Experimenting with photography

December proved busier than expected, prior to Christmas, although it's not over yet.  I did however get the opportunity to try out some new photography, inspired in part by a young photography student who is a member of the local camera club that I recently joined.

I invested first in some 'dumb' extension tubes, and took this image of a Hyacinth blooming:

It was readily obvious however that I needed the ones that carry the electric current for focusing, etc., so having invested a total of £30 in both sets I was able to photograph an Orchid that Helen has rescued from its near-death experience, with impressive results I think:

Next to learn more about post-processing and the use of flash, lots of experimenting to come!

I also tried extreme long-distance, using the biggest zoom and zoom extender I have (500x + 2x) with a remote sensor trigger and with the mirror locked-up in the camera to reduce camera shake (and with the lenses' own image stabliser turned off).   The resulting image of a waxing moon is also very pleasing:

Meanwhile the sun has come out again in Cornwall so we're thinking about downing the garden spades and heading out to enjoy it soon...