It has been almost five months since my last post here and for almost the same time I haven’t held camera in my hands. This break from photography was unintentional and actually it was my longest break from photography in several years. What caused it, you ask? Well, even I am not absolutely sure. In the first half of this year I took much more photos than in any year before and before the break I was taking photos every day for more than a week. Then a need for taking photos left me suddenly.
My other great hobby are books and during winter time I tend to read really a lot. Almost all my free time is spend with a book in my hand. Before summer I usually feel so full of stories that I can’t absorb more for some time. I feel like fully satiated. The pace slows done or sometimes stops completely. I think the same may have happened with my photography. Have you ever experienced something similar?
So I divided all my time between my work, my family and my other hobbies. It is true that both my work and my family needed, and still need, much more time than in past so there isn’t much time for the other hobbies either.
Anyway, after these months of not creating any new photos my camera and potential subjects start calling my creativity again. Three weeks ago I took a camera with macro lens to my hands again. I was wondering if I am able to see things in the same way as before but I think that it’s like riding a bike or rather driving a car after some time – start may be slow but a memory and instincts come back quickly. And here is the photo:
It is a shot of not-yet-fully-open rose bud and final photo is a combination of 3 exposures at ISO 100:
- 0.3 sec @ f/2.8
- 1.3 sec @ f/5.6
- 2.5 sec @ f/8
I used photos with higher f-stops for sharper petal edges and nice soft gradients from f/2.8 for the rest of the image. Colours are strong but I like it as it turned out. There is only small adjustment to saturation which is not to saturation directly but to vibrance in Adobe Lightroom instead. Vibrance enhances saturation of colours which are in minority on the photo.
I really hope that I will come back to photography (and this blog) more frequently now, presenting new and also old photos. I have still some photos taken back in July which I haven’t processed before the break started.
Finally, I would like to thank all of you who have been visiting this blog in those months, hoping to see some new posts. It is really good to know that there are people who cares for I do. Thank you!
Have a wonderful Christmass season and cherish your close ones.
Technical information: photo in this post was taken with camera Canon EOS 450 and Canon EF 100mm USM f/2.8 macro lens, mounted on a tripod, under natural conditions, indoors.






Welcome back, and just beautiful!
Thank you, Katie. I’m glad for your visit and comment.
Such beautiful flowing lines. Welcome back!
Thanks, Barbara!
Beautifull done, Tomas. Wonderful composition and lighting.
I have been experiencing the same thing….simply lacking the desire to pick up my camera. Not sure what it is but hoping the spark returns…
Thanks, Tracy. I noticed this slow down on blogs of more photographers in last six months. I wonder what it causes.
Tomas, Glad to read you are doing well! I can relate to the saturation point and needing to do something else for awhile. Life manages to throw other priorities in our way. For me I have found less that I want to post about lately, sometimes it feels like I need to pull the words out.
I must say you came back with a bang though. This is an amazing image. I love it.
Thank you very much for your kind words, Mark. I’m glad that you like the photo.
Welcome back. i sort of gave up on new posts but now I’ve found you again. A pleasant surprise. And a very nice photo to start with, also.
Thanks, Ken. Good to hear from you again. And thanks for compliments.
Somehow I missed this post! The photo is gorgeous! Love it! Love the bright colors, and how the flower fills the frame. So clever of you to shoot at different f stops to get the sharpness and softness where you wanted. I will try to remember that trick.
As always, thank you for visiting my blog and commenting.
Thank you, Anita, you are too kind. I’m glad you like it.
Wonderful work, Tomas! Love the simplicity and the colour — great idea in combining the photos for a beautiful look!