Candid Moments
I have recently been testing out a new macro lens, the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG Macro. I bought a used lens, but it has been yielding some pretty decent results.
I do notice it has a very shallow focus plane if not stopped down to minimum apertures. However, at f/22, the image starts to becomes soft because of diffraction… so it’s a catch 22. (No pun intended).
Still, I’m new at macro, so it’s been fun playing around with it. I have actually enjoyed using its weaknesses as a creative opportunity, as you will see below with the blooms and reflection shots.
In any case, I am displaying a few shots here I have been taking with it… categorized! Remember that you can click on any photo to reveal a larger, uncompressed photo.
Slate-Colored Dark-Eyed Junco
I just have one shot here I took with the macro while traveling. I happened to be behind the stairs when a junco flew onto the staircase. It’s slightly out of focus, I know, but there’s something about this picture… just the candidness of it, I liked it anyway. Or perhaps it’s just the adorable cuteness overload of this jolly little winter bird with its upward gaze so intense and innocent. What was this little one thinking of at this very moment, I wonder… <smile>
The other two photos were taken a long time ago, when I lived in NC. I loved how they would just gather around and hang out in the snow.
I think one of the things I miss the most about not being able to fully experience seasons anymore is the winter visitors such as this one. I miss the juncos. They were a favorite of mine.
Fluffed feathers, melodious call, weeble-shaped body, hopping and scratching around… these little snow birds seemed to herald the very winter. Unlike other birds, they seemed almost invisible until a fresh snow had fallen, or was near. This always fascinated me.
Butterfly – Zebra Heliconia and Monarch
This is a Zebra Helconia pair I found one morning. The female had just come out of the chrysalis. Also, you will see the zebra heliconia caterpillar… it’s white and black.
There are also a few shots of a monarch after newly emerged. Also, the monarch caterpillars… which are yellow and black… are pictured here.
zebra heliconia 
monarch 
heliconia 
He ate him!
Blooms
In this case, the orchids were in bloom in the garden, and since they seem so fleeting, I couldn’t resist trying to get some shots. There is hibiscus, as well, and firecracker, firespike, and bearded iris. As it turned out, it had rained one morning and then the sun came out, which set up for a perfect creative opportunity with reflection shots in the droplets.
Spiders…. oh, my!
Had a brief encounter with a favorite of mine… a gray wall jumping spider. I love these guys! They are so much fun, so feisty! This is a female pictured here below. I also have a few pictures of a spiny backed orb weaver.
Gray wall jumper 
Spiny backed orb weaver 
Just hanging out…
That’s all, folks!
Hope you enjoyed these pictures. These are just some of the things you can see right in your own backyard if you just take the time to stop and look. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there!