Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Dressed for the Hot Sun

One finally image from yesterday's rice harvest, this picture of the lady is my favorite of the whole batch.

I was using my new monopod with a Nikon D200 and big Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom in manual-focus mode (which I tend to use and enjoy much more now that I have a Katz Eye focus screen), and I got the focus perfect for a change, with clear details on each thread of the cloth over her face.

Here's a full-resolution crop from the center of the image. Note the detail of each thread....

Fine Detail
( Full-resolution crop )

Add to that the creaminess of the background that the shallow depth of field that an f/2.8 aperture provides, and I think it's photographically wonderful.

I was pixel-peeping (“inspecting closely”) the full-resolution version, somewhat basking in its glory, when I was delighted to notice that she had a stowaway sitting on the back of her hat. I didn't notice him at the time, so he's not in focus, but I thought it was quite cute.

Wide-Eyed Stowaway
( Full-resolution crop )

It turns out that she had at least one or two crickets on her hat in almost every shot, as did the man. For a while I wondered if they were hat decorations, until I looked at enough shots and saw that their number and location changed over time. If you go back to yesterday's post and look at the large versions of each picture with a hat, you'll find a green friend or two.