As promised, I'm trying to get back on my normal routine. What would be nice is if all this snow outside would finally melt and everything else could start getting back to normal.

I keep waiting for things to start really melting. I keep shoveling out the parking spaces in front of our house.

Eventually it all will melt...

And when it does, I think things like this will start appearing.

Technical Data: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Di SP LD 1:1 Macro, 1/400 sec at f/5. ISO 400. No post production. Taken in our own backyard.

Why This Photo: Anya does such a great job with the flowers and plants in the yard, and that gives me plenty of subjects right within reach any time I want. So I was probably just out in the yard wandering around and decided to take a photo of this flower (Anya will have to comment to let everyone know what kind it is).

What Works: Focus is tack sharp right where it needs to be, and soft throughout the rest of the photo. Depth of field is almost perfect. Composition is pretty strong. Color representation and exposure levels are very well done.

What Doesn't Work: Honestly, there is very little that I find "wrong" with this photo. Perhaps the center of the flower should be a little lower in the frame to land closer to one of the hot spots at the convergence of the thirds.

I can't wait for flowers and bugs and all that stuff that comes with spring to show up soon. I love wandering around our yard - usually with the macro lens attached - taking photos of things I see almost every day but being able to present them in very different ways.

Maybe that's the lesson I should learn from this photo. Maybe I need to just look a little differently at my current surroundings (even if they are covered in snow) and find something to look at from a whole new perspective to make something mundane into something exciting.

Leave me a comment. Let me know what you think of this photo. Let me know any tips/hints you have for finding that new perspective to look at things from a fresh view point. Or just commiserate about how you're tired of all this snow too... And then scroll down further and vote on the photoshop job on the dive photo.

- Bill

PS: Oh yeah - new lens should be here tomorrow! So exciting!

So what did everyone think of that shot that Anya took? Pretty awesome, huh?

Well, I manage to take a nice photo now and again too it seems. Today's photo just happened to come on the same trip that the previous one from Anya came from.

We spent a good two and a half hours at Phipps that day. It was the first real trip out with our new macro lens, and we really took advantage of our new toy. We ended up firing off over 120 photos, and ended up with a lot of keepers, and a handful of gems.

Our macro lens is a Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Di LD IF Macro 1:1. And if I haven't said this before, it is my favorite lens at this point in time. It is by far the largest and heaviest lens we own, but I rarely go out without it.

It really is a fantastic lens. The price tag is definitely such that it makes is reasonable - I like Canon equipment and all, but this lens ends up being half the cost of the equivalent Canon lens. It comes with a case, a lens hood, and a tripod mount.

Construction of the lens is rock solid, and I've never had it give me the slightest problem. Sometimes the auto-focus takes a little while to seek, but not having used any other macro lenses, it might be normal, and I'm not sure how loud or quiet it is compared to other macro lenses. For a 1:1 macro lens, I think you would be hard pressed not to pick this lens.

Technical Data: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Di SP LD 1:1 Macro, 1/500 sec at f/5.6. ISO 100. No post production. Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh, PA.

Why This Photo: We were wandering outside of Phipps and were taking many photos of the various lilies there. After a number of different angles and shots, I managed this shot with the near perfect reflection.

What Works: Composition and depth of field are spot on. The focus is tack sharp right where it needs to be.

What Doesn't Work: The exposure in the reflection is a bit blown out, producing a large area that is very bright and somewhat distracting. Perhaps with a ND filter to be able to tone down the bottom half of the photo, this would have worked better.

This photo is also printed, framed, and hanging in our house. And I like to look at it and be inspired by my own work. Hopefully this is just one of many photos I'll take that I'll want framed and hanging on my wall.

- Bill

This photo was taken by my wife, Anya. It is one of my all time favorite photos.

I thought maybe I should wait a little longer to use this one, but I just couldn't wait.

Technical Data: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Di SP LD 1:1 Macro, 1/500 sec at f/7.1. ISO 250. No post production. Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh, PA.

Why This Photo: I can't really say why Anya took this photo, but I'm really glad that she did. Like I said, it is one of my all time favorites!

What Works: Almost everything. The composition is rock solid, the depth of field is perfect. I know this was taken outdoors in some pretty bright sunlight, and the way the light plays across the flower is mesmerizing.

What Doesn't Work: The focal plane is just a smidge close. It looks like it focused just a tiny bit before the main part of the flower. But I also know that this shot was taken handheld, and I'm really stretching to be able to find something "wrong" with this photo.

We have this photo printed and framed in our house. I've used it as my wallpaper on my computer and cell phone.

I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at this photo. And each time I look at it, I remember all the great photo trips Anya and I go on and look forward to the next one (which should be coming up here soon for my birthday).

It is shots like this that make me think that we should sell prints. What do you think? Would you pay for a framed copy of this photo?

- Bill

Ok - different twist today. Today I'm just going to provide a photo and the technical data, the rest is left to you.

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think works and what doesn't work. Easy as pie. (mmmm - pie.)

Technical Data: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Di SP LD 1:1 Macro, 1/500 sec at f/6.3. ISO 320. No post production. Franklin Park Concervatory, Columbus, OH.

If you need a full size version to properly critique the photo, when you click on the photo it will take to you my gallery page for the photo. From there, the right most icon in the top center of the photo will provide a full size version.

I really look forward to seeing what folks think about the photo!

- Bill