Lens-Artists Challenge #411: What Is It?
I took Sofia’s lead for this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge and stayed very close to home. In her post, she wrote, “The only thing you need to do is find photos that will leave us puzzled, baffled, curious and asking out loud ‘What is it?’” Be sure to visit Sofia’s post for more ideas and inspiration. I decided to capture brand-new macro images of things I reach for every time I pick up my camera — chances are, one or all of these live in your camera bag, too. That was your first clue. Additionally, I’ve left a small hint with each image to help you guess. The answers are waiting at the end of the post. Care to try?
Nowadays, losing one of these means losing the moment itself — every capture simply vanishes into thin air. Shape-shifters by nature, they’ve shrunk smaller and smaller on the outside while quietly growing larger and larger within.
Feed it, and your camera springs to life. Ignore it, and even the finest lens becomes dead weight. It never says a word, but nothing happens without it.
Round and toothed like a tiny cog, this one rides at the very front of the parade — first to meet the light, and often the first to take a scratch so your lens never has to.
Peer down its narrow throat and you’ll find only shadow, and a hint of something waiting just out of reach. Out in the field, one small squeeze sends troublesome specks flying — no batteries required.
Soft, pale, and always folded at the ready, this one finishes what its air-huffing partner started — chasing away the last invisible smudges before you ever pull the trigger.
And here is the reveal:
- SD card
- Battery
- Lens filter
- Air Blower (Rocket Blower)
- Wipes
Ritva’s challenge last week gave us all a chance to show off how we edit our images. Great responses. I hope you will join this challenge, too. Please don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag in your posts so people can find your wonderful challenge entries.
Next week, John will feature a new challenge. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in then to find out more about the challenge. Please see this page for more information about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history. If you don’t want to miss any future challenges, please consider subscribing to the team members’ websites. Here they are:
- Tina of Travels and Trifles.
- Patti of P.A. Moed.
- Ann-Christine of Leya.
- John of Journeys with Johnbo.
- Anne of Slow Shutter Speed.
- Sofia of Photographias.
- Egídio of Through Brazilian Eyes.
- Ritva of Ritva Sillanmäki Photography.
- Beth of Wandering Dawgs.
That is the story behind the shots. For more like this, enjoy these related stories: Lens-Artists, Macros, and Monochrome. Until the next shoot, keep chasing the light and the wonders it reveals.
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PR
Awesome! I could guess only the last one correctly 😀.
Egidio Leitao
PR, it was very good that you were able to guess the last one. Thanks for writing.
Leya
Clever and with small clues! I only managed a couple of them, but great fun!not all.
Egidio Leitao
I’m glad you enjoyed the game. This was a great challenge. Thanks.
Leya
A clever post, Egidio – and difficult! I could only find two of them. Great photos as always, and I loved your verbal clues.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback, Ann-Christine. It was a fun challenge.
Writing to Freedom
Very clever response to the challenge Egidio. I guessed a few since you gave so many verbal clues. 😊
Egidio Leitao
I’m glad to hear that, Brad. I hesitated about those clues, but I figured they might help. Thanks for the note.
Writing to Freedom
They definitely helped.
Kirstin Troyer
Wow. Great choices. I wouldn’t have guessed them. It was a great challenge this week
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback, Kirstin. It’s been a fun challenge with so many unusual views.
solaner
the filter was easy. battery and SDcard were a bit harder to guess. I did not find the air blower and the cloth. well done!!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback, André. The battery is proprietary. If anyone uses a Sony camera, they might recognize it.
I. J. Khanewala
Lol! Great take on the challenge
Egidio Leitao
I thought I could show things we all use. Glad you got a laugh out of it. Thanks.
norasphotos4u
These are great – I didn’t guess any!!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for writing, Nora. I’ve been experiencing similar results with other people’s responses. 🙂
Pamela Zmija Photography
Great examples, so creative, I didn’t guess a single one 😉
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback, Pam.
Steve Schwartzman
For several years Cindy Taylor in Ontario ran a blog in which every post showed a picture of something—usually in a closeup—that viewers would try to identify. She stopped in 2015, but her posts are still up:
https://photosfromtheloonybin.wordpress.com/
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the link. Where did she provide the answers? I read three posts and did not see answers. Maybe it was buried in the comments.
Steve Schwartzman
I just checked the post at
https://photosfromtheloonybin.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/mystery-photo-169/
and found the answer down in the comments.
Egidio Leitao
I thought that might be the case. I didn’t read every comment. Thanks for the feedback.
Sylvia Bacon
Egidio, you kept me guessing about a few of your images. particular the battery photo. Great job!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks so much, Sylvia. I guess the battery is very particular to the type of camera. Everyone’s camera battery may look different.
Sofia Alves
I got a couple right 😀 I love your take on this challenge, excellent idea with wonderful photos too.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for your feedback, Sofia, and the excellent challenge.
Toonsarah
Very clever macros Egidio – the close-up of the SD card was especially intriguing!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the compliment, Sarah. The SD card close-up was cropped in order to eliminate the obvious card view. I wanted to focus only on the contacts.
Wandering Dawgs
Egidio, these are great! I really enjoyed these macros of everyday things we photographers use all the time. I have all of these in my camera bag but the only ones I guessed correctly are the lens filter and the wipes.
Egidio Leitao
Congratulations on the results you got, Beth. Not everyone can see those objects by simply looking at a macro photo. Thanks for writing.
photobyjohnbo
A wonderful set of macros, Egidio! Great example for a photography bag. I failed… only 20%. I guessed only the last one right.
Egidio Leitao
John, thanks for the compliment. As I said to someone else, I don’t think I would have guessed all the subjects either. It’s hard to realize what we see from a macro perspective.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
These are great macros, and all in B&W clever. Only one I got right was the last one.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Ritva. I thought that the monochrome treatment would make us see those objects differently.
margaret21
What a great post. But in my case … epic fail 😕
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for your compliment, Margaret. You are not alone. As with many macro photos, we often don’t see what the photo shows.
restlessjo
Brilliantly done, Egidio xx
Egidio Leitao
Jo, that is so kind of you to say that. Muito obrigado. xx
Rebecca Cuningham
You had me completely stumped, Egídio. Well edited.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Rebecca. We often do not see those objects in macro photography. I don’t know that I would have guessed them either.
Yinglan
Wow! Great photos! You had me going back and looking at the photos a couple more times before the photos made sense. LOL.
Egidio Leitao
Yinglan, I am happy you took time to go back and realize what the objects were. Thanks for the feedback.
Anne Sandler
WOW, what a great response to this challenge! I loved the images and hints, and I scored 99%. I thought the filter was part of a lens.
Egidio Leitao
That was very close indeed, as filters attach to lenses. Thanks for writing.
Vicki
I did figure out some (as I was cleaning my camera(s) lenses & lens cap only yesterday). A fun answer to the challenge.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback, Vicki.
Tina Schell
Fun choices all Egidio. Love that you focused (pun intended) on camera gear. I did guess the last 3 but only because I figured out it was camera equipment first!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Tina. I thought about leaving the hints more mysterious, but in the end, I chose to provide strong hints.
pamperrault21
Brills! Great imagination (and photography)! Nicely-done Egidio! pp
Egidio Leitao
Thanks a million, Pam. At first, I was at a loss as to what I’d do.
pamperrault21
I’m just embarrassed that you so completely fooled me with objects I ought to have recognized! 🙂
Egidio Leitao
Pam, I’m not sure I would have guessed what they were either if I had not photographed them. It’s difficult to see what things are in macro photography.