Macro photography

Here is a shot of some lichen growing on a stump; it is probably Cladonia deformis, common name: “lesser sulphur cup”. It was shot using a 1x to 5x Canon macro lens. Note the spores that are undetectable to the unaided eye. The lichen pictured are about 1cm in length.

Back to the Kick Back Ranch

After a year on the prairies of northwestern Wyoming, I am back home in western Montana. Any comparison would be an understatement, so I will let the photo speak for itself.

The Krappy Kamera Contest

Every year Soho Photo Gallery in New York City hosts the Krappy Kamera Contest. The only criterion for submission is that the camera be plastic or toys. Most people choose to use a Holga, a $17.00 Chinese Toy Camera known for its unpredictable results. Other cameras are old Brownies and pinhole cameras made from an oatmeal carton. The judges consider the Instamatic to be too technologically advanced. Here is a link to an article from the 2005 contest: http://www.cameraarts.com/2005_web_extras/CA46-NewKrappy.pdf
As you can see, amazing art can be accomplished by these simple optical devices.
I must admit I am both too lazy and too cheap to expand my art into the world of Holga and return to the world of film. Therefore I have taken a 12.8 megabyte photo taken with a Canon 5d and a 17-40 mm “L” lens and processed it to look like it was taken with a $17.00 Camera. This was done in Photoshop Elements with the 55mm plug-in. First step was to crop it square like the Holga 6X6, then to use software to warm mist, making it look like sepia. The next step was to vignette to simulate the light fall off from a plastic lens, then finally soften it to simulate light leaks which are common in the cheapest of cameras. Although this photo will not win any contest, I think it does capture the art of being cheap.