2101_0600 Lichens
The Colour of Winter, Part V, for lichen lovers everywhere. Some great things about lichens: 1 - they are as colourful as wildflowers; 2 - you can find them in winter as well as summer; 3 - the ones that grow on rocks don't move, so it doesn't matter if the wind is blowing; 4 - rock lichens often grow on flat or nearly flat surfaces, so all you have to do is stop down to f/16 or smaller and most or all of your subject will be in focus; 5 - you don't have to worry about backgrounds (again referring to rock lichens), just find a pleasing configuration; 6 - they're everywhere; 7 - they can live for thousands of years, so if you mess up the shot all you have to do is find that rock and try again; 8 - most photographers don't bother with them, so the competition is nil; and 9 - they're often very beautiful.
The down side for some is that to get a TOP quality photo, you have to use a tripod. A tripod allows you to stop your lens way down for maximum depth of field without worrying about the shutter speed. Using a tripod is the only way to achieve the ideal combination of small f-stop, slow shutter, and low ISO. If you don't, image quality will be compromised, either by insufficient depth of field, unintentional blur, or digital noise. Admittedly, these problems are not as great as in times past. In particular, modern sensors in high end cameras are so good - and noise reduction software is now so sophisticated - that you can get a good result at higher ISO settings. But for the BEST quality, without compromise, you still need to tick those three boxes. Oh, and you'll need a decent macro lens, too!
So, to summarize: sturdy tripod, good macro lens, low ISO, stop down the aperture. In addition, I use a cable release and lock my mirror up before exposure to eliminate vibration from mirror slap. Those with mirrorless cameras can skip this step. Of course, you have to be able to see and compose, too :-)
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
2101_0600 Lichens
The Colour of Winter, Part V, for lichen lovers everywhere. Some great things about lichens: 1 - they are as colourful as wildflowers; 2 - you can find them in winter as well as summer; 3 - the ones that grow on rocks don't move, so it doesn't matter if the wind is blowing; 4 - rock lichens often grow on flat or nearly flat surfaces, so all you have to do is stop down to f/16 or smaller and most or all of your subject will be in focus; 5 - you don't have to worry about backgrounds (again referring to rock lichens), just find a pleasing configuration; 6 - they're everywhere; 7 - they can live for thousands of years, so if you mess up the shot all you have to do is find that rock and try again; 8 - most photographers don't bother with them, so the competition is nil; and 9 - they're often very beautiful.
The down side for some is that to get a TOP quality photo, you have to use a tripod. A tripod allows you to stop your lens way down for maximum depth of field without worrying about the shutter speed. Using a tripod is the only way to achieve the ideal combination of small f-stop, slow shutter, and low ISO. If you don't, image quality will be compromised, either by insufficient depth of field, unintentional blur, or digital noise. Admittedly, these problems are not as great as in times past. In particular, modern sensors in high end cameras are so good - and noise reduction software is now so sophisticated - that you can get a good result at higher ISO settings. But for the BEST quality, without compromise, you still need to tick those three boxes. Oh, and you'll need a decent macro lens, too!
So, to summarize: sturdy tripod, good macro lens, low ISO, stop down the aperture. In addition, I use a cable release and lock my mirror up before exposure to eliminate vibration from mirror slap. Those with mirrorless cameras can skip this step. Of course, you have to be able to see and compose, too :-)
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.