Some recent macros :)

Lord Vetinari

Some recent shots- been trying to optimise aperture settings vs sharpness at higher mags on my MPE-65.
Brian V.

Condensation



Female common darter dragonfly- focus stacked from 4 pics- uncropped



Cross-eye stereogram of above





Fly bubble blowing



11 pic focus stack of an orb web spider

Skippy

Lord Vetinari wrote:

Some recent shots- been trying to optimise aperture settings vs sharpness at higher mags on my MPE-65.
Brian V.
Condensation
Female common darter dragonfly- focus stacked from 4 pics- uncropped
Cross-eye stereogram of above
Fly bubble blowing
11 pic focus stack of an orb web spider

No doubt about it Brian when it comes to Macro Photography you certainly know your stuff ...... yup you da man :ivar

Your work leaves me speechless, the images you produce are nothing less than stunning, and indeed you will remain an inspiration to not only myself but to so many people on the Dgrin Forum, thank you so much for sharing your love of Macro Photography with us .... Skippy (Australia)

Swartzy

Yea...what Skippy said even
Lord Macro! What incredible detail and close ups. That spider is something I don't want to experience first hand, Beautiful work. Let's see, extension tubes, backward lenses, flash rings....I think I'll go study some more. Awesome shots Brian, thanks for sharing them.

douglas

All fabulous shots, the first one is way cool, and the last one has amazing detail and sharp!

Awais Yaqub

Wonderful macros i love them you know very well :ivar

Lord Vetinari

Thanks for the comments- much appreciated.
I thought the first shot was almost poignant- it's the condensation on a cellophane wrapper around a brand new hose-pipe which I have been unable to use as we still have a hose-pipe ban
Brian V.

TomaS

Lord Vetinari wrote:

Thanks for the comments- much appreciated.
I thought the first shot was almost poignant- it's the condensation on a cellophane wrapper around a brand new hose-pipe which I have been unable to use as we still have a hose-pipe ban
Brian V.

Heck, I don't even know what a 'hose-pipe' is, let alone focus stacking, and the exotic equipment you use to get these. One thing I do know is that you have an eye for stunning tiny stuff as in #1 (love the patterns inside the drops too), and all cool bug macros. Opens up other worlds to all who see them. Thanks for sharing. You deserve a smiley - LordV

TristanP

The dragonfly is especially stunning. You know, more than the usual regular stunning. Was she just very patient with you?

Lord Vetinari

Thanks Tom and Tristan
You know what a hose-pipe is it's the plastic tube you water the garden with by fixing it to a water tap hate to think what you call them
Tristan- I'm amazed at how close you can get to some dragonflies if you are careful. Only problem with them when doing a focus stack is they often twitch their heads so you need to catch them between twitches
Brian V.

Maestro

Stunning. I especially like the fly blowing the bubble.

wxwax

Once again, amazing macros, m'lud. Especially the blowing bubble fly.

Your work is of an exceptionally high caliber. When I think of the very best photographers who post their work on dgrin, your name is one of the very first that comes to mind.

Lord Vetinari

Thanks Sid and Maestro for the comments/ compliments.
because I've probably taken pics of most of the more obvious bugs in my garden, it gives me the opportunity of playing around with the shots a bit more without the risk of being dissapointed if I totally miss the shot . Part of the fun of photography is you never stop learning.
Brian V.

mbz

Beautiful!

DoctorIt

Lord Vetinari wrote:

Thanks for the comments- much appreciated.
I thought the first shot was almost poignant- it's the condensation on a cellophane wrapper around a brand new hose-pipe which I have been unable to use as we still have a hose-pipe ban
Brian V.

I was just about to ask how you got those amazing patterned reflections in each of the droplets. Phenomenal!

I hate to say it, but your bugs are all good, all the time. It's pretty much the norm from you at this point. But that condensation shot, wow - very very creative! As a fluids researcher, I love it!!!

B://

I mean... what the... your macros are AMAZING!!!
Yes, you're certainly LORD MACRO, they're stunning!!!
Great Set!!

Byron M.

tmlphoto

LV, the first shot is excellent. Your bugs are very good as well, of course. The various textures and the lighting of the first shot are really striking. BTW, in the southern United States we would just call it a 'hose' . Others might call it a garden hose, and we connect it to the 'spigot'.

mr peas

Your pictures make me sick..which means they're very effective

What lens did you use on the photos above? I just got a Canon body, I def have to try this out now that I've upgraded!

Is it the Sigma 105mm EX? Did you use extension tubes?

BTW, how do those work (ext tubes)? And more importantly, how much do they cost? haha

Lord Vetinari

DoctorIt wrote:

I was just about to ask how you got those amazing patterned reflections in each of the droplets. Phenomenal!

I hate to say it, but your bugs are all good, all the time. It's pretty much the norm from you at this point. But that condensation shot, wow - very very creative! As a fluids researcher, I love it!!!

Thanks,
Must admit I'm fairly fascinated by the optical properties of drops- still waiting for them to release vari- focal length liquid lenses for cameras which I think they are using already in some mobile phone cameras.
Brian V.

Lord Vetinari

mr peas wrote:

Your pictures make me sick..which means they're very effective

What lens did you use on the photos above? I just got a Canon body, I def have to try this out now that I've upgraded!

Is it the Sigma 105mm EX? Did you use extension tubes?

BTW, how do those work (ext tubes)? And more importantly, how much do they cost? haha

Hi thanks

I was actually using my MPE-65 macro lens aaround 2:1 for most of the shots but a sigma 105mm with a full set of extension tubes would give similar results.

Think the Kenko ext tubes are around $120 U.S. You will see much cheaper sets on EBAY but they don't have any electrical connections which means you lose control of aperture. The extension tubes are just as they imply- just tubes no lenses- they alter the focal distances enabling you to focus at closer distances. You can use them with normal lenses for example a standrd 50mm lens with a full set of tubes will give you just over 1:1 magnification.
Brian V.

Lord Vetinari

Thanks Byron, MBZ and Thomas for the comments and language translations- much appreciated
Brian V.