The mid-week nor'easter left snow and ice that is now starting to slip away, curling under the eaves as they slide off. (I hope our Australian hedgehogs appreciate what they're missing.)

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A gourmet chocolate maker has taken up residence in our small town, which was the impetus for me trying to do justice to some of his creations. Unfortunately, every blemish in the chocolate shows up, requiring a lot of cloning in LightRoom. I didn't realize when starting that food photography offers its own special challenges, but that's what's great about photography: you're constantly learning something new. The bunny racer is from an antique chocolate mold - and was quite tasty.

(Download)

The download version of the male merganser is stunning.

What a great idea and great technique. Thanks.

Thanks for posting the progression of shots. It gives a good sense of what you were able to accomplish.

As for where to buy, B&H and Adorama are quite reputable. You might even consider buying a used lens from them. There was recently a discussion thread on UHH about Best Buy: it appears some of their stores are featuring a high end camera section, but their employees don't appear to know much. At B&H and Adorama you can engage in online conversations with their staff.

With your budget in mind you might also want to look at refurbished lenses. I don't know about Canon, but I trust Nikon's refurbs, and the price is always lower.

And finally, not to muddy the water, but perhaps you should look at a Raynox adapter, which gives a close up effect for $50-$60. It clips on to your existing lens, adding magnifying power of 1.5 or 2.5. You may find it a good place to start.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=raynox%20dcr-150&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ps

Thanks for posting both images. Great work.

If I can follow up, what software did you use?

Thanks - and thanks for the extra photos.

Unfortunately, that's only for the Mac version. I only wish it applied to Windows

Not fair - it's snow, again, here in New England.

I'm transfixed by those petals.

Thanks for the info and the great shot.

There are none of these at my bird feeders in New Hampshire. What is it?

Very nice. How many photos in your stacks?