Inspired by Amanda at Soulemama.

So titled because I am all about the comedy SEO.

Well there couldn't be a better place than the butterfly farm at Stratford for using the macro lens... Lots of light (for we were in a giant greenhouse, essentially) and hundreds of pretty things to practice on. I couldn't bring myself to lug around a tripod, though, because along with a friend, a toddler, a toddler-friendly bag and a bag with a potty in it that would have been a step too far.

The issues around focal length I mentioned in my last post mean that it's still bloody hard work - macro photography is going to be a discrete, long-term project, I think. Which is good really as it ties in neatly with one of the things I am working on professionally. Squeeeeee!

Anyhow, here are the pretty things. I did try to take some interesting photographs - I think sometimes thought goes out of the window with macro photography as it's so easy to be blown away by the clarity of detail it's possible to capture.

These butterflies are getting it on (note their heart-shaped union: romantic and symbolic):

I dunno. I use the word 'pretty', but close up I think that butterflies are just a little bit freaky. Some appealing features, 'tis true, but then there are the giant googly eyes, the weird furry bits and of course the huge probing noses*. I am sure that they would say exactly the same about me, of course ;-)

*Yes, I know, not strictly true in the case of invertebrates.

... because it makes an ass out of me in particular.

Internal monologue: Well macro photography is going to be super easy, isn't it? I just attach the lens to the camera, fiddle a bit, point it at a lily and simples: Eye candy!

Ahahahahahaha.

Okay, it's not easy. I take it back. So sorry, professionals who make a living from pointing macro lenses at bees' arses. Now I understand why you're doing it, not some ditherer who wanted a pretty close up of a flower.

But here you go anyway:

I can't believe I'm saying this, but most times, I want less bokeh in these macro photos. Y'know, the gorgeous blurriness of the background that makes everything in the foreground look sharper.  But in macro photography, most of the object you're photographing becomes the background by virtue of the scale you're working at. That doesn't mean you want it all smudged out, though.

Manual focusing has helped me to figure out what I really want to concentrate on, but I'm still decreasing the aperture to reduce the bokeh effect. Of course when I do that I end up with very little light... And because I am so close to the thing I'm photographing I've got very little light in any case. Which makes everything more prone to accidental blurriness - and that's further exacerbated by a slower shutter speed. Bah.

To compensate I'm finally starting to refine my use of the ISO settings - this is A Good Thing as I tend to shy away from the higher speeds because of an (irrational) fear of graininess.

Cripes, there's no getting around it. It's definitely time for the tripod. And maybe some lighting ;-)

But in the meantime, here are two photos from the garden:

Beautiful, n'est-ce pas? Those spiders hoard precious things indeedy.

I'm not going to say much about the ins and outs of this post other than, if you're interested in it, email me or ask in the comments and I'll get back to you.

Although G and I have been talking about urbex stuff for a while now, this outing was pretty spontaneous. I think I had unrealistic expectations about what I would be able to capture. The major problems were:

Light. I know it looks pretty light on some of these photographs at least, but it really wasn't - the camera just performs incredibly well in very low light conditions. In fact, it was nearing darkness and in the final minutes I was using the highest ISO setting (on the 5D this is 25600!). Hence the graininess.

Habit. I've never done any low/available light photography before and my choice of lens became prohibitive as the evening progressed. I was forced into focusing manually - something I am only just becoming familiar with when using my macro lens. In those instances I always have lots of light, lots of time, and somewhere comfortable to plonk my ass whilst I fiddle around. I had none of those things here!

Situation. I was somewhere I'd never been, with a group of people (I normally take photos solo), and it was getting dark. Safety was our primary consideration (as well as not damaging the building in any way, of course). To even access the perimeter there were things to climb under, through and over, lots of brambles, and various other considerations I won't get into here... We also had to leave rather hurridly, not long after we got inside.

So without further ado, this is the best of what I got.

The beautiful building:

After clearing two lots of perimeter fencing:

External passage window:

Little clues that show the almost-lost grandeur of this asylum:

(Rotting!) metal fire escape that leads right up to the top of the building:

Fallen ceilings on the first floor:

Second floor completely fallen through (the building suffered an arson attack a couple of months back):

Views of the night sky from a top floor cell:

Corridors of first, second and third floor cells:

It's very sad, really - sad that people who shouldn't have been incarcerated here were, and sad that such a magnificent place is essentially off limits to those who might truly appreciate it. 

Cone Nose is one on Sunday so we're off for a while... See you next week!