a bit of Macro

[AJMorris]

While shooting last weekend i saw this young tree emerging from the ice and snow. It seems ages since ive used my macro lens so i whipped it out and shot this one i call "Victory" I know theres alot of these out there but id never shot one so heres mine! Canon 5DmkII, Canon 100mm F2.8 Macro @ f22 1second.

[stpf8]

AJ, this is quite nice.  I suspect the dark color of the needles has absorbed enough heat from the sun that it has caused the ice/snow to melt in that small spot.  There will also be a bit of metabolic heat to add to that as well.  I wonder if you could increase the sharpness in the ice at the top and in the needles in back without increasing the DOF.  I've never used the technique, but I would think that focus stacking might be a good approach here, getting all of the key elements in focus without losing the OOF background.

[AJMorris]

Thank you and its funny you mention focus stacking as i was just considering that approach. Ive never used that method either but ive been looking at a couple of the programs assocaited with it. I may have to pull the trigger and give it a try. Good luck finding this composition again!

[sdwilsonsct]

I get frustrated trying to capture these sort of things because it is difficult to get good context in a macro shot. I 'd like to see the forest or mountains or riverbank that make up the environment and the bigger story.
Scott