Did I ever mention how much I love my 50 mm f/1.4? I didn’t? I must’ve! Well, if I didn’t…: I love my 50 mm f/1.4. And why, would you wonder…? Because the right subjects shot with an aperture larger than f/2 give you this magnificent depth of field, this sweet bokeh which is such a feast to look at…

D700, ISO400, 1/125 sec @ f/1.7, Nikkor 50mm 1.4

D700, ISO400, 1/125 sec @ f/1.7, Nikkor 50mm 1.4

A week or so ago I was in Holland for a couple of days. The few days before I left it had rained cats and dogs, every day, the whole day, without stopping. When I called with the home front back in Holland I heard it had been and was supposed to stay great weather. That was positive.
But upon arrival the weather had turned 180 degrees, and I was left with spending my days in Holland while it was raining cats and dogs, every day, the whole day, save for the last half day before I left.
So what do you do when you can’t go outside, and you’ve worked to the point of irreparable boredom?

Right: you start to go through your mom’s window sills. Good stuff to be found there!

D200, ISO100, 1 sec @ f/11, Tamron 90mm macro, SB-800 off-camera flash

D200, ISO100, 1 sec @ f/11, Tamron 90mm macro, SB-800 off-camera flash

D200, ISO100, 3 sec @ f/11, Tamron 90mm macro, SB-800 off-camera flash

D200, ISO100, 1,5 sec @ f/11, Tamron 90mm macro, SB-800 off-camera flash

D200, ISO100, 1 sec @ f/3.8, Tamron 90mm macro, SB-800 off-camera flash

D200, ISO100, 1,5 sec @ f/11, Tamron 90mm macro, SB-800 off-camera flash

Ever looked at it from this angle?
I got the idea after seeing a gorgeous picture a friend of mine shot of a lily. Seriously Freudian image it was, but beautiful nonetheless. If you’d see either one of the close up images below separately, would you know what it was?

D200, ISO100, 30 sec @ f/32, Tamron 28-75mm, off-camera SB-800

D200, ISO100, 20 sec @ f/32, Tamron 28-75mm, off-camera SB-800

D200, ISO100, 30 sec @ f/45, Tamron 90mm macro, off-camera SB-800

D200, ISO100, 30 sec @ f/45, Tamron 90mm macro, 12mm extension tube, off-camera SB-800

D200, ISO100, 30 sec @ f/54, Tamron 90mm macro, 12mm + 20mm + 36mm extension tubes, off-camera SB-800

Giorgio Armani is treating me well (and he should for the money I invested in him ).
Got some feedback on my previous pics and was advised to put in some complementary colors.
So… following the good advise:

D200, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/16, Tamron 28-75mm, off-camera SB-800 with Photoflex softbox

And the beauty?
The picture is unedited save for a bit tighter crop. No saturation, no alteration. Right out of the camera
Good that the flowers don’t have GIORGIO ARMANI on them, otherwise it would’ve been one hell of an expensive picture

After 10 days of continuous rain (it’s actually been 6 weeks like this I’ve heard, but I’ve been here only for the past week and a half to witness it) it actually stopped raining! And not only that…. there’s actually some blue in the sky! Maybe we’ll get some sort of, well, not summer, but, well… you know what I mean…

D200, ISO100, 1/500sec @ f/4, Sigma 10-20mm, circular polarizer

Nature hasn’t really decided what it’s going to be. Some extended summer, fall, or winter. At this particular moment the sun is shining behind the clouds, but it’s cold for the time of year.

D200, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8,Tamron 28-75mm, off-camera flash SB-800

D200, ISO100, 1/180 sec @ f/2.8, Tamron 28-75mm, 36mm Kenko extension tube

D200, ISO100, 1/60 sec @ f/3.3, Tamron 28-75mm, 36mm Kenko extension tube, off-camera flash SB800