Sum Of

The day started with a clear, frosty, cold morning. By nine, it darkened with black clouds overhead, and the rain set in again. It was another Saturday with nothing specific that I had to get out and do, my favourite kind. Monty’s back in Loughborough now, until the Easter holidays, and Milo is working this morning. V and Tara are out shopping in Canterbury for the afternoon, and Gubs has a friend coming over later to work on a film project for school. The combination of rain and near-freezing temperatures dissuaded me from walking, so instead, I worked on some photographic projects from the warmth of my study.

I decided to muck about with the Freewell macro lens a bit more… experimenting with various everyday objects around the house. Once again, the trick is to find something small enough. Anything larger than 4mm across is too big to fit the frame, and the lens has a fixed focusing distance, limiting the compositions a bit. However, it does yield some very striking results within its restrictions.

This image is a tiny detail from a £20 note. I was a little cautious about posting a picture of a banknote, so I looked up the Bank of England regulations on this. It turns out that the rules are pretty relaxed for digital reproductions, which include photos and filming of genuine banknotes. Conditions 3 and 4 (below) must be met, and at least one of 5b) to 5c) must be met.

3. Reproductions may not appear in an offensive or inappropriate context or in such a manner that we, in our sole opinion, believe would undermine the integrity of the currency. 4. There should be no distortion to the monarch's image (apart from an enlargement, reduction or slant). 5(c). Reproductions showing less than 50% of the total surface area of one side do not need to be slanted or overprinted with the word ‘SPECIMEN’.