Adventures in Macro Photography

Those pictures are all stunning. Thanks for the insect pictures. WHat a pleasure it is to see photography like that. Thanks to everyone who contributed pics to this thread
 
Idaho Jarhead said:
Awesome pics all around. I wish I had the talent you all have.

Mike...how did you get the bee to stand still for you?
Click to expand...

I only wish they would have stood still! Between the light breeze blowing the flowers around and the bees moving, it was just a matter of shooting a bunch of pictures and hoping a few came out in focus! The Macro lens has such a small window for focus that it's difficult to get it right, and more luck than anything. A lot of macro shots are done in a controlled environment to alleviate that, but I enjoy getting out and enjoying the walk as much as taking the pictures.

The Tamron 90mm seems like a good lens for the price, they go for about $450. I use a Manfroto monopod for shooting, carrying a tripod around on hikes kind of takes the fun out of it for me. The monopod makes it pretty easy to get some fairly stable shots and I can use it to ward off killer attack squirrels if needed...
 
No talent, just practice. When using macro, though, you have to stay REALLY still, and control your breathing, unless the picture comes out really fuzzy.
 
I always used a focusing rail for macro. Mine was a Nikon PB4 that also included an adjustable bellows with tilt/shift on the front! Sweet! Then, a reversing ring to allow a lens to be mounted backwards, and a stop-down ring/shutter release doohicky that allowed you to view the scene with the reversed lens wide open, stopping it down to the selected f/stop when you took the photo. A couple of remote strobes, strobe bracket and the required connecting cords, and so on. Of course, a solid tripod and a good ballhead make it easier, too.


This is the cobbed-up indoor set-up I used to use:
35MACRO.JPG


A simpler, more packable lightweight outdoor rig:

BUGGEAR.JPG


Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
That's quite the setup! I may have to look into a focusing rail for more "local" shots like knives or around the garden. Then I'll be buying light boxes, another lens or two, a new camera body.... It's almost as bad as buying Busses!
 
Great stuff. Seems like Nikon is the body of choice around these parts. Got my wife a Rebel XTi awhile back, but she hasn't fidgeted with it since we got back from Hawaii last year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top