So, I was thinking the other day... if something is amazing, we say it is
awesome... as in, we are feeling
some awe. So if something is particularly amazing, and we are
full of awe, does that mean it's
awful?
Sounds kinda funny. But then I did some further research and found out that besides the typical usage of the word ("extremely disagreeable or objectionable", Merriam-Webster), it also means "filled with awe" (Merriam-Webster). I suppose that makes sense then. We often might say: "that meal was
awfully good". That sentence implies the application of the latter meaning, as opposed to the oxymoronical usage of the former.
So then I thought, perhaps this shouldn't be surprising at all. But at that point, I had already written all of this out, so I might as well post it.
These snowflake photos have been digitally manipulated (oh, the horror!) in Picasa to increase the contrast.
I imagine I must have been a peculiar sight for the neighbours. Picture me on a snow-filled balcony on a Sunday morning, equipped with my camera, tripod... and ironing board?!? In order to do macrophotography at this scale, the lens needs to be only an inch or so from the subject, and it turns out that an ironing board is at the perfect height for my tripod/camera setup!
After freezing my fingers for a while, I decided to move my operation indoors for some more action. The (unaltered) image on the right is of two caraway seeds.
Here we have the edge of one of my excellent knives. Sorry Dad, I promise to sharpen them right away!
And finally, a fine twenty-dollar bill. Oh right, I was supposed to mention how I'm taking these photographs. Essentially I'm taking a 50mm lens, reversing it, and attaching it to the end of my telephoto lens. And that gives me something like 4x magnification! Neat eh? Hopefully more images to come in the following weeks.
