Self Reflection

Camera	Sony DSC-F828
Exposure Mode	shutter priority
Focal Length	51.0mm
Aperture	f/2.8
Exposure	1/320 sec.
ISO Speed	64
Flash	off

I'd never really thought about doing macro photos of ladybirds until Synflame's recent blog posting blew me away. A few days after that post I was out cutting up the Christmas tree (yes I know I should have done it months ago) when I spotted a ladybird moving slowly around the trunk of the dead tree. Fortunately for me it was moving very slowly making it "easier" to photograph. I added the Raynox DCR-250 macro lens to my camera, opened up the aperture to help with the reduced depth of field and set the fastest shutter time I could get away with. I needed the fast shutter speed as I was intending to shoot hand-held and keeping the camera still enough for macro work is exceptionally difficult especially when trying to photograph something which is moving around.

I managed to take just twenty-one photos before the ladybird decided to wander off into some long grass, which I took as a sign to get back to chopping up the tree. Of those twenty-one photos only two of them were usable and one had a slightly better composition and so becomes this weeks photo.

I was actually reasonably happy with the photo as it came out of the camera, so I haven't done any post processing to correct the white balance or colour cast. I did, however, mirror the image. I never thought I'd do that to a photo, as I like knowing that I'm looking at a photo that shows what I could have seen with my own eyes (which is why my HDR work tends to be on the subtle side) but in this case I thought having the viewers eyes led up and right through the photo worked better. Just for comparison on the left you can see the original image. Do let me know which you think is better -- I'm guessing those with a first language which runs left to right will prefer the mirrored image, whereas those who read right to left may prefer the original, but I'd be interested to know if that is true or not.

And if you are wondering why the title of the post is "Self Reflection", well you can just see my head silhouetted against the back of the ladybird. I hate having my photo taken so on reflection that is actually a good photo of me!

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