An informal review of the Tokina 11-16mm lens


As I mentioned in my last Friday Photo post I recently rented a lens from BorrowLenses.com. I could review their service, which was excellent when I had a problem, but I’m going to review the lens I got instead. There is some good and some bad to this story.
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Insect Macro Fun!

Here are a few photos of some insects I took with my new Tamron 70-300mm f/4 Macro Lens. So far I am really liking this lens. It could be faster, like f/2.8 would be great, but was definitely within my budget too. Just to warn you, these images will get really up close and personal with some pretty nasty bugs. And if you don’t like spiders, don’t go all the way to the end!
And on to the photos. (and just to say, some of these are available for prints, if you were really into bugs!)

Mosquito Hawk © Chris Lane Photo

June Bug © Chris Lane Photo

Phyllophaga aka June bug © Chris Lane Photo

Green Insect © Chris Lane Photo

House Fly © Chris Lane Photo

Weevil Larvae © Chris Lane Photo

yellow jacket wasp © Chris Lane Photo

white moth © Chris Lane Photo

spider shell © Chris Lane Photo
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Aperture on Cameras pt. 2

Used to be…

Minolta X-700 with lens
Older SLR (single lens reflex) cameras, pre-digital info screen, had aperture adjustment on the lens itself. The image shows an example from my Minolta X-700 with a 50mm f/1.7 lens, made in 1983. This camera does, however, have a full auto setting, so that it can adjust the aperture for you. Unfortunately, you cannot tell what it is adjusting to without the digital screen that the somewhat more modern film Canon Rebels had. Read the rest of this entry »

Aperture in Photography pt.1

Aperture, in my opinion, is one of the simplest things to set apart a great photograph. In this first of a two part series I will talk about aperture, what it does and how it works. Part two will cover what you should do with aperture and how to use it effectively with both an SLR and a point-and-click camera.

What aperture is

Aperture in photography is the opening in the lens which lets through light to reach the film or sensor. Inside the lens is a series of metal wings that make up a diaphragm that can be increased or decreased in diameter to let through more or less light. It works like the iris of the eye, Read the rest of this entry »