Lens Reversal Result #1

After spending a considerable amount of time and energy making an extremely simple lens reverse adapter, I realised that my fingers were in no state to hold the camera and take shots safely. So I waited a couple of days to ensure the safety of the camera, and built up the nerve to reverse mount a lens. And when I finally managed to reverse mount it, it fit perfectly! Like fingers (your own, preferably cleaned with an olfactorily enhanced soap) in your mouth.

Only after mounting the lens did I realise that I had no idea what to shoot. In my search of a suitably micro subject, I stumbled upon a bunch of roses floating on water filled in a brass or brass-looking vessel placed on a suitably unstable, foldable thing about a foot high. Upon closer inspection I noticed that all that dead flora had a very living faunal companion. A worm was cradled inside one of the flowers.

Spotting the worm was a lot easier than shooting it. First there was the lack of light, which was soon taken care of by the careful placement of a rarely used, extended reading lamp. Next was the focusing on the subject. With a depth of field reminiscent of the edge of an aerobically oxidised razor blade, even a deep breath would put the freaking worm out of focus. As a result, the fans were switched off and I started holding my breath while shooting. Thank God for the tripod... Soon, both the worm and I started losing a lot of water, me in the form of sweat, and the worm in the form of worm sweat as a result of the significantly "warm" lighting. After spraying some water on the worm to prevent it from drying up in the course of the shoot, I shot it. Worms are by far the most cooperative subjects I have ever shot.

More pictures here.

The Cat

Photographed this cat at N4. Except for this time, I have been there only on weekdays and only in the afternoon. Looking at the number of people there, I always wondered why it didn't attract more crowds. Three or four of us and this cat would constitute over 80% of the visitors present then. This Sunday evening, I fully realised how many people patronise this place (excluding the cat with the permanent resident status)!! I think this chap lives off the generosity of the fisherfolk and other assorted visitors. Although in full posession of that uniquely feline grace, I dont think he (or was it a she??) goes about hunting for fish and crabs, both present in significant numbers. Although the expression is quite fierce, he (or she) is surprisingly well mannered for a feral cat.

To see more pictures shot on this particular outing, click here

Shutter Speed: 1/250 s

Aperture Value: f/6.3

ISO: 100

Focal Length: 200 mm (325 mm in 35 mm equivalent)

PS: Shot this in RAW and then processed it.