Very, very difficult shot.

hrgerena

Hello;

I saw this little friend this morning in my backyard, its size is about 1/2 inch or less. It was windy, I was trying to get very good DOF and it was almost imposible to focus, finally after over 20 shots I keept this one, it's not 100% perfect but I got it. I used my Canon 100mm Macro with the Canon Speedlite 430EX in Vertical position (I guess I need a nice Flash bracket or a Macro Ring).

This is the link for picture Data
http://hfgerena.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=605547287&ImageKey=x3BgD

C&C&Suggestions are welcome

paddler4

I'm just a novice at this, and the experts can give you much better advice, but something that you can do that is cheap and easy is to put a Demb reflector on your 430, playing with the angle of the flash head and the reflector. Much better than direct flash, and lots more light than a vertical head without. Sometimes I have cranked flash compensation up by as much as 3, but you just have to play around. Here are two that I took with a Demb reflector. The first was vertical with compensation of 2 or 3: the second had the head swiveled to the side and the reflector mounted on the corner.

Lord Vetinari

Well you got a good capture there - looks like a bush cricket (katydid) nymph.
Brian V.

PeterD-2009

I agree with Brian, a good capture and also I agree with his ID. It is very difficult to narrow down a full ID when at the nymph stage.
I am just learning how to use Macro and use the method that you have. May I suggest that you try to use manual focus as af alone can be a bit slow and uncertain under some conditions. The method I use is to leave the camera and lens in af mode. Before pressing the shutter, do a manual focus, half press the shutter to achieve af then release the shutter. This speeds up the focus times by ensuring the af has something to lock onto without hunting. Not all lenses will allow this method but it's worth checking if yours does.

hrgerena

Lord Vetinari wrote:

Well you got a good capture there - looks like a bush cricket (katydid) nymph.
Brian V.

Hi Brian, thanks for the comment and help me out in the ID of this little fellow.

Chrissiebeez_NL

nice photo! great colours and good focus!

paddler4

BTW, you should not feel discouraged. Chasing critters around is tough.

The information I gave you above was incorrect, I realized later. The top shot I showed you was done with the flash facing forward, and the demb reflector aiming reflected light down from there. Anyway, a Demb reflector is a cheap thing to try, and they are handy for lots of other uses as well.

One problem I have had is that if you have a flash on top, it becomes even harder to hold the camera stable enough for macro. I have never managed to get a tripod up in time. What I now try sometimes is a monopod, which adds a lot of stability but is quick to deploy. I use a cheap Slik EZ Pod jr because it is light and the spring release makes it a little quicker to adjust height.

Good luck, and enjoy. You are off to a great start.