Macro Shots - CC Appreciated

controld

I've been playing with my early Christmas present to myself this morning - a set of Kenko Extension tubes. Before I venture outdoors I wanted to get the hang of the focus distances I could expect.

These shots are an attempt at bringing together some of the techniques I've been learning from, amongst other places, this board. :wink In particular:

While shooting:
- Using tripod and cable release + mirror lockup to seek sharpness
- Some experimenation with the effect of aperture on DOF over the three dime shots - from f/22, f/11 to f/8.

Post processing:
- Better processing from RAW to get correct WB and exposure
- Levels adjustments in CS2
- LAB sharpening technique
- Channels masking to separate image from background to remove "grey" fuzz in originals from the paper the coins were sitting on
- CS2 action to plop a non-offensive border to jazz them up a little

C & C on any and all points appreciated to assist in the learning process. Thanks!

#1 - f/22, 5 sec, ISO 400, 85mm f/1.8 w/ 12mm + 20mm + 36mm tubes



#2 - f/22, 20 sec, ISO 100, 85mm f/1.8 w/ 12mm + 20mm + 36mm tubes


#3 - f/11, 6 secs, ISO 100, 85mm f/1.8 w/ 12mm + 20mm + 36mm tubes


#4 - f/8, 3.2 sec, ISO 100, 85mm f/1.8 w/ 12mm + 20mm + 36mm tubes


- Mike

Awais Yaqub

i loved these photos . nice Dof experiment

Skippy

controld wrote:

I've been playing with my early Christmas present to myself this morning - a set of Kenko Extension tubes. Before I venture outdoors I wanted to get the hang of the focus distances I could expect.

These shots are an attempt at bringing together some of the techniques I've been learning from, amongst other places, this board. In particular:

While shooting:
- Using tripod and cable release + mirror lockup to seek sharpness
- Some experimenation with the effect of aperture on DOF over the three dime shots - from f/22, f/11 to f/8.

Post processing:
- Better processing from RAW to get correct WB and exposure
- Levels adjustments in CS2
- LAB sharpening technique
- Channels masking to separate image from background to remove "grey" fuzz in originals from the paper the coins were sitting on
- CS2 action to plop a non-offensive border to jazz them up a little

C & C on any and all points appreciated to assist in the learning process. Thanks!
#1 - f/22, 5 sec, ISO 400, 85mm f/1.8 w/ 12mm + 20mm + 36mm tubes
#2 - f/22, 20 sec, ISO 100, 85mm f/1.8 w/ 12mm + 20mm + 36mm tubes
#3 - f/11, 6 secs, ISO 100, 85mm f/1.8 w/ 12mm + 20mm + 36mm tubes
#4 - f/8, 3.2 sec, ISO 100, 85mm f/1.8 w/ 12mm + 20mm + 36mm tubes
- Mike

Hi ya Mike.......yup those Kenkos are pretty darn neat aren't they, and good thing about them is that they ARE NOT EXPENSIVE and come in a complete set of three.

I use mine a lot, though I choose to hand hold my shots, mainly because what I shoot is outside the house.

Very informative post Mike ......thanks for sharing.... Skippy (Australia)

controld

Awais/Skippy,

Thanks for the comments - I was hoping for more criticism though I've learned a lot from DGrin to this point and was hoping to keep that river flowing. I am way to green and scared to venture into the whipping post with newbie action like this - but feel free to poke a little harder. Thanks!

- Mike