Wide-Eyed
For Macro Mondays theme 'Pair'.
I generally prefer to tell a photographic story with Brian, in the context of his surroundings, but for this task (as 'Eyes' were specifically mentioned in the theme description) I wanted to get as close as possible to just Brian's eyes/eye stalks.
I made use of a small plastic ruler to act as a 'platform' for Brian. As snails are naturally curious about their surroundings, I placed him on the platform in the back light of the conservatory window, hoping he would stretch his neck and eye stalks down as this would give me the best shot at getting just his eyes. Attempts using my Raynox DCR-250 macro attachment proved to get too close, and with far too shallow a depth of field, so I had to go in as close as possible with only my macro lens. Brian moved surprisingly quickly, so I was lucky to capture both eye stalks in the frame and in good focus - this took a fair number of attempts!
There was no need to check the measurement of the photo to make sure it was within the the MM size limit - I would estimate the distance between the eyes as approximately 2cm, so this would qualify as a 'true' macro and only a slight crop was done to get symmetry of the eye stalks in the frame.
Those of you that find snails to be disgusting, slimy creatures will not care for this photo! But I have come to appreciate their behaviour, comic character and (yes!) grace and beauty. I am apparently in good company with the novelist Patricia Highsmith who bred hundreds of snails in her garden and famously took a handbag to a party filled with lettuce and snails.
No snails were harmed in the making of this photograph.
Wide-Eyed
For Macro Mondays theme 'Pair'.
I generally prefer to tell a photographic story with Brian, in the context of his surroundings, but for this task (as 'Eyes' were specifically mentioned in the theme description) I wanted to get as close as possible to just Brian's eyes/eye stalks.
I made use of a small plastic ruler to act as a 'platform' for Brian. As snails are naturally curious about their surroundings, I placed him on the platform in the back light of the conservatory window, hoping he would stretch his neck and eye stalks down as this would give me the best shot at getting just his eyes. Attempts using my Raynox DCR-250 macro attachment proved to get too close, and with far too shallow a depth of field, so I had to go in as close as possible with only my macro lens. Brian moved surprisingly quickly, so I was lucky to capture both eye stalks in the frame and in good focus - this took a fair number of attempts!
There was no need to check the measurement of the photo to make sure it was within the the MM size limit - I would estimate the distance between the eyes as approximately 2cm, so this would qualify as a 'true' macro and only a slight crop was done to get symmetry of the eye stalks in the frame.
Those of you that find snails to be disgusting, slimy creatures will not care for this photo! But I have come to appreciate their behaviour, comic character and (yes!) grace and beauty. I am apparently in good company with the novelist Patricia Highsmith who bred hundreds of snails in her garden and famously took a handbag to a party filled with lettuce and snails.
No snails were harmed in the making of this photograph.