First attempt at macro with the Arax

Well, I'm not particularly happy with the shots but I did say I would show some of them.... I should have at least blown the dust off the Summitar.

These two are from the long-expired Tri-X 320.






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Some computer problems delayed the scanning of the Tri-X 400 roll. I finally got around to it tonight.

The last two shots are great. I especially like the third one. Beautiful tones and use of the soft focus. My one concern with that shot is the highlight of the lens trailing off the frame. My eye is immediately attracted to the dials, but slowly moves across the lens and out of frame. The dark tone of the viewfinder does balance well, but not enough.

I find the first one to be segmented and not transitional. (if that makes sense)
Things are either in focus or out. Separation between the two is just too drastic.
That said, again, I love the last two. I also once again love your black and white rendering. It's always got a great feel to it.

Thanks. I agree with you about the first one. Unfortunately, I was guessimating the exposure time (in Mississippies) as my hand-held meter was all over the place and I was using the meterless 4x chimney finder. Using the regular TTL-metered prism finder would have given me more accurate metering but it would have been more difficult to focus. I probably should have at least used a watch. My other shots with the lens stopped down more were better but all were over-exposed. This was my first time doing macro with this thing and I've made several notes for next time. Next time may be a while as macro, for me, is one of those once-a-year things that I do when I'm bored. The DOF is very close to zero with this bellows and the lens at f/2.8. When I was focusing on the second shot, only the vertical line and a bit of the loops of the 'L' in Leica was visible at f/2.8 - everything else was a blur. I think that show was stopped down to f/8. If I used the DOF preview, I somewhat make what would mostly be in focus but it was extremely dark. The last one was at either at f16, I think, and exposure time was 20 'Mississipies'. The light from above the camera was a bit strong.

Next time I try some macro stuff, I may use the extension tubes instead and try to find some interesting insects in my garden. Perhaps stop the lens down to a constant f/5.6, keep stutter-speed the same and focusing by moving the camera back and forth in my hands. The first time I've ever been really impressed by macro was when I first saw the photographs of David Johndrow.
( http://www.davidjohndrow.com/2-01.htm ) I think that he uses a similar technique with his Hasselblad. His images are not the typical finely detailed macros but often blurred and off focus - its more how I "see" insects and other small critters in my brain. Often just a blurry thing flying toward my eye and then gone in a flash.