I've been thinking of the best way to "deliver" photos to my friends every once in awhile. I have accounts on Flikr and Zenfolio but I don't really want to upload to those and then tell my friends to go look. It feels pushy to say "hey I've got some new pics, so go take a look".....

What I'm trying to do is avoid emailing a group (3-10) of photos to people. That seems pushy also...

I've recently thought of creating a blog (something I've never done and would have to learn about) that would allow me to write a few paragraphs about what I've been shooting and where and then posting a group of new photos there.

What are your ideas?
Dave

I'd be on board with a wildlife contest.
Birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, insects, all OK as long as they were wild creatures, living and photographed in the wild.
I'd like to see the images limited to basic, minimal post processing only however. No HDR, composites, severe filter effects, or other heavily processed images. Those could be a seperate contest.
Keep it a photo contest and not a photo illustration contest and I'm interested.
I would also like to make the capture date on images fairly recent. I would like to see what people have been doing lately as opposed to digging through the archives and pulling out a photo from ten years ago.
And also keep it light and fun as best as possible.

Those are my thoughts anyway.

First, please understand that a lens marked "Macro" does not necessarily mean that lens will capture 1:1 (life-size). It is often a designation used as a selling point, rather than a statement of true ability. 1:4, 1:3, and even 1:2 are close-up magnifications, not true macro.

Second, a zoom lens is already a compromise when compared to prime lenses of 70-mm, 150-mm, 200-mm, all the way to 300-mm. Prime lenses are usually sharper than zoom lenses of same lengths. Therefore, a prime macro lens will be sharper than a zoom macro lens.

Let us attempt to capture as close focus as possible with your lens:
1.) Set switch to MACRO;
2.) Zoom lens to 200-mm;
3.) Set focus to closest setting possible;
4.) Now move ENTIRE camera with lens, "in-&-out" toward subject, until focus is observed;
5.) Take photo and note your Working Distance (between lens front element & subject).

Set lens to 300-mm, and repeat. See which is best for you.