Purple | Mark Simms Photography

When I switched from my Canon DSLR to my Olympus MCSC towards the end of last year, the one lens I’ve really missed was my dedicated macro. That was rectified on Monday when I bought the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f2.8 Macro lens. Below are my first few test shots taken in our back garden:

These were all taken at f2.8, just to test the sharpness of the lens wide-open and the “look” of the DoF at that aperture.

© Mark Simms Photography (2014)

The Scent Bottle

These are the first few still life shots taken using my new light tent and reflector:

All these shots were side-lit using a daylight lamp. It’s not a proper studio-light (something that I intend to rectify in the future) but it’s not bad and does a pretty good job of artificially re-creating daylight conditions.

The first three images were taken using the Canon EF 50mm F1.4 USM and the second three with the Canon EF 100mm F2.8 L IS USM Macro. The main issue with using the 100mm Macro is that it’s so sharp that it shows-up every single flaw and blemish in the subject, to the point where they can be a little distracting.

The scent bottle was bought in Bath a number of years ago (in the dark ages before I had my first DSLR…;0)…) from the shop in the Roman Baths Museum. As I recall it’s a replica of a Roman period perfume bottle. I was attracted to the shape, pattern and colour…..I think it’s beautiful.

It’s a bit of a running joke between my wife and I that, when it comes to souvenirs from our travels, it’s me pushing to purchase and it usually involves ceramics, glass or prints/paintings. Liz is often heard to say “…..and where are we going to put it!” or “…..haven’t we got enough knick-knacks!” I win some and I lose some…..;0).

I’ll be posting more still life shots in the future.