Macro’s of Cicada’s

The Cicada’s are coming out of their long hibernation in force and they are just about everywhere.  The buzzing has started and as soon as you step outside, you’ll see them.  I wanted to get a closer look at a few, so I clipped my Raynox Macro lens adapter to my 18-135mm lens, grabbed a flash and small softbox with TTL cable and mounted the camera on a small tabletop tripod to go in the backyard.

I didn’t get into focus stacking or anything like that.  Shutter speed was 1/180, Aperture at f/13, ISO 400 and the flash was firing via a TTL cable into a small Rogue FlashBender softbox about 4 inches from the bug.  Since the tabletop tripod sits 6″ off the ground, it was the perfect height.

An Evening at Cooper’s Rock State Park, WV

It has been a busy few weeks for my family and I and I’ve been needing some down time in nature.  The weather was about perfect, so after work I packed up a camera bag and my mountain bike and off I went to Cooper’s Rock State Park in West Virginia.  Once I arrived I started off with some light mountain biking since the light was much to harsh.  I rode some miles and then put the bike away so I could just trek around.  Once the sun started to go down, the light changed and everything looked so much better.

The evening was fantastic and just what I needed to clear my head.  The biking was fun, using my new Peak Design Everyday Messenger 13 bag was fantastic and the sunset over the gorge was splendid.