Experimenting With A Macro

Well, another weekend has come and gone. I didn't get half of what I wanted done but it was still a productive and pleasant weekend. I recently got my hands on a macro lens to play with and experiment, got to do a nice bit of that this weekend.

I must admit that I've been a bit remiss in my homework and don't really know much about shooting with a macro. I usually learn by playing 'What's this button do?' and adjusting accordingly until I get the hang of something, these photos are all from that process. Anybody else got some experience with a macro? Any tips, tricks, suggestions?

The weather wasn't the best for taking photos, cloudy and raining and generally reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest. I still found more than enough to keep me occupied. The photo above and below were from some of the rain dripping off the guttering. I'd been trying to catch a drop mid-air but eventually realized that I wasn't going to be able to use a high enough shutter speed to catch it how I wanted. The photo below was about the closest I came, I'm including it just because I find it interesting.

It wouldn't be a productive day without coffee! I hadn't intended to take photos of it but once I noticed the ripples and whatnot in the cup I couldn't pass it up. To get those ripples in the cup I had to stomp on the deck, I eventually had to have help with the stomping so I could keep the camera in focus to get this shot.

So how do y'all take your coffee?