Cumberland Knob Macro Photography

Yesterday I had the whole day off!!(sort of).  I took the gf to work, grabbed the camera, and headed down to the Cumberland Knob in North Carolina.  I made sure to bring my almost functioning Tokina 100mm 2.8 Macro(I got it sandy at the beach and now it won't focus to infinity:(.
 The Cumberland Knob is located just south of the V.A./N.C. line on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  There you will find a large picnic area, a 2.5 mile hiking trail, an awesome little creek at the bottom of a ravine, and TONS of macro opportunities!  I also had the (soon to be replaced) Canon 24mm 2.8, and the Sigma 50mm 1.4.

I like shooting macro for a couple of reasons... One is, the 'Grand Vista' doesn't happen as often in the Southeast as it did back home, so I try to 'focus' on different, smaller things.  The other reason is that I when I look through a macro lens at full magnification, I feel like I can see the backbone of our entire ecosystem, and that is pretty cool.  Enjoy...



Close Focus with the Sigma provides wonderful bokeh




It's difficult to match up the plane of focus with the subject sometimes(notice the blurry edges of the web)




A single strand of webbing crosses in front of a completed web in the background.




The green here is holding on strong, but the yellow is showing its face in spots..






Some TINY mushrooms growing on top of a stump.



This was fun to photograph.  I used live view and the Canon Depth of Field Preview to help me select the perfect focus point and aperture.





I had the pleasure of watching a spider make one of these tightly wound webs.



He hangs in a heart:)

DUN DUN DUN!!!  Fall is coming!!

A colorful leaf(shot with 24mm)

(shot with Sigma 50mm)

A mushroom and a rock sharing some space on the forest floor.

A splash of bright yellow in a dark green forest.

This little photo walk got me super excited for the fall!  But I will take the warm weather as long as it feels like staying:)

A new dress, a new lens

The gf recently got a new dress, so I got a new lens to match the occasion.  After going back and forth for quite sometime, I ended up purchasing a Sigma 50mm 1.4 over the Canon 50mm 1.4.   It's kind of a gamble when you buy third party lenses, but I feel like this one paid off.  The images are awesomely sharp, the bokeh is very creamy, and the lens feels nice mounted to the camera(bigger/heavier than the canon).  I have shot with the Canon 50mm 1.4 multiple times and have nothing negative to say about it, but lets face it, after almost 20yrs, Canon should consider an update:)

Among other lenses considered were the Ziess 50mm 1.4, and the Canon 50mm 1.2L.  I had almost decided on the Ziess, but its straight aperture blades and manual focus were a bit of a killer, especially since it retails for $300 more than the Sigma.  I briefly considered the Canon 50mm 1.2L, but realized that with that much cash($1350), I could purchase a lens, a tripod, and a plane ticket out west:)  This was a no brainer with my current photography habits:)

Here are some images of my wonderful girlfriend Ashley:)  All shot with the Sigma 50mm 1.4.  And all shot mostly wide open.  Enjoy...

The Camera You have with You

"Your best camera is the one you have with you"- a gazillion (correct) people

I remember when I first started enjoying photography, I would carry my camera everywhere.  I always had my bag around my shoulder.  As my life has gathered other responsibilities(like a real job) I use my phone more and more to take photos.  A camera phone will never replace a stand alone digital camera(at least not until they put an actual lens into them) but having the ability to snap, edit, and share photos on the go is something that we all have come to enjoy... and with good results.  Here are a few images shot with a Samsung Charge smartphone. 

I left some of them in full resolution, so you may have to scroll to see the entire image.  Unless you have a high resolution screen(unlike me:)

Ashley at Devil Canyon(in camera panorama)

The Green River, UT

Macro Fun

A tunnel in Billings, MT

Lady bug next to a HUGE PITFALL

The Neighbors across the street.

Just down the road

Plants plants everywhere here..

The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, UT

Life's a Myrtle Beach

 Recently I had the opportunity to meet the gf and her Sister's family down in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., where they rented a condo for a week.  The waves off of this beach are always awesome, and the weather is usually sweet.  The sunrises are nice because, not only are they beautiful, but you get to experience them with less people.  There is something cool about being in a commercial area while the park/hotel employees are getting ready for the hustle of the day(setting up umbrellas and chairs, beach cleaning), and early morning runners and walkers are the only folks out and about.




 


A couple hotels right on the beach(the condo we rented was just behind them)




Ashley watching the sun peak out..

Ashley Soaking it all in..




You like to boogy?





 

Panorama at Sunrise


 

Storm clouds off the coast



A little lightning after sunset



Have a great week everyone!

 



Moab, UT

While planning this little trip to Moab, Utah, I really wanted to stay away from backpacking.  Mainly because of the heat, and the fact that there is pretty much no water on many of the hikes(which means you are packing a lot of water, along with your camera/camping gear).

We ended up deciding on a rafting trip to consume most of our time there.  This looked like a totally awesome way to stay cool and hydrated, while being much less expensive than renting a jeep.  We were set.

The night before the trip, I stayed up waaaaay too late getting ready/watching TV/eating Twizzlers.  Once I was mostly packed, I decided to get a quick nap in before heading to the airport. 
I live in a small town, so the airport is about 110 miles away, which means it would be wise for me to leave my house 4hrs before my flight leaves(keeping the 2hr at the airport rule).  I set my alarm for 2 a.m.(6am flight). 

I slept like a baby....  and then I woke up, with no alarm blaring, I checked the time.... 3:15am.  Oh Shit.  I raced to the shower to rinse off the night, grabbed my bag and headed out the door.  I was traveling 95-100mph at times, racing down the interstate towards Charlotte. 

Based on the fact that there are pictures further down in this post, I made it to the airport.  But without my tripod(I know, serious photographer offense) or a jacket.  So I phoned my buddy about a hundred times(forgetting that they were two hours behind me in mountain time) to see if he could bring a spare.

He complained about being woken up but did inform me that he would be bringing a tripod for me.  It was a Kodak, suitable for a point and shoot, maybe a mirror-less camera, but not near enough support for a Canon 5d Mark ii with a 16-35 2.8 L ii mounted to it:)  Oh well...

My buddies picked me up in downtown Denver.  I paid $22 dollars to get shuttled there so I could pick up a lens cap for my macro lens(which I later found out wasn't working properly... I'll spare you that story)

Once the guys picked me up, we were off.  5hrs to Moab. 

Once we got there, we checked in to the raft rental place, got a hotel room, and headed for Arches National Park to catch the sunset and take some starry night shots.

My buddies had never been here before, so watching them get excited was totally awesome.  It was great to share this experience. 




Delicate Arch with just a touch of lightpainting from the left






Not bad for 25,000 ISO

 

Hanging out at Delicate Arch :)



At 1am, we were out.  Of to catch a quick bit of sleep, then it was rafting time!




A frog mills about on the trail back from Delicate Arch(Shot with Droid Charge, lit by maglight)

 

Most of the rafting days kind of blurred into one.  We were low on food(because we didn't bring enough) we ran out of sunblock(I love my base tan), and the days dragged on and on... just like they should.

All in all, it was a flat-water paradise...



Campsite - Day 1




Day Two - Carving deeper into the Labyrinth Canyon

After packing up from night #2, we followed the river around a HUGE bend called Bowtie Bend.  Shortly after this bend, there is a place in the rock that has eroded down where you can scramble up the rocks and get to place where you can see two sections of the river...




Enrique and Mike making the climb.. This kinda gives a sense of how huge this place is..




The open portion of the canyon in the upper right is my destination here...




Same river, great view.







Campsite - Day 3(final night) The Distortion on the 16-35 L ii is very apparent here.



A view of the Sunrise from just in front of the tent.

  The final day of rafting was a short one, which ended with a Do-nut Burger from Milt's, a nice drive to Dead Horse Point, and of photograph of the rainy scene...



Dead Tree at Dead Horse Point, overlooking the Green River



The last day, we grabbed a sunrise at Dead Horse Point, drove through the Colorado National Monument, and ate dinner at the Tilted Kilt in Denver... 

Sunrise over Dead Horse Point



Colorado National Monument




An overlook at the Colorado Monument

 

 Thanks for looking, I cannot wait for the next time I get to head back to the western half for another adventure:)



 - Michael Speed 

 

Services used by Michael + friends

16-35mm 2.8 L ii Rental - LensRentals.com
Raft Rental - Canyon Voyages Adventure Company
Shuttle to and from - Coyote Shuttle

Post Raft Do-nut Burgers - Milt's Stop and Eat