This is a playground of macro test shots:
I’ve been playing around with macro photography lately. I bought a reverse adapter from Amazon for less than $10. It allows me use my lens as a macro lens by mounting it on the camera backwards.
My zoom lens has been especially fun to use in this way. It is a Tamron 28-300mm telephoto zoom lens with an aperture dial. The aperture dial is worth mentioning here because it allows me to manually set the aperture size. With out that dial I would need carefully hold a lever open at precisely the desired aperture size.
Brief notes on Aperture
The aperture is an opening inside the lens which controls the amount of light that can get through at any given time. I will write an entry on the exposure triangle. Look for it soon.
The aperture is typically adjusted by the camera using electronic contacts on the inside of the lens mount, but using this technique the lens mount is not facing outward and the camera has no way to interact with the lens. Using a lens with an aperture ring allows me to lock an aperture setting into place. If I instead use a lens without an aperture ring, there is a lever on the lens mount which I can slide to open and close the aperture as desired, but it moves smoothly and does not lock in to place.
Operational Anxiety
It has taken me some effort to learn to use the lens in this way. The functions of the lens no longer work in the ways I’ve come to expect. Zooming the lens changes the focal distance while keeping the same amount to the scene in frame. I ended up picking a focal length and focusing by moving myself.
I hope you enjoy seeing some of my test shots, and I hope to be putting some macro images into my portfolio soon.
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