Category: Macro

Featuring the tiny, close up

Glowing Lalang

Glowing Lallang
I commented at the end of my recent Bali trip that it would probably be difficult to get nice pictures in a while when I get back to Singapore. Guess I was wrong 😛 A morning trip today to the Botanical Gardens yielded a number of interesting shots of which my favourite was the above shot of a back-lit leaf blade of lalang grass (or to use its scientific name, Imperata cylindrica). Although generally considered a weed by many, I am surprised by its many uses, which include being used in Papua New Guinea to thatch the roofs of traditional homes, as well as for its medicinal properties. Young shoots may even be eaten cooked!

Tree Bark

Tree Bark
From an old tree in the Sydney Botanical Gardens… I will be taking a one-week break from new posts while I travel to Bali for a long-awaited photography-only trip with Dad 🙂 Hope to come back with loads of new pictures to share!

Taken With A Pinch Of Salt

Taken With A Pinch Of Salt
I received a birthday gift in advance from CY in the form of a Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 carbon-fibre tripod. I have been longing for a lightweight tripod for some time. I still feel that a tripod is essential in many situations for good and sharp photography but abandoned the idea of bringing my older Manfrotto aluminum tripod on my two most recent overseas trip to spare my shoulders and back :P. With this new tripod, I certainly won’t have any more excuse not for bringing it along for my photo trips!

One of the interesting features of this new tripod is its Quick Center Column system which allows me to put the camera quickly into a horizontally-mounted position. I played around with this feature in my kitchen using a macro lens, a pinch of salt, a compact disc and a torchlight. I am pretty happy with the above shot I managed to get 🙂