Butterfly-inspired

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
~Irish blessing

Photo title: A thing of beauty
Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Location: Kerimäki, Finland
Date & time: 25.8.09 17:09:28

I was browsing my favorite science news site for some serious stuff, when something colorful caught my eye. I usually visit that site to look for medical and health updates, but today, a close-up shot of a butterfly's wings made me forget what I came there for. Because of that photo, I found out that I'm not the only one who is fascinated with the patterns and colors of butterflies' wings.

Last year, Marco Giraldo of University of Groningen, Netherlands, discovered that the appearance of the butterfly wings is influenced by both color pigments and the tiny scales that make up the wing. Butterflies' wings are made up of two layers of overlapping scales that efficiently reflect light. This discovery inspired scientists to replicate biological structures of butterfly wings to make optically active structures such as optical diffusers for solar cells. Simply put, solar panel technology may improve because the charisma of butterflies tickled the curiosity of scientists. Sweet! That's an undeniable proof that little creatures must never be ignored. They are more than critters, they are pretty creatures that help improve human lives in their own tiny, yet powerful ways.

It's quite a pity that some people are scared or even disgusted of butterflies. Moths and butterflies don't bite, I wonder why people are scared of them. There was a time I saw a middle-aged man trying to kick something out of its way. I thought it was a cockroach, but to my surprise, it was a huge moth. I picked the moth from floor to save it from heartless humans:


Who would be scared of something so fragile? That just doesn't make any sense. I travel halfway across the globe just to visit butterfly gardens, and there I hear teenage girls scream when butterflies land on their shoulders. If it was a cockroach sanctuary, I would have understood their disgust. Oh well, there are just too many things in this world that make blood pressure rise. The world needs more scientists who can help humans appreciate nature more... or perhaps more of my butterfly photos :-)


References:
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (2009, October 9). Nanometric Butterfly Wings Created.
American Chemical Society (2009, February 5). Natural Solar Collectors On Butterfly Wings Inspire More Powerful Solar Cells. ScienceDaily.
University of Groningen (2008, January 22). Pigmentation In Some Butterfly Wings Created By Nanostructures. ScienceDaily. Retrieved

In the pink

“Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.”
~Pablo Picasso


Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Modifications: cropping, adjusted brightness level

I'm soo missing summer right now. I can't post new photos to my gallery simply because there aren't new ones to upload. I don't have the time nor lovely subjects to take photos of. The last time I was out in the yard taking photos was more than a month ago. Could you believe that? My passion for photography is still pretty much alive, it's just that the weather hasn't been on my side since last month. We've got snow already. Yup, winter- my worst enemy- is here again. No more lovely days in the horizon, take a look at our city's weather forecast:

source: Foreca

I am not a fan of neutral colors, I guess I never would be. I love colors that brighten my mood. Now that almost everything is grey and white, I terribly need an antidote for depression. My saving grace is my Flickr photo page where there are hundreds of colorful pics. The ones with pink subjects caught my eye the most. I love taking photos of pink subjects because they remind me of strawberry ice cream. Pink never fails to make me smile. In addition, it's an easy color to shoot.

Last summer, I noticed that insects are attracted to the color pink. Maybe I owe my macro shots to the pink items in my wardrobe. Here's one example, you non-believers!

I saw that huge dragonfly zooming around the garden. I wanted to stalk it for photos, but to my surprise it went to me instead. It landed on my leg for like 3 minutes and I took a couple of photos. Thank goodness for the color pink. My theory about insects' pink fetish started last summer when our guests who had pink shirts on were often bugged by wasps and other bugs. I also noticed that I have tens of bug-on-pink-flower photos in my Flickr page.


Pink subjects look their best on a nice weather. Whenever I see the need to adjust color levels, I add more blue to get a nice shade of pink. Try doing the same to your photos with pink subjects. Oh and wear something pink when you're taking nature photos. Maybe it will land you a pleasant surprise too.

Summer's best

Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.
~Jamie Paolinetti

Face the truth
Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Modifications: Cropping, contrast and color levels
Date taken: August 2, 2009 at 4.06pm EEST

My summer vacation is almost over. Before school work and other projects get in the way, I reckon that I should first show everyone my favourite summer photos. Just some pieces of evidence to prove that little cameras can really produce nice images.

The number of photos I've taken from June 'til the first week of August is about 30% lesser than the previous summers'. That doesn't mean that I've lost my interest in photography. I used to take at least 8 shots of the same subject. Nowadays, 2 to 4 shots are usually enough. My goal is to get sharp head-on shots as much as possible. I incline to believe that my abilities can go beyond images like this one:

Though the backs of beetles and bugs have cool patterns, I still think that eyes and faces are their best features. Hence, I did my very best this season to capture the cute faces of insects, and guess what? My camera didn't fail me. Behold my best insect photos to date:


1. bee ready
2. Snack time
3. scavenging
4. Happy Pretty Pink Poppy Tuesday!

I always get comments like: How did you do that when you're only using a point-and-shoot camera? Perhaps it's because no matter how inferior my camera may seem to some people, when I go out to take photos, I really mean business. Yeah, my camera have limited features, but I just couldn't be bothered to pay attention on what it cannot do. If I'm not happy with the shots, I don't blame it on the so-called limits of my point-and-shoot. I don't whine, I just tell myself that I'd get it right next time.

Hobbyists often say: 'it's the arrow, not the Indian', whenever talks about cameras and gear come about. I think the same thing applies to photos of poor quality, it's quite pointless to pin the blame on the arrow :-).

Then and now

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
~Socrates


Looking at old photos never fail to brighten up my mood. Today I browsed my Flick gallery to cure my Monday blues. I examined old shots, figured out why some sucked, commended myself for nice captures and I also checked out EXIF data which made me realize that it's been 2 years since the day I started stalking bugs for photos. It also means that my compact camera has been a good company as it will turn 2 in a few weeks' time.

I always get good comments about my insect photos. The truth is, a couple of years ago, I thought getting a sharp photo of a bumblebee was next to impossible. Behold a blast from my out-of-focused past:

It was a fiasco, to say the least. I obviously didn't know anything about camera settings then. I found out how difficult it was to get a decent shot of winged creatures. Others may have given up at that point, but the masochist in me apparently took over. I kept on challenging myself until I was able to produce bumble bee photos of better quality. The photo below was from my 2008 summer album:



Before getting hooked on insect photography, flowers were my favorite subjects. Then it occurred to me that flower photography can be quite boring. I thought that they will always look the same anyhow. Who wouldn't be bored with a dull photo like this one:

Lack of light made the image lifeless, but that time I didn't know the significance of weather condition to photographs. I just took photos whenever I want to, until I finally realized that the details are better on shots taken on sunny days. Since then, I made it a point not to bother shooting on gloomy days. I ignored flowers for a few months until visits to photostreams of some friends inspired to take photos of beautiful blooms again.

I still take photos after 7PM, but only when the evening light is just right. Subjects that have blue, yellow and violet colors are not easy to take photos of. Based on my experience, soft natural light- a bit on the yellow side- makes a huge difference. Right lighting, framing, focus and voila! A bright and cheery photo:


Another obvious difference between my old and new pics is my distance from the subjects. I've learned that with macros shots, taking photos from a super closer range will yield good results. Getting very close to flowers is a piece of cake, however, with bees, wasps and the like, it can be a different story. I've been exposing myself to risks of stings from my usual subjects, but guess what? So far only the non-subjects, namely: stinging nettles, ants and mosquitoes, ruin my perfect days. The wasps and bumble bees have been harmless. According to Robert Capa: "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough." With his wise words in mind, I will continue to shoot subjects from a few centimeters until my camera retires. Moreover, I promise that unfocused shots will forever belong to my past.

Originality

You've got to be original, because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?
~Bernadette Peters


Date & time: January 19, 2008 at 13.07 GMT+8
Location: Bulacan, Philippines
Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 5.8 mm

I've got a confession to make. Almost 2 years ago I envied this shot so much and I even tried to imitate it. One summer morning, I found a similar bug in my mom-in-law's garden, I put it on top of a red flower and started to take photos. Then I realized that it was silly, why on earth would I copy one's work? I felt awful, so I brought the bug back to where it was and just took pictures of it in many different angles. Here's a pic of little greenie.

The morning light definitely did wonders to the photo. Composition-wise, I am not very proud of that shot but at least the colors and details look nice. More importantly, I learned that
imitating others' work for the purpose of gaining the approval of many is super insane. Some may think that my photos are nice but of course I can not please everyone. Since then, I just concentrated on learning how to take better photos and bear in mind that photography should always be fun.

I've got many Flickr contacts who are exceptionally skilled, each visit to their gallery brings delight to my senses because their shots never cease to inspire and amaze me. Time and again, I come across cool concepts for photos but I couldn't be bothered to imitate how the shot was executed, etc. I sometimes participate in Imagoism Thursday, but I just don't have the knack of composing shot the way V does. One thing that I learned from that weekly photo contest is that once in a while, I can apply the 'drama' my insect shots.


Bid me farewell

I haven't been actively participating in Imagoism Thursday because I just don't have many photos that would look good enough alongside the work of other Filipino photographers. Moreover, I just can be half as good as V when it comes to composing shots. I think I'm better off admiring her work from the sidelines.

Like in any form of art, originality is valued in photography. What's the point of imitating a shot that has been done thousands of times before? It's a waste of time. Coming up with unique compositions is the way to go. As usual I would like to emphasize that clever concepts do not require high-end gears, it's a matter of making brain cells work.

Uniqueness is what I've always been aiming at to the point that somehow it makes my shots extra weird. Nonetheless, I believe they deserve extra points in the originality department. Who else would be brave to get extremely close to spider webs or crazy enough to self-portraits from butt-level? Call it kick-ass originality, baby ;-)

Seasons come, seasons go

"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own; and from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, it is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy that we can scarcely mark their progress.”
~Charles Dickens

Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400) Aperture: f/4.0 Focal Length: 5.8 mm Date & time: March 8, 2009 at 3.30pm EET Location: Kerimäki, Finland Well, what do you know? It seems only yesterday when the sight of the the first spring flowers delighted my senses and now it's already June. Hellooo summer! I don't have nice & bright summer pics yet because it actually feels like mid-autumn here. It's been raining for days and it's quite cold to do anything outdoors. So for now, join me as I reminisce about the sweetness of spring.. I think the cutest spring insect is the scarlet lily beetle. These critters munch on lilies like crazy, but I can't get rid of them because they are quite photogenic. Their color stands out from the sea of leaves, so spotting these insects should be a piece of cake. Moreover, they don't move much which makes them brilliant subjects. 1. A Beautiful Pest, 2. I'm back! From calm beetles let's move on to some action shots.. Experts always recommend taking photos of bugs either early in the morning or late afternoon because they are not hyperactive during those times. Since I am not a morning person, I've got to choice but to chase insects at mid-day. It's not a wise idea because the shots may be at risk for overexposure. Of course one can always adjust the exposure settings but I do have a tendency to forget that- dementia is catching, you know... A few days before spring bid farewell, I saw hoverflies fluttering over yellow daisies. But then I've got so many photos of insects on yellow flowers and I'm quite bored with them already. For that reason, I concentrated on capturing the hoverflies while in mid-air, luckily most of the shots turned out well. Picking which ones to upload, was as usual, a bit of an agony. Here are 2 of the successful captures: 1. Soaring over fields of gold, 2. They come in threes.. Blooming beauties It's a crime not to take photos of flowers on spring time. I experimented more on control of depth of field, the results were quite good. I tried to make the photos more dramatic by keeping them as simple as possible, it worked fine. At least they don't look too mediocre. 1. Thankful 2. Sunlight Beginners tend to include some not-so-important elements in their photos. As a result, the composition is all over the place, meaning that the photo fails to tell its 'story'. I was like that too, back when I thought that photography merely involves pressing the shutter. There are pieces of evidence like this pointless shot from years ago that one spring in my life, my photos sucked to the highest degree. I often here nice words from some people who are interested in photography, bless their hearts. They say that my work somehow inspires them, wow I am ever so flattered. If they would see my old shots, I bet they would come to their senses, haha!! The truth is, I am just someone who enjoys taking photos. I try to improve my skills through my own simple ways, hoping that I would always nicely capture the beauty that nature brings, season after season..

At the setting of the sun..

And it's not the thing you do, dear,
It's the thing you leave undone,
Which gives you a bit of heartache
At the setting of the sun.
~Margaret E. Sangster
The Sin of Omission


Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/4.8
Focal Length: 34.8 mm
Date & Time: March 17, 2008 7.03pm (GMT+8)
Location: Alabang, Philippines
Modifications: Noise reduction, cropping

My interest in photography started more than 10 years ago. I always had my little film camera with me wherever I go but I only took photos of sunsets. Back then, I thought that I would never ever get to take good photos because photography could be a very expensive hobby and I had more important things to spend my money on. But look at me now.. I still don't spend anything in the name of photography hahaha! I haven't changed at all. I still take photos of sunsets once in a while though. I think sunset captures will never fail to fascinate most people. Moreover, it is very easy, I bet you can even do it with your eyes closed.

Anyone can take photos of sunsets. Hence, they may sometimes look too ordinary especially for more experienced photographers. However, there are several ways to jazz up sunset shots. I am not talking about over-processing the image. It's more of adding drama to the image through forced perspective. Last year, I saw a wedding photo of a bride 'kissing' the sun. I thought it was a clever idea. I've seen some sunset photos that are rather forgettable but the unique ones have always served as a reminder that sunset shots can be less boring. My friend Romy nicely applied forced perspective on this sunset pic, now compare it with my absolutely predictable shots, and you would understand what I am talking about.

I rarely take photos of sunsets here because tall trees obscure my view. But an idea struck me last Friday as I was arranging our plants in our kitchen. Since plants are within reach and the sunset is in sight, I thought I should combine them in an image. Here's my feeble attempt at spicing up a sunset moment:


I was a bit reluctant to upload that shot to my photo stream, I thought that some may find it weird and ugly. Surprisingly, the super nice members of the Flickr community didn't find it as a lame attempt. Now I am aware that my sunset view isn't that bad and I can occasionally capture sunset moments indoors when I've got nothing else to take photos of. Good thing that I didn't let my doubts take control of me. As a result, I've got no heartaches secondary to things left undone.

Back in business

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"
~Robin Williams

Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Modifications: Cropping, adjusted brightness and color levels
Date & time: 25 April 2009 at 14.29 EEST
Location: Kerimäki, Finland

Spring has sprung! I couldn't help but get ecstatic about it. Yeah, I took nature photos during the winter months, but I was in Asia from Mid-December 'til February. To me, winter is not the best time of the year to take photos, lack of light always makes my photos look dull. Moreover, I always get blurred photos because my hands get shaky, thanks to the extremely cold weather.

Good lighting is a major ingredient of stunning photographic compositions. It's wonderful to be in here in Finland during spring and summer because of the lovely natural light. When I was in the Philippines I had a chance to meet my fellow macro addicts for a photowalk:


The weather wasn't perfect then, I had to use flash most of the time, as a result, 80% of the photos were quite dull. Although most of my shots sucked, I absolutely enjoyed shooting with the pros. I would definitely join them again on my next vacation. For the mean time, I'm back doing solo photowalks. I have a higher 'success rate' here in our own yard, thanks to the lovely spring sunshine. I took 20 photos a couple of days back, and most of them are good -according to my belief. Here are two new photos:



If you you want to give macrophotography a shot, keep in mind that it is about showing off the details. This can be achieved by taking photos when natural light is at its best. I still get emails from photographers who are curious about the brand or type of macro lens that I use, news flash: I don't have one yet. If Santa Claus will give me a DSLR plus the kind of macro lens that would best suit my usual subjects, of course I would accept it. I am not counting on it though because I can't be nice all year. My little camera is still okay, but it is no longer as efficient as it used to be. Its manual focus still works perfectly, which means that I can still make do with it.

I have always been focused on improving my so-called skills, setting goals have always been helpful. For this season, I will experiment on abstract macros and minimalism. Of course you would still see shots bearing my usual style. I hope that my photos in the weeks to come will be better than my 2008 spring collection. It's a tall order, but with the wonderful spring sunshine, I see better photos in the horizon. Do I sound ridiculously optimistic? Well.. blame it on spring :-)

Numbers and rules

“Excellence is in the details. Give attention to the details and excellence will come.”
~ Perry Paxton

Pardon my nearsightedness
Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Modifications: Adjusted temperature & brightness level
Date & Time : February 7, 2009 at 13.40 Manila Time
Location: Parks & Wild Life, Quezon City, Philippines


Late last year, I had an opportunity to write for an upcoming stock photography site. I had to read about topics that I normally avoid: anything with numbers. The numerical system is like a horrible nightmare, I have spent most of my life eliminating it from my path. Whenever I read about photography, I tend to skip the topics that seem too difficult to understand. However, as I was working on that photography project I had to understand rules of composition where numbers play an important role. It was a good learning experience and I am glad that I had a chance to see numbers and formula in a different light.

It has been found that the things that we find visually appealing bear the numbers in the Fibonacci series: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610.. The number of petals of most flowers are Fibonacci numbers. Take a closer look at sunflower photo above, it has two sets of spirals, one runs clockwise and the other set runs anticlockwise. The number of spirals are always two consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci series- don't you find that fascinating? There are still many pieces of evidence that link the presence of Fibonacci numbers in nature.


The ratio of each successive pair of numbers in the Fibonacci series is about 1:1.618. What's the significance of that ratio? It is close to 1:1.618034 otherwise known as divine proportion, golden section or golden ratio. Many stunning structures from ancient to modern buildings were built based on the golden ratio. The golden ratio exists in famous art pieces of great artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo and Rembrandt. The use of golden ratio is not exclusive to those big names in the field of art. A regular person like me, for example, can always try to apply it to photographic compositions. After all, if a certain formula can increase the probability to capture viewers' attention, then making use of it shouldn't be a bad idea.

Remember the rule of thirds? It is actually a simplified version of the golden mean. In the rule of thirds, you divide the image into 9 equal parts. But if you want to apply the golden mean to your photos, the image should be divided with 2 vertical and 2 horizontal lines into 9 unequal but symmetrical parts.


Golden ratio: 1:1.618034
a:(b+c),b:a, (a+b): height
d:(e+f),e:d, (d+e):width



Placing the highlight of the image along these lines, especially on the intersections or power points would make the photo more appealing.




The golden spiral is another application of the divine proportion. This is done by making rectangles of increasing sizes by using the golden ratio 1:1.618.



If we will use this on staircase photos and shells like the the pros, may be our shots will look as appealing. The golden spiral can also be used for landscape photos. This shape is found everywhere in nature: the nautilus shell, ram's horns, sunflower heads, fingerprints, DNA and the shape of the Milky Way.

The subject or the interesting part of the image should be in the smallest rectangle. While it should be easy to apply the golden spiral to close up photos, I thought it would also be nice to show you a landscape shot. I don't have a decent one so I had to look for a good sample photo from a web gallery of a pro.

Take a look at the photo below and notice how the rainbow is perfectly positioned in the tiniest rectangle.

I find this photo very impressive not just because it was taken by my husband. Would you believe that he didn't even bother thinking about complicated-sounding golden spiral, and yet the highlight of the shot landed on the right spot? How could that be possible? I some people have the innate skill to do everything right. I am not among those fortunate ones, so I guess practice is my only option. I believe that if one would always apply the rules of composition to his or her work, chances are, it will be in their system like an incurable disease.

If you think the golden ratio is too complicated and not fun at all, then by all means, don't bother stressing yourself. Photography shouldn't trigger anxiety. I've got some good news though: you can always make photography simple and fun. Get a camera that has Rule of Thirds grids on the LCD. You can also use this online composition adjuster. All you have to do is load an image from your computer or a URL, and voila, you would get to check if your photos abide by the 'rules'. Just keep on practicing until you get the hang of it, then you're on your road to better photography skills.

Confronting darkness

“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.”

~Terry Pratchet


Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 2 sec (2)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 13.2 mm
Modifications: adjusted contrast level, cropping
Date & time: December 27, 2008 10;05PM
Location: Santa Rosa Laguna, Philippines

I have mentioned that I prefer taking photos on a nice weather because I want to make use of natural light. In close up photos, flash can highlight minute details, that is, if it's not too bright. Using flash while shooting subjects that have light colors like pale yellow or those that have shades of white may give you disastrous images as results. The photo below was taken in a butterfly sanctuary in Finland:

The subject was in the shade, had I disabled the flash, we wouldn't get to appreciate the interesting pattern in its eyes. Most of the photos in my photostream are close up shots of bugs and flowers, however, 90 percent of the photos were taken in natural light. Why? Because there are instances when flash ruined my shots, and I don't want to make the same mistakes. I rarely go out on a gloomy weather when it's too dark for me to take pictures. Yes, I am afraid of the dark. I also didn't want to waste time on shooting scenes that my camera may not handle. But I discovered recently that taking long exposure shots with my camera is not as difficult as I thought. I even managed to take fireworks photos without a tripod, and surprisingly, some turned out very good


Good results always motivate me. Right now, I am considering going beyond nature close-ups and perfect lighting conditions, but that does not mean that I will get a new camera. I am a super newbie in the night shots department, my lack of knowledge in long exposure shots plus my ignorance of the features of my camera kept me in the dark for years. A new equipment can not guarantee that I would master long exposure shots immediately, it may ages for me to get used to different camera functions or settings. For now I think that I should concentrate on learning new techniques. The fireworks of new year's eve made me realize that I should not fear darkness as far as photography is concerned. My photography should not be a 9 to 5 thing because I can take photos even after sunset and they may turn out nice. I have always wanted to see the aurora borealis. I hope that when I finally get to witness that awesome phenomenon, I am already good enough to perfectly capture it with my compact camera.