Ah! Skuld Likes Pain

Reduced size individual pics here.

Today I set out to give 'skuld' a torture test. Here's what I brought:

Canon EOS 350D with EF-S 18-55mm II kit lens
2 batteries: NB-2LH
Battery Grip with 6 pcs 2100mAh AA batteries.
1 1GB Ridata CF
20GB free space on Yomiko(iBook)
External Flash
Tripod
Water Bottle

Space: So at the highest quality, that approximates to 300 pics per GB, 21 GB... 6300 pictures.

Battery: Canon estimates 720mAh can take 600 pics so, 720mAh*2 + 2100mAh = 3540mAh ~ 2950 pictures

So what gave up first?

Me! Hahahahaha. Carrying all that equipment around, I was spent after 2 hours and 294 pictures. 80% of the pictures are unique with the rest just near duplicates via continuous shutter. Sheesh, 294 is less than 10% of the battery and 5% of the space limit. For this mission though, its learning and quality over quantity.

What's the next mission?

I'm trying to speed up my learning/relearning time because a couple of people asked me to teach them photography (for free of course). I'm no expert though, so I'm reading tons of eBooks and articles, then trying out their theories myself. This way, I can impart both theory and experience to whomever wants to learn this wonderful thing called photography.

Back to the subject... next mission is: People, person, entity, soul. I've read here of how two shots can beat reels of film and expensive equipment. Right now, I believe this is a weakness I need to overcome. Ever since I started photography, I've been dismal when it comes to people and events. Flowers and buildings won't complain if it takes too long or if you're too close. I'll have to contact Arvi as she expressed interest in doing some modeling. If there's someone in the metro willing to model (for free) for a photographer-wannabe, I'd be glad to arrange an outdoor shoot (I don't have studio stuff yet).

Bonus: Photographic Secret Technique 69: Cheap Super Macro!

I'll tell you how I achieved the macro shots of the mouse and the 5 cent coin. This trick only works for SLRs with interchangable lenses though.

Lenses were designed as precision instruments and are to be used as is. But they are still made of glass; and light can pass through both ways. I can't give you the exact equations, but you can remove the lens, place it in reverse and hold it there (make absolutely sure you don't scratch anything). This can achieve an astounding magnification and focused distance of mere inches. Downsides are: thin depth-of-field, hard-to-hold, and the aperature doesn't work. But WTH, its still a cheap macro :P