Peas please

This is one of my first macro photographs, taken yesterday. I've just bought a macro lens for my Sony A350 - the Sigma 50mm F2.8 DG Macro - and I was keen to try it out.

The peas were freshly picked from my garden, the first of this summer's crop. I wanted to re-create other photos that I've seen of fresh fruit and vegetables, making them appear fresh and appetizing.

The process was simple enough. I washed the peas and put them into a bowl. Washing left tiny droplets of water on them, which helps to give that fresh appearance.

The camera was hand-held for the shot. Other details are:

- 1/25 shutter speed
- f4.0 aperture
- 100 ISO

Most of the settings were automatic, although I focused manually. I'm already sensing a preference for manual rather than autofocus.

I take photos in RAW and JPEG format, performing post-processing on the RAW file. In this case the peas were not actually as green as the picture suggests, so I altered the hue to improve the quality of the colour.

I'm quite pleased with the result. It's not as sharp as I'd like; my preference would be to have more in focus. I need to work on depth of field and learn the best combination of ISO and aperture to get better results.

The full picture is available at my Flickr account.