"Macro" - Feather

The assignment for this week is "Macro".

I couldn't be more pleased. Over the last few weeks I've been using the Macro setting on my camera like crazy. In fact, one of the first photos I took with the camera was this one.

It's the bracelet I was wearing to work one day. And there it is, sitting on my desk.

I only had the overhead fluorescent lights on and didn't adjust a thing on the computer. Still, I love it because I love the crispness I can see with the Macro setting.

Yesterday I was watching my girls as they played with Play foam.

If you have kids and have not discovered this stuff - do yourself a favor and get some. It's so much fun to sculpt and create with it, and it is blessedly mess-free!

The set we received came with the actual foam and some accessories to decorate your masterpieces. Among the assorted pipe cleaners, google-eyes, and rhinestones was a rainbow of feathers.

I chose the purple one and went to the spot in my living room that has the best natural light.

I took several different pictures, but this was my favorite. I like the movement of it.

The first thing I did was adjust the contrast and colors to make it look more crisp.

I'd placed a white tablecloth behind the feather so I wouldn't have anything else compete with the actual subject, and I was also hoping that the white would bounce some light back at the feather.

In looking at this photo, it bothers me that the downy part of the feather is overwhelming the top, so I decided to crop it to concentrate on the tip of the feather.

Better, I think. The fuzzy corner at the bottom was really distracting me.

I like the photo as-is now, but just for comparison I also decreased the saturation to make the purple a little less electric.

Interesting, I didn't actually expect that bringing the saturation down would help make the lines in that lower left corner more defined.

I can see past the glow of purple now to the feather that was below it. Cool.

I think I'll brave the elements again to take some pictures outside. We are supposed to get an ice storm tomorrow, which could create some beautiful possibilities.