Oak leaf brooch

SILVER OAK LEAF BROOCH ON JEWELER'S VELVET, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 24, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
90mm Tamron SP AF f2.8 macro
1/4 sec. f11
ISO 400

While teaching myself the ropes of Lightroom 3.0, the latest version of the Adobe photo post processor, I rediscovered a photo that I'd taken with a new macro lens last fall. The original shot was OK, but a little encouragement with Lightroom's new features enhanced the color, contrast and sharpness, bringing out the artist's careful veining of the leaf.

Dragonfly

DRAGONFLY, GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 7, 2010

Pentax K20D
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/1000 sec. f9.5
ISO 400

I was sitting out on the beach with the camera and long lens, hoping the bald eagle that lives in a tree just down the way from us would soar by, when this dragonfly alighted on the sand a few feet away. The 55-300 isn't supposed to be a macro lens, but it did a pretty fair job (with some cropping) getting a closeup shot of the insect.

Stones and sea glass

STONES AND SEA GLASS, GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 3, 2010

Pentax *ist DS
90mm Tamron SP AF f2.8 macro
0.7 sec f19
ISO 400

One of the joys of walking the shoreline of Lake Superior is searching for and collecting interesting stones, including agates, fossils and sea glass -- water-polished shards of old bottles. These are some of the stones visitors to the Writer's Lair have harvested over the years. Click on the photo for a desktop-sized version.

What's this?

TARAXACUM OFFICINALE, GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 1, 2010

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 AL at 55mm
1/500 f9.5
ISO 400

It's a closeup of part of a common dandelion seed head, that's what it is. And it's another shot in a series I've been taking with the almost forgotten 18-55mm "kit lens" that's been bouncing around the bottom of my photo bag the last few years, ever since it came attached to a Pentax *ist DS in 2004. Click on the photo for a detailed version.

The morning and the evening

MORNING ON LAKE SUPERIOR AT GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 1, 2010

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 AL at 45mm
1/1000 sec. f6.7
ISO 400


EVENING ON LAKE SUPERIOR AT GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 1, 2010

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-DA 18-55 AL at 18mm
1/250 sec. f11
ISO 400

One could sit on the beach all day in front of our cabin photographing the cloud formations in the big sky over Lake Superior. Even though there are better lenses in my camera equipage, the inexpensive old Pentax 18-55 "kit lens" still gives a good account of itself. It's small and light, too, just right for a long hike.