Few recent macro shots (not all bugs)

Lord Vetinari

Some recent shots with my 105mm sigma macro lens + 31mm ext ring at 1.5:1.

As an aside if anyone can explain why the above combination gives 1.5:1 I would be grateful.

Housefly closeup



GT leaf hopper (focus stacked from 2 pics to get both eyes in focus)



Red rain drip

Skippy

You Get The Best Flies

Lord Vetinari wrote:

Some recent shots with my 105mm sigma macro lens + 31mm ext ring at 1.5:1.

As an aside if anyone can explain why the above combination gives 1.5:1 I would be grateful.

Housefly closeup
GT leaf hopper (focus stacked from 2 pics to get both eyes in focus)
Red rain drip

Hi Brian........you get the best fly shots I tell ya, and your stacking method really pays off for you doesn't it, I need to read up about how you do that
I haven't had a chance to do much at all since I've been back from USA except workkkkkkkkkkk....... I love that Fly ........that EYE.....man thats a great eye..... excellent shots Brian...... Skippy (Australia)

Lord Vetinari

Skippy wrote:

Hi Brian........you get the best fly shots I tell ya, and your stacking method really pays off for you doesn't it, I need to read up about how you do that
I haven't had a chance to do much at all since I've been back from USA except workkkkkkkkkkk....... I love that Fly ........that EYE.....man thats a great eye..... excellent shots Brian...... Skippy (Australia)

Thanks skippy-
You want to try focus stacking it can give interesting results sometimes.
Brian V.

KevinKal

Great
Brian,

As usual, excellent shots there. Yes, that first one of the fly's eye is spectacular - what did you do in terms of post processing to the image - it's so silky smooth & detailed.

Looking forward to more,
Kevin K.

wholenewlight

WOW.

Nice pics. While others have commented on the cool eye, it's the "fly hair" that really creeps me out. I never imagined those little devils were so hairy before viewing your posts.

Your macro shots always dazzle me - you are truly the Lord of the macros on this site.

Lord Vetinari

KevinKal wrote:

Brian,

As usual, excellent shots there. Yes, that first one of the fly's eye is spectacular - what did you do in terms of post processing to the image - it's so silky smooth & detailed.

Looking forward to more,
Kevin K.

Thanks Kevin K
Very little post processing- some sharpening during raw conversion (this actually seems to do very little) then USM 85% at .8 in PS but it was not really needed.
Think the main point is if you take it at highish magnification and get the focus right then you actually don't have to do much.

Lord Vetinari

wholenewlight wrote:

WOW.

Nice pics. While others have commented on the cool eye, it's the "fly hair" that really creeps me out. I never imagined those little devils were so hairy before viewing your posts.

Your macro shots always dazzle me - you are truly the Lord of the macros on this site.

Thanks wholenewlight.
Well flies have to keep warm at night
Thanks again for the compliments.
Brian V.

Lee Massey

Hi Brian,

I was looking for some advice... I tried the other day to get some shots of a small jumping spider with the sigma 105mm and a reversed 50mm f/1.4.

How do you handle the extremely small working distance in conjunction with the small DOF and a moving subject?

Just curious as I was having very little luck... Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,

Lee

Lord Vetinari wrote:

Some recent shots with my 105mm sigma macro lens + 31mm ext ring at 1.5:1.

As an aside if anyone can explain why the above combination gives 1.5:1 I would be grateful.

Lord Vetinari

Lee Massey wrote:

Hi Brian,

I was looking for some advice... I tried the other day to get some shots of a small jumping spider with the sigma 105mm and a reversed 50mm f/1.4.

How do you handle the extremely small working distance in conjunction with the small DOF and a moving subject?

Just curious as I was having very little luck... Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,

Lee

Suspect you are just going for too high a magnification- my setup gives me about 2.8:1 with a reversed 50mm lens. You may be better off using some extension rings (Jessops or Kenco are not too expensive) and shooting at 1.5:1. Jumping spiders are normally just plain difficult simply because they very rarely stay still. Sorry can't be more help.
Brian V.

Higgmeister

Hi Brian,
I have to laugh. I was showing a new photographer this site as a reference. I opened up your post and his jaw dropped to the floor and it took awhile till he got it back into place:D. His next comment was that he needs to get a macro lens (another convert).

Thanks for sharing,
Chris

GREAPER

That fly is somethin else.

I am in awe.

Lee Massey

You could be right... I just was wondering if I was doing something wrong (which is quite plausible). I definately don't see the detail that you are getting in your housefly shot. If you are cropping, how much do you typically crop?

Sorry for all the questions, but you are the Lord of the Flies!

Thanks again,

Lee

Lord Vetinari wrote:

Suspect you are just going for too high a magnification- my setup gives me about 2.8:1 with a reversed 50mm lens. You may be better off using some extension rings (Jessops or Kenco are not too expensive) and shooting at 1.5:1. Jumping spiders are normally just plain difficult simply because they very rarely stay still. Sorry can't be more help.
Brian V.

Lord Vetinari

Higgmeister wrote:

Hi Brian,
I have to laugh. I was showing a new photographer this site as a reference. I opened up your post and his jaw dropped to the floor and it took awhile till he got it back into place:D. His next comment was that he needs to get a macro lens (another convert).

Thanks for sharing,
Chris

Thanks Chris- Love the story.
Brian V.

Lord Vetinari

GREAPER wrote:

That fly is somethin else.

I am in awe.

Thanks Greaper,
The fly shot was actually just a test shot at the same magnification that I had been using with my emergency lens, when I got my macro lens back from sigma- It was just the first bug I found . I was trying to convince myself that the extra detail I was getting with my emergency lens was just down to the magnification- Think I succeeded.:D
Brian V.

Lord Vetinari

Lee Massey wrote:

You could be right... I just was wondering if I was doing something wrong (which is quite plausible). I definately don't see the detail that you are getting in your housefly shot. If you are cropping, how much do you typically crop?

Sorry for all the questions, but you are the Lord of the Flies!

Thanks again,

Lee

No probs Lee- keep asking.
I wrote up a bit on how I do my macro shots here.
http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=17138

Main things in getting the detail are fairly obvious, Good DOF- I shoot between F11 and F16 and sometimes use focus stacking, although the fly is not focus stacked. Good lighting- I've very rarely taken good macros in natural light- take a look at the flash setup- this gives good light but with slight directionality and is also very diffuse. Lastly of course as I don't use a tripod, shutter speed (I use 1/200) and the ability to hold the camera steady.
I'm quite often sitting down resting the camera on my knees or something nearby. If I can't do this then I sometimes use a monopod at 90. to the camera resting on my shoulder. I also use a remote trigger mounted on the back of my flash frame as I found I often got slight motion blur just pressing the shutter button.
As to cropping, defining the crop as the % of the picture left (I've found different people use different defintions). I tend to use between 50% and 100%. The first 2 pics above were cropped for framing reasons at about 70%, last pic is 100% (ie uncropped). I have on certain occasions used extreme crops ie about 20% of the pic when trying to show detail.
Last thing I've had is lots of practice!
Brian V.

Lee Massey

Thanks Brian...

If I recall I was shooting around F22 and I believe that my shutter speed was around 1/250 (I will have to double check my EXIF). I found the spider in my garage and took it down to my basement where I have some white seamless and an Alien Bee with a soft box...

This was my first time shooting with a reversed 50mm... Often I would have to get so close that I would partially block the light so I guess that is the advantage of flash being atached to the camera to get the light out in front...

I do not believe that I would have had much luck stacking for DOF purposes as that spider was all over the place... I had a very difficult time getting an accurate focus while he was constantly moving. I think that I needed some spider tranquilizer.

This has definately been a humbling experience and I have a new appreciation for this art form. I definately need more practice...

Thanks once again as it is always good to get advice from someone who has experience. :

Lee

Lord Vetinari wrote:

No probs Lee- keep asking.
I wrote up a bit on how I do my macro shots here.
http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=17138

Main things in getting the detail are fairly obvious, Good DOF- I shoot between F11 and F16 and sometimes use focus stacking, although the fly is not focus stacked. Good lighting- I've very rarely taken good macros in natural light- take a look at the flash setup- this gives good light but with slight directionality and is also very diffuse. Lastly of course as I don't use a tripod, shutter speed (I use 1/200) and the ability to hold the camera steady.
I'm quite often sitting down resting the camera on my knees or something nearby. If I can't do this then I sometimes use a monopod at 90. to the camera resting on my shoulder. I also use a remote trigger mounted on the back of my flash frame as I found I often got slight motion blur just pressing the shutter button.
As to cropping, defining the crop as the % of the picture left (I've found different people use different defintions). I tend to use between 50% and 100%. The first 2 pics above were cropped for framing reasons at about 70%, last pic is 100% (ie uncropped). I have on certain occasions used extreme crops ie about 20% of the pic when trying to show detail.
Last thing I've had is lots of practice!
Brian V.

Lord Vetinari

One minor point Lee, at F22 you will get diffraction softening of the image anyway - you will get greater DOF but not great detail.

Brian V.

Lee Massey

Interesting... That is not something that I considered... I will try to tone it back to the F11-F16 range. Once again... Thanks!

I am sure that with enough practice I will get better results...

Thanks,

Lee

Lord Vetinari wrote:

One minor point Lee, at F22 you will get diffraction softening of the image anyway - you will get greater DOF but not great detail.

Brian V.