Toronto Photography Meetup Group

I was there a while ago with a group of photographers just after January and we were told that we needed a permit to come in as a group to photograph the flowers. I asked was it because of the tripod and he said mainly, but any large group needs to registar at indoor or outdoor event acoss Toronto. So call the city of Toronto.

Allan Garden will ask you to leave with or without tripods as I have spoke to the Curtis the person in charge of Allan Gardens, and yes we have been down many times as TPMG or other groups.

They don't want to discourage us from coming they simply want to know how many are coming and when, there may or maynot be a charge, but they do have weddings in there as well as other people who stroll through. If you are registared to be there then no one can complain about your visit. Depending upon the other groups or weddings booked they will let you have an hour up to two hours if noone else is coming in to freely photograph the flowers. The place will say they are registared to be here or they have a permit to be here, just like any professional photographer.

As it was explained to me is this has been in effect for a few years now it is now being inforced more starting this year. So to avoid the hassel check with Toronto Parks and see what they have to say. You could even call Allan Gardens and see if you could book something through them but likely they will tell you to call the Toronto number.

Thank you for the info, Maureen.

Fortunately, we were not approached by any staff or police officers while we were shooting there as far as I know. In addition to 12 of us, there were many non-TPMG shooters there, and we did not form one big group.

Piglet, thank you for organizing the event, and more importantly, I'm sorry for eating your lunch

yes, everything went well. i had fun and three people with their videos in hand waiting for the cops to arrest me were very disappointed thanks everyone for joining the fun with macro. i hope you all had a blast like i did

it's ok, asyncmp. your lunch was good too

Thanks Sue. It was a nice outing. Also nice to meet new people.
Going through my shots right now. I think I got a few keepers.

Tim

that's good...Tim...i did poorly with manual focusing

Wow, nice shots, Sue. Sorry I couldn't make it.

thanks Elaine. no problem, next time.

Thanks for organizing Piglet Thanks too all that came as well!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/potatoeye/4378080912/" title="Untitled by Scapevision, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2659/4378080912_68d2354067.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a>

That's the last one in your posted set here Piglet

Some shots from today.. They were all shot with a macro lens + an extension tube.

Thanks for organizing Piglet!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wycchan/4377224333/" title="_MG_6291 by wycchan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4377224333_fa1ff7e2e6.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="_MG_6291"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wycchan/4377977088/" title="Daffodil by wycchan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4377977088_b4fdf89028.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Daffodil"></a>[/img]

very nice and sharp this is what i was trying to get but i couldn't see what i was doing

I don't think there's a problem with piglet's focus, but there is definitely a lot less depth of field. PotatoEye didn't get as close, but otherwise you both shot with the same exposure: 1/125 @f/6.3 ISO200 + flash.
(though, piglet had red-eye reduction )

I can't see what I'm focusing on either, so I use the DOF preview button. You guys have that?

i didn't know i have red-eye reduction on i better turn it off

i have the dof preview button too but never use it

At one point I was taken in to one of the small adjacent rooms where I was strip searched and lightly interrogated. I thought it was security/police until I noticed a small TPMG luggage tag on their backpack.

Interesting initiation!! .

Thanks for planning this event, piglet. I was starting to feel like a shut-in! I've been home most of the last month processing RAWs from Costa Rica. I saw a lot of these plants in CR but usually in low light canopies. I cursed the lowlight and that I didn't have my tripod with me. Yesterday with the narrow pathways and numerous visitors I cursed having the tripod with me - and the harsh lighting. Well it wasn't that harsh. Luckily the greenhouse windows dispersed some of the light. I did wish I had my longer lens which I left behind hoping to focus on closeup work. I wish I'd done this exercise BEFORE I went to CR shooting macro for the first time.
A few things I learned:
- you guys don't fool around. 2 hours of shooting and off to the restaurant!
- never shoot at small apertures after a long trip without cleaning your sensor first. Dust really shows up at f32
- my Benbo tripod is great for landscape photography by not so for macro photography in tight quarters
here's a sampler of what I shot:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/phil_marion/4380470412/" title="Allan Gardens Conservatory by Phil Marion, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/4380470412_1be8b9d748.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Allan Gardens Conservatory"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/phil_marion/4380471428/" title="Allan Gardens Conservatory by Phil Marion, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/4380471428_eb2a22220f.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Allan Gardens Conservatory"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/phil_marion/4380465718/" title="Allan Gardens Conservatory by Phil Marion, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4380465718_ca431dfdfe.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Allan Gardens Conservatory"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/phil_marion/4379713539/" title="Allan Gardens Conservatory by Phil Marion, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4379713539_6fc88b97ca.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Allan Gardens Conservatory"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/phil_marion/4380466004/" title="Allan Gardens Conservatory by Phil Marion, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2497/4380466004_7e11518251.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Allan Gardens Conservatory"></a>

I attended this as my first TPMG meet-up.
I had a great time - thanks for organizing.
It was nice to meet ya'll and I run into an old friend too!

+ nice photos!

beautiful shots.

yeah, i guess we were hungry so there was no time to fool around but then we also wanted to take some shots before heading for lunch

i find it's nice to go out and shoot in the winter time where there is less people especially in the zoo...hey i have another more fun at the zoo event if you're interested

Thank you for organizing great shooting! I had a great time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23359146@N04/4380853842/

i'm glad you had a great time too.

but for some reason, i can't see your image

Whoa - how delicate! I missed that one. How big was it? Which room was it in?

NICE - I tried my 100 mm f2.8 macro on extension tubes yesterday and couldn't focus on anything!!!
I just bought the macro last month so I was only using it for the third time. I guess I wasn't getting close enough to anything? How far was the end of your lens to these objects?
I think now I recall overhearing someone say you lose infinity focus with tubes - so that should have been my first clue

Thank you, I also think, it is a cute flower.
I'm not sure, but, i think it was in the left side room from the entrance, which was filled with many colurful flowers.

Anyway I'm planing to visit there soon again. It was really nice place. haha

very cute flower indeed. i'm can't wait for the tulips to plant

Some pics of mine.

Pink Flower

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/timras/4381227404/" title="Pink01 by timras, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4381227404_b032917035.jpg" width="500" height="316" alt="Pink01"></a>

Same pink flower with a small bug

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/timras/4381227516/" title="Pink02 by timras, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4381227516_816eabc3b6.jpg" width="500" height="417" alt="Pink02"></a>

Small cactus

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/timras/4381227650/" title="Cactus by timras, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4381227650_f700dd81b8.jpg" width="500" height="399" alt="Cactus"></a>

Tim

Pretty great macro shots folks!

I'm back.. had some issues sorted out with my tpmg account, and look.. a new username

Thanks Sue for organizing this event! This was my first real session with a macro lens. A great experience, and obviously there's still plenty to learn.

Great pics everyone! A few samples from me:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29718273@N06/4376746335/" title="Untitled by Spencer Lui, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2725/4376746335_79966ab84e.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29718273@N06/4376748561/" title="Untitled by Spencer Lui, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4054/4376748561_562b89178b.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29718273@N06/4376749269/" title="Untitled by Spencer Lui, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4063/4376749269_f87727aa25.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""></a>

The set http://www.flickr.com/photos/29718273@N ... 357846535/

Years ago (before I had a camera) I used to live just down the road from the place and only used it as a winter pitstop - a place to keep warm. But it is a nice place. Interestingly, after everyone had abandonned me, the newguy to go drinking, I overheard an elderly English couple constantly complaining that many of the plants had merely been 'planted recently'.
Do most greenhouses grow their plants from seed?

maybe but they are mostly planted from the baby plants because i remembered seeing the gardener planting them a few times while i was there.

The front glass of the lens was only a few inches away from the subject. As you wrote, a lens loses its ability to focus to far objects with an extension tube attached.