#sliderssunday

Spring arrived with a bang. A temperature drop has been announced for next week but only for a few days – winter is definitely over :) While this Amaryllis stigma isn't a part of the current spring explosion, it still symbolizes new life, so I chose it as my Easter greetings image.

You've already seen this same stigma for Macro Mondays' "Wet" theme this January (please see the first comment). I'd photographed it (and the blossom) in several stages of bloom, and this was the earliest stage, with the stigma just beginning to open and curiously taking a first peek into the world around it. What always fascinates me about flowers/plants in close-up is the tiny, often translucent "hair", the trichome, of which this stigma has plenty. I think the trichome makes it look even more like a (friendly) alien life form.

I've kept the Amaryllis blossom which now is shriveled and dried up in the way only flowers can: gracefully and in beauty.

Wishing you (if you celebrate) a Happy Easter, and a wonderful (Sliders) Sunday :)

Tags:   Sliders Sunday Post Processed to the MAX!!! Happy Easter! Easter Amaryllis stigma trichome translucent purple orange white soft shallow depth of field DOF new life alien life form curiosity fresh macro close-up extreme macro 2:1 magnification flower Blume Blütennarbe Pflanzenhaare frisch weich Schärfentiefe Neugier OM-D E-M1 Mark III Laowa 50mm f/2,8 2X Ultra Macro APO DXO PhotoLab 7 Nik Collection Color Efex Micro Four Thirds ThroughHerLens Bokeh

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#MacroMondays
#Paper

A rare "close-up" photograph of one of the many solar flares on Papyrus, the sun of the Charta-spissa solar system. "Close-up" in this planetary context means that it was taken at a distance of 2:1 million kilometers from Papyrus. The photographic material was commissioned by me and provided by Roby, intergalactic traveller, cake lover, and UFO sightings creator, or should I say perpetrator (whenever she is visiting our solar system she simply can't resist causing some UFO sightings for the records). Some of you might remember Roby, and for more info on her, please see the first comment.

Solar flares on a star like Papyrus might sound like a contradiction – given the material this star and all the planets of Charta-spissa consist of – but, in reality, are not. Due to Papyrus' specific surface properties, its flares are extremely long-lasting, slow, and cold. To the untrained eye, they might even appear permanent. So Roby had all the time in the world to choose the prettiest of the many Papyrus flares and properly set my (I lent it to her) camera and extreme zoom lens ("Why can't I shoot in "P" mode, Silke?" "Because "P" mode is boring, Roby." "But your camera is sooo complicated!" "When you come back, you get an extra Pastel de Nata with lots of Dulce de Leche on top for your efforts, Roby, I promise.").

As for Papyrus' surface properties: This is one of the cardboard "reflectors" I use to help illuminate my macro photos. This one is small and round, and it was part of a small chocolate cardboard box I once got as a present. The, rather thin (1 mm / 0,039 inches), cardboard is laminated on both sides (gold and silver, I believe it's thin foil that is used for lamination), just like cake (or fish packaging) board. I used the gold-coated side which I "coloured" red with the help of the translucent red plastic chocolate box lid and an LED lamp. I also used my small LED Lenser flashlight (set on spotlight), handheld from the right, which created/brought out the web-like golden pattern.

Now I was a little unsure if it still counts as "Paper" if it's laminated (although technically, it still is because it's the main material), but the part in focus, the "flares", are pure paper: two small frays on the cardboard's edge that slightly protrude from it. So I think (hope) my photo is within the theme's requirements. The bigger of the two "flares" is 2 mm / 0,078 inches long. It's a single shot taken with the Laowa Ultra Macro lens at a little less than 2:1 magnification.

I'll catch up with you later.

HMM, Everyone!

Tags:   Macro Mondays HMM Paper macro bokeh close-up extreme close-up extreme macro 2:1 charta spissa papyrus cake board laminated gold red solar flares planet star sun fiery Looks like a sun with solar flares Papier Karton Tortenscheibe kaschiert Kaschierung Sonneneruption brillamento éruption solaire erupção solar zonnevlam erupción solar rozbłysk słoneczny güneş püskürtüsü 太陽フレア सौर प्रज्वाल 耀斑 OM-D E-M1 Mark III Laowa 50mm f/2,8 2X Ultra Macro APO DXO PhotoLab 7 Nik Collection Color Efex Analog Efex Micro Four Thirds ThroughHerLens

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#MacroMondays
#EDC

I wasn't sure if things that you have on you every day (like glasses) were OK for the theme, so I decided to photograph my little GRIII as that required "other" EDC that, together with my (now unfortunately slightly faltering Lumix LX100), is always in my shoulder bag. I have two compartments reservered for the cams that also offer enough space for spare batteries.

I have a lot of EDC stuff in my bag and also jacket pockets for (almost) all eventualities, so maybe I would have been a good scout. One of these "be prepared" items is a few strips of plaster. As a possibility for "EDC", I've photographed the padded part of a "Hansaplast Aqua Protect" plaster, and it looked interesting in close-up but I decided to keep that idea for a future "Dots" or "Hexagonal" theme ;)

What I don't have in my bag anymore is the small screwdriver to fix my glasses' hinges if required (I can always fix them at home) or my miniature Swiss pocket knife because there are spots where knives are prohibited (there's a huge problem with people carrying knives, especially male teenagers, but also others), and I don't want to get in trouble because of a tiny pocket knife.

But now for my subject: The GRIII's mode dial has three user preset options, U1, U2, U3, and I've assigned them as follows: U1 is for general "Architecture and Landscape", meaning that I've set a base aperture that usually works best for anything (F 5.6). U2 is my macro preset (essential!), and U3 is assigned to HDR for the more difficult light situations.

I used two light sources: the natural light photo LED from above and a single LED from the right that I had pointed at the gold-coloured cardboard reflector (handheld) for a warmer second tone (the GR's mode dial is all black with raised silvery indicators).

I'll try to catch up with you tonight! HMM :)

Tags:   Macro Mondays HMM EDC macro close-up extreme close-up extreme macro U2 camera Ricoh GRIII mode dial user presets U2 is for macro OM-D E-M1 Mark III Laowa 50mm f/2,8 2X Ultra Macro APO DXO PhotoLab 7 Nik Collection Color Efex Analog Efex Micro Four Thirds ThroughHerLens

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#MacroMondays
#Wet

You might as well call it "jester, fool, or harlequin bokeh" because this Amaryllis stigma with its fully opened three lobes and the water droplets reminds me of a jester's "cap and bells". The Amaryllis blossom is the same that provided the background colour for my "New" MM photo. The blossoms of our Christmas Amaryllis bouquet are amazingly sturdy, they still look good and pretty fresh more than a week after parting from their stems.

As for the silly title: People with astigmatism know about blur, and there is plenty of blur in this very close close-up. I wish I had managed to get a nicer refraction/reflection in the in-focus droplet, and a nice, clear droplet refraction is definitely something to keep in mind for a future MM theme. This is one of the first test shots, so I just took a couple of photos without particularly taking care of the reflection in the droplets, and in the end, I ran out of time. As backdrop, I had placed the gold-coated cardboard behind the blossom, and another part of the background is the Amaryllis petals themselves. The other colours are from stuff that was on the table – test shot colours ;) At least they match the "jester theme" ;)

The image is a single shot taken at 2:1 (or close to that) magnification with the Laowa 50mm Ultra Macro. Since it features the same Amaryllis blossom and somewhat similar colours to my previous MM photo, I decided to process it similarly (please see the first comment). Processed in DXO PL7, Analog and Color Efex, and LR.

Happy Macro Monday, Everyone! I'll try to catch up with you tonight!

Tags:   Macro Mondays HMM Wet macro close-up extreme close-up extreme macro 2:1 magnification droplets Amaryllis stigma colourful bright cap and bells court jester harlequin refraction reflection Hofnarr Narrenkappe Blütennarbe farbenfroh OM-D E-M1 Mark III Laowa 50mm f/2,8 2X Ultra Macro APO DXO PhotoLab 7 Nik Collection Color Efex Analog Efex Micro Four Thirds ThroughHerLens

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#MacroMondays
#New

Something old, something new, and no, I'm not going to marry ;) The old part first: it's the crystal beads. My Mom, magrit k., recently went through old, long-unused things and found this crystal bead necklace. She asked me if I wanted to wear it, and since I love some bling from time to time, I said, "Yes!". This leads us to the new part: the jewellery wire. The necklace had been strung and tied classically on a jewellery thread which was pretty much worn and frayed with use. So I bought jewellery wire just before Christmas and made a new necklace with the beautiful old glass beads.

It's a single photo illuminated from above by a natural light photo light, from the left and right with LED lamps (the left lamp equipped with the yellow bottle cap "filter"), and a handheld flashlight to highlight the new part: the wire. The background colour is from a huge peach-coloured amaryllis blossom that had just fallen off its stem and was already placed on the table, waiting to be photographed. Processed in DXO PL7, Color and Analog Efex, and with finishing touches in LR with the Primary Color sliders.

Wishing you a Happy, healthy, peaceful 2024, dear Flickr friends!

Happy Macro Monday, Everyone!

Tags:   Macro Mondays HMM macro close-up extreme close-up 2:1 wire jewellery wire jewelry wire crystals beads necklace refractions colourful vibrant orange blue golden bling DIY Draht Schmuckdraht Kristall Glasperlen Kette OM-D E-M1 Mark III Laowa 50mm f/2,8 2X Ultra Macro APO DXO PhotoLab 7 Nik Collection Color Efex Analog Efex Micro Four Thirds ThroughHerLens NEW

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