My date with an insect

Yesterday I was feeling rather uninspired and not at all creative.  I took picture after picture of various things in hopes that something would inspire me.  Eventually I decided to take my camera with my macro lens and take a walk around the yard, thinking there had to be something out there that would get me out of my creative funk.

I headed to the mums first because that’s about the only thing that’s still thriving in my yard.  I snapped a few shots from different angles and was starting to find my groove when I spotted a tiny, green insect.  This had potential.  What I love about my macro lens is the ability I have to get extremely close to my subject and not have to worry about whether it will be able to focus or not.  This little guy was probably smaller than my pinky fingernail, but because I was able to get down low and extremely close, I was able to get some fantastic shots.  And thankfully, he wasn’t camera shy!

I didn’t do much to these shots in the editing process … just made a few slight adjustments in ACR, ran a levels adjustment layer and a high pass filter to sharpen in Elements.  That’s it!  And I’m thrilled with how they came out.  Who knew that a little green bug could be so inspiring?

On a different note, I have a question for all you camera people out there … I’ve been noticing an increased amount of noise in my pictures even at lower ISO’s like 400 … anyone have any idea why that would be?  I shoot with a Rebel xti and have never been able to go above ISO 800 but I’m wondering if the recent increase in noise is just due to wear and age.  My camera is almost four years old.  Any thoughts?  I desperately want a new camera, but we’re trying to hold off a few more months so if anyone has any suggestions that will improve the situation until we can get something else, I’d sure appreciate it!

Have a blessed Tuesday and may you find inspiration in the most unlikely places today!