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Borrego Springs, CA

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Holy Macro !

After our adventure out in the swamp yesterday, it was back to reality for me as I headed into work this morning.  I was scheduled to rove this morning, and then work the VC this afternoon.  Jack came along for the roving part of my day.  It was a little chilly, so not much was out and moving about this morning.  After an hour or so, we headed for the secret pond.  I often see something good in this secluded area, and today was not a disappointment.

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As we rounded the corner that leads to the field surrounding the pond, there was a group of wild turkeys there.  Spring is definitely in the air, as a couple of tom turkeys were displaying for the hens.  Cool beans!  It seems I always find something of interest when I visit the pond.  I shut off the engine, and we made our way by foot to see if we could a little closer without spooking them.

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They only let us approach so far before they ‘headed for the woods’.  Only us turkeys out here this morning.  Winking smile  This was the first time I’ve been witness to the mating ritual of this species, so I was thrilled.  There was a whole lot of gobbling going on, and the males fanned out their feathers in an effort to show their best sides and bright blue heads to the ladies.  It seemed to me that the hens were rather ambivalent to all this show casing.  I thought that was rather wise on their account.  All that bluster and chest puffing out doesn’t mean they’ll be a good mate…Thinking smile

Remember those sundew plants that I’ve been wanting to get a good picture of?  Well, Jack brought along his macro lens today, and I asked him to take some pictures for me using that lens.  I’ve never had or used one, so I wanted to see what it could do. 

_MG_1802Those sundews are across a watery ditch on the way out from the secret pond, and I am not allowed to go into these kind of contortions yet to get a good picture of them.  He was up for the challenge, and put his macro lens on my camera.

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This was the result.  These carnivorous plants are only about an inch or two across, and the macro lens captured the dewy sticky globs that bugs get stuck on very well I thought.  Once the bugs are stuck, the pads fold up to digest them.  Holy cow!  I’m thinking a macro lens might be in my future as soon as I’m able to fold down and get up close and personal with little things.  Thanks, Jack.

This afternoon, I had a brainstorm while working the VC, and asked Jack if he would like to extend his visit for a few days so we could do a boat trip into the swamp from the west entrance.  I just found out he is up for that adventure, so we’ll rent a motorboat out of Stephen Foster State Park and slowly investigate the dark cypress part of the refuge next Monday.  I’m really excited about that, and hope we have wonderful weather.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

33 comments:

  1. All I can say is "wow". Those plant pictures are fantastic.

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  2. Nice macros!! A macro lens is next on my list.

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  3. I love macro photography and boy those are nice shots! Something for you to add!

    Is running away allowed for you? We had turkeys going through the rituals around here a few years ago and if the males think you might be a threat, they will give chase! One even chased two guys who were remodeling our kitchen into their pickup and then chased their pickup down the street pecking at their tires!

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  4. You sure know how to pick em' Judy. A guy with great toys and a spirit of adventure. Super pictures all around

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  5. Have seen many wild turkeys in GA, but never witnessed that ritual. What a treat!

    Gotta google the macro lens...those sundews are awesome!

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  6. Great shots of the sundews-- what interesting & colorful little plants! Hey, if you're curious about macro photography but not completely sure you'd want to haul around an extra fixed-length lens for it, there are 2 alternatives that could get you near-similar results using your existing telephoto zoom lens-- 1. A Canon "Close Up" Filter (this is a thick chunk of optical glass that screws on the front of your lens and allows you to focus very close to objects. This gives excellent image quality, but is somewhat expensive (couple hundred $$'s). 2. An extension tube. This fits between the camera body and the lens to "extend" the plane of focus which allows the lens to focus closer to a subject than normal. It has no glass elements, so is the lowest-cost option, but can cause some light falloff due to light having to travel a little further from the lens to the camera sensor.

    What's nice about either of these 2 options is that they're small and can fit into your camera bag easily, and can be put on telephoto zoom lenses (allowing you to still have some zoom capability when composing). Even though I have both (and also have a 100mm Macro lens), I find myself shooting most often with the extension tube as it's always available in my bag and very easy to put on and remove.

    Have fun!

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  7. We saw some turkeys the other day - males displaying - but no place to stop for a picture. Saw a whole flock of them later and took a picture but the males were not doing anything interesting. You got some great pictures. Love Jack's macros. I really like the macro photography but I don't have a good lens for it.

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  8. That macro lens did a fantastic job. Amazing what those plants look like up close and personal. Just beautiful. So fun to have somebody to have adventures with.

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  9. You are right, there is always something exciting at the secret pond. Love the macro photos!!

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  10. Macro photography opens up a whole new & exciting world. I priced a couple Nikon macro lenses last summer & the prices nearly gave my wallet a heart attack. I've used extension tubes back in the old 35mm days & they work fine. They too are expensive of course. If I had my druthers I would prefer the lens over tubes. Like you, I am hoping there is a macro lens somewhere in my future as well. Nice colorful photos:))

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  11. I liked the macro shots and agree you should eventually get the lens for yourself.

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  12. OOOO, those macro pictures are wonderful!!! So crisp & beautiful!

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  13. Great pics I've never seen anything like that. I have a macro lens that fits an older camera and forgot all about it until you mentioned macro. LOL

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  14. Been reading up on navigating in the swamp. The book said DO NOT drop corn or bread crumbs.

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  15. It sounds like a lot of us have been thinking about macro lenses recently... there's something about getting seeing up close and personal that is just fascinating. Those sundews photos show every drop of "stick-um". And that boat trip sure sounds fun!

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  16. Judy, those shots of the sundews are fantastic! Along with the dazzling photography, I was especially interested to learn about the "dewy sticky globs" that capture the bugs.

    John and Ellen
    connectedtothevinephotography.blogspot.com

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  17. Your blog is such a pleasure. I look forward to reading each new adventure.

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  18. Love the shots of the turkeys. I saw them do their display last summer at Kissimmee Prairie, but they wouldn't turn around so I just got rear shots.

    I used to have a set of extension tubes for my underwater camera, and I really enjoyed taking those extreme close up shots. They were especially nice underwater since the visibility didn't matter. I hope you get a macro lens because I'm sure you'd use the heck out of it and get some wonderful photos.

    I'm glad Jack was able to get those shots of the sundews. They turned out great. How nice he's extending his trip. Maybe you can talk him into extending it even longer. He seems like a fun guy to have around.

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  19. Oh how those tom turkeys can strut their stuff.

    Great job Jack!

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  20. you and Jack make a nice couple...just saying..glad you are having a nice time. The pics are gorgeous...almost makes me want to take up photography..

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  21. Macro lenses ... I would so love to have one ... maybe one day ... for now, I am replacing my ultra-wide lens, which I need for our fall trip.

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  22. Like Lynne I recommend the extension tube option. Very inexpensive and easy to tote around. Quite often I just slide the one I use the most into the front pocket of my jeans for hikes in case I stumble across something worthy!

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  23. The photos are great. The sundews are so pretty.
    I have built in macro but of course it isn't as powerful as his lens. I swear when I grow up I will have one of those great cameras.

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  24. Yup, gotta watch out for those mating rituals...!

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  25. Great photos, Judy, you're the best.

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  26. Judy you need a macro lens ..you take such fabulous pictures without it, I can't imagine what you could do with a macro....Just for the record.....I like Jack.

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  27. I love macro photography , The photos are great

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  28. Those sundew pictures were fabulous. I love using my macro lens. I need to set up some time to get out and use it. I makes a great portrait lens also. I have the 100mm one.

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