A dragonfly prepares for takeoff between flights. He makes sure that all fuel lines are disconnected, landing gear is prepped, and wings are warmed up. Once he's ready, or when he spots prey, he'll take off with a dizzying blast of movement, setting forth like a bullet fired from a gun.
I had never tried using my 75-300mm lens for macro work until last year. I've owned one since 2008 or so, but only tried using it for far-off subjects. Last summer, I began trying it out for macro work. It's not the best, but it gives me something to work with. I also managed to obtain a 60mm f/2.8 macro, and this is one of my earliest captures on it. At the time, I had a less than complete knowledge of apertures and depth of field. I've learned a lot since then. However, I feel like this shot really came out as a quality composition. The bokeh was excellent. The sharpness of the honeybee and the foreground flower. I am totally satisfied with this. I was not so satisfied with my hands and knees, though. This flower was just off a path paved with some kind of glued-together pebbles, and it hurts to sit in it.
A much more dramatic take on the Forestville house, Forsaken is a five exposure HDR during a stormy day. I discovered this house while running CPO checks on several pools out in Wake Forest last summer. The owner asked me to leave the back half of the property after I passed a No Trespassing sign. After a long talk, I learned that I can actually just look up the property owner and ask permission. Even though I never got to explore the property, I'm glad I got to talk to him because it helped me out with future abandonment endeavors. Awards and Recognition: roguemark Gallery October 2014
