Tell us your tried and true techniques for focusing when that deadline looms and you need to get work done. In other words, how do you avoid wasted days and wasted nights?

I’m going to go a bit off-piste here and just concentrate on focus.  I’ve been out and about yesterday and today with my macro ring lense extender. I’m trying to capture the signs of spring.  It’s so lovely here, you can almost see the buds unfurling before your very eyes.  What I’m looking for is quite small.  As it happens, I cant focus on very much at all. My own eyes are not that good, the SLR’s autofocus is literally out of its depth.

The closer you look, the more you see. Even the petals of a tiny flower will curve away out of focus as milimetres become miles. Backgrounds are fine, you can get a good bokeh, as they call it.  However, even the smallest bloom contains an infinity.  I get back home only to be disappointed with the whole crop of pictures. Wasted days? No, not really. I’ve seen real beauty close up.

There’s a moral here. When you need to focus,  just focus on one thing at a time.  If there’s too much and you dont know where to start, take advice from Goethe.  ‘Do that which is closest at hand’.  If there’s a deadline looming, I find that panic is quite effective. eg. putting together a Daily Prompt really quickly to get a good spot on the list 😉

Some fuzzy macros from outside…. oh yeah, they dont stay still either!

Almost breaking free, a new seed takes off

Out and proud

Furry seed pods

Sun splash