Mystery Macro

I've had a really interesting day.  Jet lag from Mexico meant I didn't get to sleep until some ridiculous hour of the morning, but still up and ready for a course on learning to be a judge for Photography Competitions. There is no money in it, just travel expenses, but having been very critical of some judges in the past, I thought it time to put my 'money where my mouth was' and get involved...be the 'victim'.

There were four of us doing the course and the most nerve-wracking part was standing up for the first time to critique a print.  Maybe I was lucky going last, as I did quite well and got lots of praise, but the 'teacher' part of me kicked in and I kept my audience through body language and eye contact. My instinct of 'I'm a performer, I perform' was really useful. Now we have to be observant of judges in our own clubs (we've been doing that anyway) before part two in a few weeks' time.  There is no official path to becoming a judge, theoretically anyone could do it, but if we are all approved then we will go into the handbook for clubs to select their judges.  Then the pressure will be on, as there can be 100+ images on which to comment on in an evening, with only a minute or so for each one.

Today's blip is inspired by an upcoming club competition where we present macro images for others have to guess what they are. Today's Mystery Macro is a well know childish toy - done on my Nikon D3200 with a 36mm extension tube on a 18-55 lens - right in tight!