Macrophotography

Roses are cool
Originally uploaded by lafehubert.

I'm interested in all types of photography, and at some point, I bought some close-up lenses and extension tubes in order to go take pictures at the Arboretum in Seattle. That trip never materialized, and I put the stuff on a shelf.

Now, it's 6 years later and I've dusted the stuff off in order to play with it. There were these roses, you see. And this Canon EOS 5d. So, I messed around for about an hour this evening, and this is one of the photos I managed to make (more on my flickr pages; just click the photo, it'll take you there).

I did all of these hand-held, with the 50mm f/1.4 USM lens, one 550EX flash unit, and the ST-E2 wireless flash controller. To really do this right, I would need to get a focusing rail for my tripod, but these didn't turn out too badly.

This was kind of fun, and I'm starting to understand how all this works (and how hard macrophotography really is). Anyway, I just thought I'd share.

Why I needed a new guitar

I've dabbled with the guitar most of my life. My folks bought me an acoustic guitar when I was a kid, and I learned to play it after a fashion. In high school a cousin of mine gave me a Fender Jaguar and a Fender tube amp, and I learned the joys of owning a really old electric guitar. But, for the most part, all I could play was some John Denver songs, and pretty badly at that.

In college, I swapped the Jaguar for a Fender Stratocaster at a 2nd hand music shop, and played quite a bit while I lived in the dorm; but alas, after I moved into an apartment, I got really really poor and sold my Strat and amp (along with my rifle collection, and anything else that I didn't need as much as I needed food and rent). After that, I pretty much forgot about the guitar.

Shortly after we moved up to Seattle in 2000, I found myself buying at the Guitar Center, purchasing an acoustic guitar. It was a Yamaha F335 dreadnought and cost me the grand sum of $179. At the time, I had forgotten most of what I knew about the guitar, and I figured it would allow me to get back up to speed plus give me some really gnarly callouses. The Sweetheart [tm] tutored me in all that is the Indigo Girls and in time, I could at least play the damn thing again.

At some point, the guitar went from being a thing I pulled off the wall occasionally to plink on to living on a stand in the living room next to where I usually sit. I actually started practicing, if you can believe that. Yet, still, I never played anything more involved that a little Travis picking and some chording.

Fast forward to Christmas 2005, when The Sweetie [tm] presented me with a banjo, which set in motion a chain of events from which I can never retreat. The banjo caused me to practice even more, and that practice translated over to the guitar, at least in left hand dexterity. And, I got interested in bluegrass music, and subsequently in bluegrass guitar and lead flatpicking.

These days I practice the guitar for a half hour to an hour almost every day, and I've finally picked up a little skill; I kind of had that a-ha moment where everything suddenly becomes so much clearer. I've even put together a band, Small Pet Advisory in which I play both the banjo and the guitar. (The band is getting pretty good, if I may say so, and I may, so I say so.)

Apparently I've contracted GAS (guitar acquisition syndrome) as a result of all of this.

I can't pinpoint exactly when, but the Yamaha started sounded less and less pleasing to my ear. Then I made the mistake of pulling a couple of Martins down off the wall at the local Guitar Center (yep, the scene of the original crime) and that ruined me forever. After much consternation and agonizing, I decided it was time for a new higher-quality guitar.

I played so many guitars, I'm not sure I could list them all, but I'll try:

• Martin DX1 - sounded good, didn't like the laminated neck, HPL (high-pressure laminate) for the back and sides was weird
• Martin DXM - similar to DX1, better sound.
• Martin DM - Much better sound, but still laminate (plywood) back and sides
• Martin D-16GT - Solid spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides, sounds like a dream
• Martin D-18 - Like butter. $2000, though.
• Martin D-28 - Also like butter. Sound was more subdued. $2200, though.
• Martin D-35 - This is just a gorgeous guitar. About $2500. Sound is similar to D-28
• Taylor 510 - Neck felt really nice, sound was not what I wanted.

Yes, there is a theme. I had pretty much decided I wanted a Martin, but I had to try the Taylor to make sure. This was a big decision, and I wanted to make sure I got it right. I think I set out to purchase one 3 times, and balked, and it took me several weeks to finally go and get it.

I ended up getting the D-16GT. It had that Martin sound I was looking for, was all solid wood, and didn't cost an arm and a leg (just an arm).

Why did I need this guitar? Well, I didn't, per se. I mean, I can't shelter from the weather in/under it and it's not very nutritionally dense. But, looking back, I've worked pretty hard to become a competent guitar player, and I think hard work should be rewarded.

Plus, I just wanted it.