Screw-ups & Gadgets

Another weekend has been vacuumed up by the past and we are officially in what Middle Earthers quaintly refer to as “summer”. As I look out the little slit windows of the bunker, it doesn’t look like summer to me, but it might be warmer than it looks. I would have to go outside to be sure, and who has time for that!?

We had a fun AfterStack this weekend and I will have the recording up on YouTube later today. We talked about making graphics from photographs and it was a lot of fun. The rest of Saturday was spent in the workshop, making and testing various ides for a vertical mounting system for converted microscope focus blocks. I came up with one that works and spent a few hours adding this feature to the focus blocks that I will be shipping out this week.

The new vertical mount for my BH2 conversion

This is competition week, and Rik Littlefield and I have come up with a plan for judging the entries. We both have the images and will be spending a couple of days looking through them before we meet for the grand judging on Wednesday. That will leave me a couple of days to get any editing done and post the results to YouTube. I won’t be discussing the actual results in either livestream as I don’t want to steal any of Rik’s thunder. I’ll let you know when it drops.

stereo seeds

This month the competition is a macro wildcard - any macro subject and everyone is welcome to submit up to two entries, which will be independently judged by me and my AI sidekick, Cindi. I can’t wait to see how this turns out!

Jumping ahead to Saturday’s Pzoom - I am hoping to get my guest Lightroom expert, Lester Lefkowitz, to drop in for a chat about his system for organizing his Lightroom Catalog. If we can get this all worked out by then you can expect a recording of this discussion to be posted to YouTube shortly after that. If we can’t get that arranged for this week, I have a backup plan. Part of that plan is to give a report on several new features I am adding to the channel - some exciting stuff that I think everyone is going to enjoy. It’s all top secret until I have had a chance to run it by my Patreon gang - I don’t do anything until I’ve run it by them. By the way, if you have ever considered doing something super cool, like supporting a YouTube content creator and, in exchange, becoming part of the macro-cognoscenti (we are working on a secret handshake), then now is as good a time as any to truck on over to www.patreon.com/allanwallsphotography and become a legitimate hero.

Turning back to the present, I have a couple of unique and, I hope, fun livestreams to tell you about for this week. On Tuesday, in Macro Talk (8PM central time) I am going to talk about some of the idiotic mistakes I still make in macro photography. I have a lot to choose from!

We all make mistakes — but sometimes those “oops” moments lead to unexpectedly decent images.

In today’s livestream, I’ll share some of my biggest and most consistent macro misfires: focus stacks gone wrong, studio stupidity, field follies, and other misadventures. Along the way, I’ll show you a few of my really “bad” pictures that I still love — and try to explain why they still work (at least for me).

A terrible picture that I love anyway

Honest talk, practical tips, and a gallery of goof-ups. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned macro nerd, you’ll laugh, cringe, and (hopefully) learn.

Your link is right here … https://youtube.com/live/cmMZw2Pq-Zw?feature=share

In MacroTalk Too, on Thursday at 2PM, we turn our attention to those dirt cheap, must-have gadgets and gizmos that are always close at hand!

You don’t need to spend a fortune to make unforgettable macro photographs. In this livestream, I’ll show you a selection of the best cheap gear and accessories I’ve ever used — all under $20 — along with the actual images they helped me create.

From homemade backgrounds and lighting hacks to clamps, brushes, and tiny tools, each item tells a story — and every one of them earned its place in my kit.

If you’re a beginner building your macro toolbox, or a seasoned pro who loves a good budget hack, join me for this fun and practical tour of the little things that make a big difference.

Here is your link to MTT … https://youtube.com/live/ZpvVY5QefVU?feature=share

And PS - bring a few of your own gadget hacks to share with the world

I am going to keep it short and sweet today - I have a mountain of Monday work still waiting on me. Please try to make it on Tuesday or Thursday - I hope to have an announcement or two to share with you!

Oh, and PPS - I have looked at the stereo submissions for last month’s contest, and they are AMAZING! Way to go, guys!!!