"You should be a professional."

Why is it when 'non-photographers' see you have a 'good camera' and make well exposed photographs that are in focus with crisp detail they automatically tell you to turn pro and (often) 'do weddings'? Sounds like a nightmare having to make the photographs other people want, and to be under pressure to deliver the goods. Well, it's a nightmare to a slacker like me!

Here's another snake. Cropped and edited to make a more graphic picture. The wretched creature refused to face the sun. Fill flash plus Lightroom helped me out. I think a slightly wider aperture would have made the snake's head stand out more.

As an experiment I tried out the close up facility on my cheapo 28-105 at 50mm today. It's not too bad and gives me a wider option for the DSLR to put smallish things in a broader context. Frame-filling insects get a bit dull after a few dozen. Unlike the python, the common darter did face the sun. Alas I was on the wrong side of the gate, and although it allowed me to open the gate and close it behind me it then decided to buzz off. Leaving me with this 'over the shoulder' shot.

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