Changing The Settings or Macro And Zoom

Recently there has been continued scrutiny of our blog photos and camera settings. To read about the camera comparisons click here. Finding the owner’s manual to the Canon online, many thanks to Christopher of Outside Clyde for sending that link, and Monica of Garden Faerie’s Musings’ message, we have diligently read and reread those technical words until we could make some small sense of them. The macro setting just needed a slight adjustment from fine to superfine. That made for a sharpness that pleases as shown in this shot of a deciduous azalea bud and leaves.Another setting that was toyed with was the zoom setting. On 2x and the foliage selection on the dial-a-picture we traipsed about the garden on a foggy morning and just started clicking. The photos were a little blurry, but the colors were bright and the moodiness from the morning mists transporting. I have attempted to take  blog worthy pictures of the winterberry hollies under the yoshino cherry tree out front for several weeks. I like this one the best so far. One thing that stands out is the curtain effect of the weeping blue atlas cedar branches at the top right. Also the fence of neighbors Mae and Mickey across the street past the Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’. The Girard Rose azalea foliage is reddening, the rambunctous violets are going to sleep allowing the gold acorus grass to be noticed.  Chinese chestnut trees in the empty lot on the corner are still hanging on to yellowing leaves in the background.  While this is not a super sharp picture, it’s not even a slightly sharp picture, it best conveys what the eye really sees, kind of a dreamy scene of wavy color.No photography post could be complete with a little muhly grass. This is the same vantage point as the picture in the Arachnomuhly post with different conditions. Still the same 2x weird setting with clouds and no sunlight, fog and a dreamscape feel.The Muhlenbergia capillaris just won’t give up the stage!  The red in the background is a small dogwood and the yellow is the Forest Pansy redbud.The final few leaves on the Crimson Queen Japanese maple are brighter than ever. The Stipa tenuissima waves happily from the corner slope.Arizona cypress fronted by blue blooming rosemary showing the trunks of the tall pines and a glimpse of the arborvitae hedge is an evergreen empire. Golden tips of Chamaecyparis ‘Crippsii’ peak into the screen from the right.The last leaves of the Summer Wine ninebark contrast with the Karl Foerster grass, a small butterfly bush standard to the left and the fading purple feather grass on the right. The white pole looking thing is the trunk of a red leaf birch, finally of an age to have the bark interest. The same arborvitae hedge is showing here as in the photo previously viewed.How much of this magic is the camera settings and how much is the foggy conditions, we may never know. There was something about the romantic wistfulness of the gauzy look that appealed to our senses though. The pee gee hydrangea standard stood out against the blurred green background nicely.Then we switched back to macro.
Frances
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To anyone interested, we have decided to NOT get a new camera just now. I know, bad for the economy, but we really don’t need it at present. We do need to learn more about using the cameras we have and will be doing that in the coming months. Thanks so much for all those wonderful comments full of advice and nice words.
F