Cactus dew
Mar, 2015Views
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Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
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Magnificent Capture
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at home in London. My dining room table often becomes a makeshift 'studio' for shots like this.Time
It was taken in the morning, using natural light from the window.Lighting
I rarely use flash and prefer to use natural light if I can; this was taken using the light from a large window in our flat.Equipment
I was using a macro attachment at the long end of my 55-200mm zoom lens on my Nikon D7000 camera. As I was using a narrow aperture of f18 and low ISO of 100, I used a tripod too, to allow for the 1.3 second shot required. The macro attachment was a Raynox DCR-250; a really effective and low cost way of getting into macro photography. I've since invested in a macro lens, but I still go back to the Raynox for extreme close up shots like this.Inspiration
I had seen the idea featured in a photography magazine and was inspired to try it for myself. The set-up is pretty simple; just a cactus sprayed with fine droplets of water (from a plant mister). I also put a piece of turquoise craft foam behind it to give the background colour.Editing
As with most of my photos, I didn't do a huge amount of post-processing. I normally just tweak the highlights, shadows and contrast a little in Lightroom, and crop to get the most pleasing composition.In my camera bag
I've since invested in a lighter weight mirrorless camera (a Fujifilm X-T10), which goes everywhere with me. I've got several different lenses for it, as well as filters, macro attachments, tripod, etc, but normally I'll just take the camera and whichever lens takes my mood (currently finding it hard to stop using the 50-230 lens) - and a spare memory card and battery, if I remember!Feedback
Just have fun with it! The joy of creating a shot like this is the magic that reveals itself when you look through the viewfinder. Using a macro lens or attachment reveals a whole other world that you just can't see with the naked eye. I would definitely recommend giving the macro attachment a go, too, before investing in an expensive lens. It's amazingly good quality for very little outlay.
