Macro Sunday – Part 2

I promised to roll out the part two of my Sunday photowalk as soon as possible. I am anticipating quite a number of new things to happen during this week to the point that I’ve actually decided to keep blogging every few days just so I can deal with the backlog.

I’ve recently noticed that my photography skills have been steadily increasing. This is good news to me since I never really thought I’d get anywhere with this. I always fretted that I’d end up like those “fad photogs” who end up buying an SLR stick with a few basic lens never wanting to improve or who believes that improvement comes with buying better gear. The worst part would be, since they can’t afford the nice gear, they buy cheaper alternative  or a 3rd party lens and blame the gear for being sucky. Quick tip: if you think the gear sucks, do not buy it. But I digress.

Composition is still king in all aspects of photography. You may have the technical stuff down (i.e. exposure, framing, etc.) but aim it at a cow eating grass and it still is a cow eating grass. Try to set a mood or tone with your compositions. Learn the rule of thirds. Only when you have learned the rule of thirds are you allowed to break it.

I recently learned this during my photowalk. I would always tell myself quietly “If I had a 70-200 2.8 or a 300 f/2 prime that shot would be great!” But since all I had was my kit-lens I made do. I came up with some unique and interesting shots. I composed. I thought about each and every shot. I made do with what I had.

Here are some shots from  the bird sanctuary:

I know the B&W was not really a great picture but I personally love this picture. You see the hawk staring off into some unknown, yet there is a physical barrier between him and freedom. So he spends his days staring it out, into the great unknown longing for the day he can fly free. I too look forward to the day I can be free again.