First macro attempts

photon · January 23, 2009

Hello all --

I had the good fortune to borrow Canon's 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens, so I thought I would make the trip to the local butterfly conservatory. Below are some of the better ones.

For a majority of them, I used the shutter wide open to reduce camera shake (all hand-held, as they wouldn't allow tripods) and to catch these guys, who can be pretty quick

I was enjoying the dreamy bokeh of the backgrounds despite the trickiness of getting the focus right.

Anyway, I'd love to get any and all comments and criticisms. Let me have it!

#1

#2

#3
Something a little out of the ordinary...

#4

#5
Maybe I should put this in portraits?? LOL

The kicker is that I'm now addicted to that lens, and now I just have to have it!

Thanks for the C&C!

Curtis

Candid Arts · January 23, 2009

I love # 3, the silhouette. It's just beautiful. I think the thing that makes the rest of them from good photos to great photos would be that tripod, to widen the DOF a bit. Great job though!

I just got this lens last week and am awaiting the time where I can actually use it. I've played with it a bit, but nothing truly wonderfully macro.

Great job!

photon · January 23, 2009

Thanks Candid!

Candid Arts wrote:

I love # 3, the silhouette. It's just beautiful. I think the thing that makes the rest of them from good photos to great photos would be that tripod, to widen the DOF a bit. Great job though!

I just got this lens last week and am awaiting the time where I can actually use it. I've played with it a bit, but nothing truly wonderfully macro.

Great job!

Yeah, I was wondering about that... Next time I'll try to get in earlier and see if they won't let me in with the tripod. f/11 seems to be the target most macro guys use??

Thanks for the comments! And it is really a more versatile lens than I originally thought for portraits or even a long, fast, and sharp lens if I don't want to lug around my 70-200

C

Candid Arts · January 23, 2009

photon wrote:

Yeah, I was wondering about that... Next time I'll try to get in earlier and see if they won't let me in with the tripod. f/11 seems to be the target most macro guys use??

Thanks for the comments! And it is really a more versatile lens than I originally thought for portraits or even a long, fast, and sharp lens if I don't want to lug around my 70-200

C

It really depends on what your shooting and how big it is, how far away you are from the subject, angle of the shot, etc... Some subjects wide open works great for that bokeh effect, sometimes not. Like I said, I just got it last week, so haven't put it through it's tests, but it being a f/2.8, I'm guessin it's going to be most sharp around the f/5.6-11 ish range.

I really can't wait to get out and use it more once spring comes, I just wish we had more than brown spiders in Portland, so thanks for posting these to get me wanting to use it even more!

Lord Vetinari · January 23, 2009

Lovely series- good light and colour.
Just a monopod might help with some smaller apertures. As you found out macro lenses are great optically and give you access to a different world.

Brian V.

Skippy · January 23, 2009

photon wrote:

Hello all --

I had the good fortune to borrow Canon's 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens, so I thought I would make the trip to the local butterfly conservatory. Below are some of the better ones.

For a majority of them, I used the shutter wide open to reduce camera shake (all hand-held, as they wouldn't allow tripods) and to catch these guys, who can be pretty quick I was enjoying the dreamy bokeh of the backgrounds despite the trickiness of getting the focus right.

Anyway, I'd love to get any and all comments and criticisms. Let me have it!
Something a little out of the ordinary...
Maybe I should put this in portraits??
The kicker is that I'm now addicted to that lens, and now I just have to have it!

Thanks for the C&C!
Curtis

Curtis the Canon Macro F2.8 is sweet lens as you have now seen for yourself.

It's tack sharp, and can give some really smooth backgrounds.
Number #3 is really interesting.

Bet you wasn't in a hurry to give the lens back

Got yourself some really nice shots here and a bonus being the Bird

... Skippy

.

photon · January 23, 2009

Thanks Lord V!

Lord Vetinari wrote:

Lovely series- good light and colour.
Just a monopod might help with some smaller apertures. As you found out macro lenses are great optically and give you access to a different world.

Brian V.

Thank you very much for your kind words, Brian... I highly respect and admire the work you do and look forward to your every post!

I'll have to look into the monopod... Maybe I can borrow that too!

Thanks again for looking!

Curtis

photon · January 23, 2009

Thanks Skippy!

Skippy wrote:

Curtis the Canon Macro F2.8 is sweet lens as you have now seen for yourself.

It's tack sharp, and can give some really smooth backgrounds.
Number #3 is really interesting.

Bet you wasn't in a hurry to give the lens back
Got yourself some really nice shots here and a bonus being the Bird
... Skippy
.

Yeah, I have to give the lens back today! :cry Now I have to start saving for one for myself!

Thanks for the feedback Skippy!

C

Cindy · January 24, 2009

All are wonderful! #3 grabs me instantly - WoW!

photon · January 25, 2009

Thanks Cindy!

Cindy wrote:

All are wonderful! #3 grabs me instantly - WoW!

It means a lot... BTW, I LOVE your snowflake shots!

C

GOLDENORFE · January 26, 2009

#3 great! never thought about doing that.
good first shots, parrot very good.
phil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenorfe/

Brendan · January 26, 2009

The third is wonderful..! Unique take, sharp subject, great silhouette. A really wonderful photograph.

The first has a very nice composition, though a tiny bit more depth of field would be nice.

The others are nice as well, but these two stand out for me.

—Brendan

fotoeffects · January 26, 2009

Love the parrot

photon wrote:

Hello all --

I had the good fortune to borrow Canon's 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens, so I thought I would make the trip to the local butterfly conservatory. Below are some of the better ones.

For a majority of them, I used the shutter wide open to reduce camera shake (all hand-held, as they wouldn't allow tripods) and to catch these guys, who can be pretty quick I was enjoying the dreamy bokeh of the backgrounds despite the trickiness of getting the focus right.

Anyway, I'd love to get any and all comments and criticisms. Let me have it!

#1

#2

#3
Something a little out of the ordinary...

#4

#5
Maybe I should put this in portraits??

The kicker is that I'm now addicted to that lens, and now I just have to have it!

Thanks for the C&C!

Curtis

I love the parrot, the dof is terrific.

thequiet1 · January 26, 2009

Love the silhouette! The first shot is nice too. Good job to keep the eyes in focus. I like how the purple flower shows with the shallow depth of field too. All are well done.

erisian pope · January 27, 2009

#3 is so out of the ordinary and really really really works! I love "outside of the box" compositions, and the bokeh makes a really great spotlight on the butterfly. We also see the butterfly differently, there's no coloration to look at, it's reduced to simple shapes, and that is really engaging for me. Kudos!

photon · January 27, 2009

Thanks Phil!

GOLDENORFE wrote:

#3 great! never thought about doing that.
good first shots, parrot very good.
phil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenorfe/

Thanks Phil! I had a quick gander at your macro shots -- very interesting take on insect dining!

I liked the cheetah portrait a lot too!

Curtis

photon · January 27, 2009

Thanks Brendan!

Biarien wrote:

The third is wonderful..! Unique take, sharp subject, great silhouette. A really wonderful photograph.

The first has a very nice composition, though a tiny bit more depth of field would be nice.

The others are nice as well, but these two stand out for me.

—Brendan

Hi Brendan --

Thanks for the comments. I think I agree with you that I could have used more DOF on nearly all the shots, though in #3 it was easier because I was further away. Gonna have to try the tripod / monopod next time.

Thanks for looking!

Curtis

photon · January 27, 2009

Hi Learnin!

learnin wrote:

I love the parrot, the dof is terrific.

Thanks Learnin'!

It's that lens, man... The DOF is crazy small, and so, so smooth. I can definitely see why people like this for a portrait lens! I also liked how the colour in the feathers matched the background, which for me was a complete fluke (but it's probably just good camouflage!

Thanks for the comments,

Curtis

photon · January 27, 2009

Insightful comments, Christian!

erisian pope wrote:

#3 is so out of the ordinary and really really really works! I love "outside of the box" compositions, and the bokeh makes a really great spotlight on the butterfly. We also see the butterfly differently, there's no coloration to look at, it's reduced to simple shapes, and that is really engaging for me. Kudos!

Thanks so much for your insights, Christian! I really appreciate it.

Curtis

First macro attempts

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