December in the Garden

Leica CL + Zeiss Jena 24mm f2.8 Macro

After the last big storm most of the leaves are gone from the trees, but there are still some remaining miniature crabapples.

Palm leaves broken by the storm.

Teeny tiny lichen on the crabapple tree branch.

I am still getting accustomed to the fact that I can use all of my old lenses on the new camera body, but the focal lengths are now different because of the crop sensor. So, the 24mm is now a 35mm equivalent, the 35mm a 50mm equivalent, the 50mm a 75mm equivalent, etc.

Now that the 24mm behaves like a 35mm, it is a lot more versatile and useful.

I love the look of this dilapidated hut in the back corner of our garden, and have tried many times to use it as a backdrop for photos. But its position in relation to the light makes that very tricky. I would normally get plenty of fringing and general washed out horribleness trying to photograph it from this angle. This isn’t a great photo by any means, but better than usual. There is even an arc of tiny bokeh balls around the top edges.

The lens was nearly touching this tiny dried up crabapple. I love the crazy colours in the ever-changing light. December through February are my favourite times to photograph in Ireland, as the landscape is less ‘cluttered’ with overgrowth but still very colourful. Our garden looks hushed and gorgeous on mornings like this.