new to this

hi all , a new to me lens with minimal editing any advice welcome , either camera settings or editing advice

didnt notice the flies when i took the pic

There's an edit for a start - zoom in and emphasise them? ......... what IS the new lens? It would help to estimate its potential.

thanks for the reply, lens is Pentax SMC FA 100mm f2.8 Macro,

That's a very good lens. And being a macro lens, it will let you get very close to a subject - at its closest, something 1 inch long will fill the frame (lengthways).

Comments about pictures are usually subjective, so if you've taken a picture for your own pleasure and you like it, ignore what anyone else says! Having said that, here are a couple of hopefully constructive thoughts about the pictures. I hope you don't mind me tinkering with your pictures to show what I mean. You'll be able to do better with the full size pics rather than the reduced images on this forum.

- With the first one, the (i.e. my) eye wants to settle on the red plant but is pulled leftwards by the bigger space to the left. A symmetrical image can be very striking. Try removing some of the left hand side so the red plant is central. Something like this.


- With the second one, there's a lot of detail, including scruffy grass at the bottom, the background isn't horizontal and it isn't clear what the subject is. Try straightening so the background is horizontal then cropping all round. Aim for less distraction and the flies becoming part of the story (suggesting that the wood has been left for a long time). Something like this (other crops with similar effect are also possible).



Keep at it, we're all somewhere on the learning curve, just at different places!

Steve

Steve has provided some great constructive criticism and I'd echo his views, but remember it's what makes you happy that's important.

Being a high quality macro you have the option to get close in and use it as it was intended, but it's also great as a portrait lens at the wider apertures. Keep shooting and posting and you'll get plenty of comments and tips

thanks for the advice gents , am starting to get to grips with exposure in manual settings, so will keep shooting and posting to improve, enjoying the fact that can just go out in the garden and find something to shoot

I agree with Steve on the first shot and suggest centralising the flower.

On the wood pile with the 100mm macro you could get a close up of the flies or I may have gone in close on one of the logs that had interesting wood grain, or not so close and get both the fly and end grain.

Just my ideas, but with that lens your options are pretty limitless. Enjoy using and experimenting with it.

When your ready add a set of extension tubes and you get even closer, fairly cheap as well.

Basically, I agree, but maybe aim to get an AF set of tubes so that you get the (sometimes debateable!) advantages of "full AF" - more expensive but may be "worth it"

have got a tripod comming, as am finding holding steady can be a problem

You'll need to turn of SR (Shake Reduction) in the camera menu when using the tripod