1/200sec

Not larger than 3 cm most of them are very shy and hide under leaves or hop away if approached.
It took some patience and steady hands with my favorite Kodak Cine lenses to finally capture them.


adapted Kodak Ektanon 102mm f2.7  1/500sec



adapted Kodak Ektanon 102mm f2.7  1/400sec



adapted Kodak Ektanon 102mm f2.7  1/100sec


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Bokeh of a vintage lens

A 50 year old vintage lens from Germany is my favorite one for close-up photography.
It renders the out-of-focus areas with a creamy bokeh and tends to create "bubbles" on the highlights.
Mounted with extension rings it is often used hand held on my mirrorless cameras.



Often images look closer to watercolors than photographs; the shallow depth of field has blurry backgrounds with edges that seem to "bleed" softly into the next color.



The Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9 is a manual focus lens, very small in size compared to modern lenses. Not exceptionally sharp, it might not please the perfectionist wanting to achieve details in every twig or grass blade but it is the lens that I regularly take on my outdoor trips to recreate the "feel" of  a place more than just accurately record it.



Somebody once said: I am not interested in image quality, I am interested in quality images.

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Bug invasion

They favored a particular root of a tree, gathering en-masse.
I am not sure what was going on but at close inspection the bugs were very colorful.


PEN G.Zuiko 38mm f1.8   @5.6  1/20sec

Bee in pigface

Flowering pigface (plant) on the beach attracting bees.


F.Zuiko 38mm f1.8 PEN-F  @f11  1/500sec 

Detail in orange

Maybe is the color what drew me closer to the shape of this paper daisy.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9 

Tree flowers

The spring manifests itself best with the flowers in the trees.
The fields are usually bare where I live but the trees can really put on a wild display.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f2.9   @ f4 1/1000sec


Helios 44-2 58mm f2   @ f8 1/350sec


Helios 44-2 58mm f2   @ f5.6 1/1000sec

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Heavy dew on the moth

Early morning, waiting for the dew to evaporate.


SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4  @f2.8  1/90sec

Lyrebird

I was very excited when I came across this feather on my trip.
I often hear the lyrebird singing and mimicking other birds but they are very elusive and they are easily startled.  Feeding on the ground of the canopy I see their digging looking for insect and worms but only twice I have managed to spot them.

The structure of the lyrebird feather, close up, is fascinating
It seems that the combination of fluff and stiffer feather might be from a juvenile bird.


SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4  @f8  1/30sec


SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4  @f11  1sec

Fatal attraction

Lured by the sweet secretion of the Sundew plant the fly doesn't know it will be its last moments.


Olympus Macro 60mm  f5.6 1/350sec
carnivorous plant  Drosera Pallida

Shape, light and color

Not all photographs have to tell a story, show a place or record an event; there are some that appeal to me purely from the aesthetic point of view.
Shape, color and lighting can be the only drawing elements, and images that first appear abstract but reveal themselves when observed for longer hold a special interest.


Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm f4 1/180sec



Meyer Optik Trioplan 50mm   f8 1/750sec