Yesterday was a rainy, blah and grey day. When the rain finally eased off, I thought it would be a good idea to try to get some macro shots of raindrops before it started raining again. We have a small area right near the side porch where there is a big stump which is slowly falling apart, and it is surrounded by dwarf Nandina shrubs. When a stump is falling into decay, all sorts of small little plants grow on it and it develops neat hills and valleys. The Nandinas have lovely colored leaves in the fall and winter, red, reddish-green and different shades of green. The shrubs are about 2 feet from the stumps, and in the past we have had that area planted in impatiens and it looks lovely.
I thought through what I would need. I put on an old pair of capri pants, so I wouldn't have the bottoms dragging in the wetness. I attached my camera to a tripod that is only about 2 feet tall, and put on my 100 mm lens. I attached the remote to the camera, slipped on some plastic shoes and picked up an old packing blanket in the garage that I could fold up and sit on. I was set.
Having folded the blanket into 4 layers, I sat down by the stump. It didn't take me long to find out that the tripod wanted to sink into the wet earth, the leaves of nearby bushes were heavily laden with water, and even through 4 layers, the seat of my pants were soaked and muddy. My shoes slid around and my body did not like bending and unbending. Trying to make sure the tripod didn't move, and then doing manual focusing was how I spent most of my time. I was wet and muddy by the time I came back into the house, but overall, I was pretty pleased with my first try at getting raindrops. The picture below is of raindrops on Nandina leaves, and look at the tiny little face which was waiting for me! It is a reflection of the surrounding leaves. I have some others too, so I will share them with you in later posts.
The first picture is the shot in its raw state, the second is my final processed cut. What do you think?
I thought through what I would need. I put on an old pair of capri pants, so I wouldn't have the bottoms dragging in the wetness. I attached my camera to a tripod that is only about 2 feet tall, and put on my 100 mm lens. I attached the remote to the camera, slipped on some plastic shoes and picked up an old packing blanket in the garage that I could fold up and sit on. I was set.
Having folded the blanket into 4 layers, I sat down by the stump. It didn't take me long to find out that the tripod wanted to sink into the wet earth, the leaves of nearby bushes were heavily laden with water, and even through 4 layers, the seat of my pants were soaked and muddy. My shoes slid around and my body did not like bending and unbending. Trying to make sure the tripod didn't move, and then doing manual focusing was how I spent most of my time. I was wet and muddy by the time I came back into the house, but overall, I was pretty pleased with my first try at getting raindrops. The picture below is of raindrops on Nandina leaves, and look at the tiny little face which was waiting for me! It is a reflection of the surrounding leaves. I have some others too, so I will share them with you in later posts.
The first picture is the shot in its raw state, the second is my final processed cut. What do you think?
