Meadow Clary, Salvia pratensis
Meadow Clary, Salvia pratensis
0919srbE10_05_23
Jan, 2022Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Near Srbsko, Czech Republic. Srbsko is in a river gorge. The area is filled with ancient mines. On south side of river there is a very small grassland. The plants radically change going up the ridge. On one side of a path there is tall grass and on the other side scrubland filled with wild thyme, mints and marjoram. Even the butterflies are different on the two sides of path. Meadow Clary, Salvia pratense is on the upper side with the thyme and marjoram. It's a popular area for hiking.Time
This image is taken at 18:56, May 23, 2010. Light is already low because the area is encircled with steep rock walls . Temperature was 15C/ 60F and sunset at 19:52. Weather: Overcast, light rain, drizzle. Wind was kicking up at 5-13kmph or 7-9mph. Last shot was taken at 19:47 just at sun down. This is the original camera, 400D with 1.4 extension on the EF 100 2.8 lens. To compensate for low light at dusk, settings: 1/125 f4.0 iso 800. Three shots taken.Lighting
It was overcast day. The small grassland is on a southern ridge, so light fades quickly. On 400D, 800 was maximum iso before images obliterated with noise. Most important control becomes slow shutter and patience. Adding to an extension to a macro lens is an iffy thing. It lengthens the barrel which can cause further complications for light. However, the control over the lens was greatly improved, so it becomes a matter o much practice and working in low light to understand how far the limit can be stretched.Equipment
Original camera 400D with 1.4 extension on the EF 100 2.8. Everything manual. Hand held. Patience and physical stamina.Inspiration
I don't know plants. I am intimidated by plants. They are complicated creatures. Somebody told me, "oh shooting plants must be easier than beetles--they don't move." No, it's not true. Plants flutter, dance, swing about like pendulums, they attack your clothes like orcs. When done battle with shooting a plant, a botanist blithely asks me, "what do the leaves look like?", then I know that I am no match for any plant because thee is always something missing from the picture or some detail forgotten. The plants are significant to the environment and thus to the insect population. So after a while, one looks for the plants to discover the insects.Editing
very simple conversion from raw to jog. The hardest part of any image is identification, writing a description (however bad it might be) and then trying to find interspecies associations such as host-parasite.In my camera bag
In 2010, 60 2.8 and the EF 100 2.8 with the 1.4 extension and the EF 35-135 4-5.6. 2022 is much different as there is 7D, 5DII and 5DII. Lens choice is dependent on purpose and how much weight I can safely carry. The EF 100 2.8 is newly refurbished with new front unit, but not used as I switched to Sigma 105 2.8 as result of nerve injury in left hand. So day trip, 2 cameras + 105 2.8, 60 2.8 and EF 35-135 or other "landscape" lens. Extensions 1.4, 2x and EF 25II. Second shoulder bag for change of clothes, food and tea. Together it's heavy. Now I begin to learn 5DIII which promises to be brilliant macro camera and add the last macro lens in coming year. MP-E 65. Too many people are asking me to shoot ants and aphids-- and that's something that is tedious and done in one small place without much movement.Feedback
The best botanizers are on Twitter, ditto coleopterists and entomologists. In beginning, even in 2010, I went out with list of expectations. Sometimes the list doesn't fit the habitat or sometimes things aren't there that you list. Macro, whether plants or insects, is constant learning, constant study of habitat. Each time is new, different. When somebody challenged me to shoot beetles, it was difficult. Each challenge made me explore a bit more, so each time is always something new, more difficult. Just try. Spend time working outside in deep grass in drizzling rain and wind and just keep trying. I'm always surprised by what others choose or like because I have my "ideal model" for identification and it's not usually my own photography. This surprised me. It really surprised me.
