Yes I've lurked for a while being a bit intimidated by all these great macro shooters so I thought why not? just post a few.
Great fan of JohnK who taught me quite a lot especially regarding flash diffusion, focus point, composition and that magical engredient, camera angle.
Like to get in close with my MP-E and get those insect head-on shots. Always looking for something new and different. Have yet to try focus stacking, too hard at the moment. Still learning.
cheers,
peter
Hi everyone - my name is Roberto. I have mostly been selling stuff and posting a few questions on FM - this is my first post. These spider shots were taken in Naples Florida last weekend, comments and criticism welcomed (please!).
I guess you could say I'm a lurker since I registered here a long time ago. I am very much an amateur but am constantly inspired by what I see shared by the posters here. I have a 20d that I love and just this week picked up a Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro and am really looking forward to getting more into the Macro world a lot more!
I am still struggling with "Am I good enough to post anything here" () but I have decided to be less hard on myself and maybe be a little less shy about posting anything here, since other people can point out faults or areas that need improving quicker than I can.
I appreciate all those who have taken the time to reach out to us noobs and lurkers!
Hi,
New here - not a lurker just yet, I only have a Panasonic FZ50 and the Raynox DCR-250 at this stage. I am hopefully getting the DCR-150 to go with it, but my gear will have to do for now as I can't afford to upgrade to DSLR yet.
Here is one macro I took yesterday with the FZ50 & DCR-250:
And some others I have taken with this gear:
I am a n00b to macro still, but will read through this forum and keep on practicing =)
Cheers,
Kobeson
I've only been on this forum for a few days. Looking through lots of photos in past few weeks as I recently purchased my first DSLR. I've found that I really don't like shots with everything in focus. And nice bokeh is something I really enjoy producing. I'm wondering what kind of lenses I should be looking for. First lens on my current short list is a 85mm L from Canon as the bokeh is one of the most desirable things for me. But trying my friend's 70-200mm f4 I was able to produce some ok shots. Again lens suggestions would be great. And am I correct in assuming that for these macro shots I want to be shooting wide open?
I really like your shots Kobeson, although I'm not a big fan of insects and arachnids.
Hi Justin,
Thanks for your comments - I am trying to steer away from bugs and spiders as much as possible, but they do make great practice subjects
I'm a big fan of bokeh also, it makes me want to upgrade to a DSLR as my camera is limited with shallow DOF. I can't comment on lenses, but I can add that with my gear (FZ50 + Raynox DCR-250) I have to use as much zoom as possible - which helps me with bokeh.
Cheers,
Daniel
So I've looked into the 85mm and apparently it is NOT good for macro due to the ~1m minimum focusing distance. I wonder if it's worth it for me to try and play with extender rings. Back to the drawing board I guess.
What kind of shutter speeds do you need to work with to get insects to freeze like that?
Good afternoon all from land of 10,000 lakes (Minnesota), 5,000,000,000 moquitos come summer! Long time lurker and admirer. But will take the leap this year and start posting. One of those "I don't think my stuff is good enough". But you are correct we all have to start somewhere.
I mainly do photography for family/friends. Senior pictures, Weddings. But I am more interested in macro as I progress. I have Canon equipment - 30D. Looking to find a good Canon macro lens to get more serious. Saving up for a 5D. Any lens suggestions would be most appreciated.
Extender tubes on a DSLR is something I would try if I were you, I don't have the option with my fixed lens. The focusing distance for me with my gear is about 15-20cm though!
I used a 1/400 shutter on the wasp - I probably overcompensated, but with such a small depth of field my macros often don't work too well, so I used shutter priority instead of aperture priority for once, and it worked fine - that shot was my first of about 5 attempts, and the other 4 didn't work.
The small spiders were fine, they just freeze if they spot you. But winged creatures can be difficult - especially if they begin to swoop at you!
First of all, welcome Ellen. From what i've read on dpreview, the digital picture, and here, the canon macro lenses do the job very well. With the more expensive ones producing, at least from what I've seen, better bokeh. Though after some recent reading, there is other things you can do such as reverse your lens or use extender rings on existing lenses of yours. The second option being more expensive, but in my mind a lot safer and more fool proof.
Daniel, I think I am going to go for some extender rings. The kenko set seems to be time and time again mentioned in a great bang for your buck. On one of the big auction sites (if not the biggest...) you can find a set for about 140 CAD shipped. Which for the most part, if it were to bring more functionality to my existing lenses, seems like a reasonable price of admission. As long as the contacts work, and the construction is solid I would imagine there not be much difference between sets. Obviously with no glass there is not much to mess up. My one and only lens (that I own, I have access to some more) is a SIGMA 17-70 2.8-4, which is pretty good bang for my buck. Minimum focusing distance is 20 cm, which is good, but at 70mm the f4 doesn't produce that much bokeh... Still you work with what you have . I'll try to get some extender rings so I can get more magnification and practice on non-moving subjects to start.
Okay, okay...okay! My name is Michael and I'm a newbie. I actually went to Urban Dictionary and looked up the word noob and it states, "A noob or n00b is someone that lacks intellegance or common sense." I didn't want to associated myself with that word so I'm sticking with newbie.
I am also a 100% lurker. Matter of fact, I'm actually King Lurker. I have looked at so many pics on this site that I'm surprised that the FM Commander hasn't giving me a warning for peeping and not posting.
Anyways, I have been shooting for quite some time, 5 years and I still don't know everything. I have learned by reading, lurking, peeping, and just plane trial and error. Most of it by trial and error. I have to admit though, FM folks do have some pretty good talent. One of these days I would love to shoot just as good as you guys or better.
My question to any of you Macro shooters is: Do you prefer the MT-24EX, the Macro Ring Light or do you put two Canon 430s on Flex TT5s and trigger them off with Mini TT1 like I do?
Thanks,
Michael Martinez
Out in the middle of Nowhere Alaska!
M Marti wrote:
Okay, okay...okay! My name is Michael and I'm a newbie. I actually went to Urban Dictionary and looked up the word noob and it states, "A noob or n00b is someone that lacks intellegance or common sense." I didn't want to associated myself with that word so I'm sticking with newbie.
I am also a 100% lurker. Matter of fact, I'm actually King Lurker. I have looked at so many pics on this site that I'm surprised that the FM Commander hasn't giving me a warning for peeping and not posting.
Anyways, I have been shooting for quite some time, 5 years and I still don't know everything. I have learned by reading, lurking, peeping, and just plane trial and error. Most of it by trial and error. I have to admit though, FM folks do have some pretty good talent. One of these days I would love to shoot just as good as you guys or better.
My question to any of you Macro shooters is: Do you prefer the MT-24EX, the Macro Ring Light or do you put two Canon 430s on Flex TT5s and trigger them off with Mini TT1 like I do?
Thanks,
Michael Martinez
Out in the middle of Nowhere Alaska!...Show more →
Welcome Michael, I use one flash either the pop up or a single flash unit on the hot shoe.
Hello, all! My name is Tiffany and I'm an inexperienced macro shooter, equipped with nothing other than my Rebel XT and 100mm F/2.8. I'm not great, but I'm doing a lot better than when I began!
I'll soon be upgrading to a 5D Mk II (thanks, job!), and that will force me to think about flashes other than the one onboard my XT. I think the use of light will be a big step for me to take in my macro photography.
Well, my name is Sarah, and I've responded to a couple of posts. I've always had an interest in photography, but as the mother of three boys, they were usually my subject matter. Recently I became friends with some photogs and they encouraged me to pursue it more--said I had a good eye for composition and such. To the point where I bought a used 20D to replace my broken Canon S3 Powershot. For now the only lenses I have are the kit lens that came with the Powershot and some very old lenses of my dh which I have to use an adapter for. I bought some magnifiers to add to the kit lens.
I'm still trying to learn how to get great shots without using the auto settings.
The work on this forum fascinates me--to be able to see such detail is just awesome. I hope to get a macro lens soon.
Gosh, here goes. I'm Jason, and I love nature in all of it's glory. I'm a perfectionist as well. So I love to start by mimicking photographic styles that catch my eye, and expound upon that with my own artistic attempts, as soon as the technical stuff starts becoming more comfortable. I'm relatively new to photography as a hobby, having caught the bug about 3 years ago with birds, and now starting to try my hand at landscapes, flowers and bugs. I need all the help I can get. My lovely wife picked up some extension tubes for me a few months ago, and I'm now starting to pair them up with my Canon 50mm EF II to discover a wonderful new perspective on nature. My biggest problem is that I sometimes feel like a copycat with regards to my subject choices. Gee, Hummingbirds, Jumping Spiders, Roses...like those haven't been done before. When it all comes down to it, I'm a noob just having a blast behind the lens.
fowl mouth wrote:
My biggest problem is that I sometimes feel like a copycat with regards to my subject choices. Gee, Hummingbirds, Jumping Spiders, Roses...like those haven't been done before. When it all comes down to it, I'm a noob just having a blast behind the lens.
Welcome to the forum.
I wouldn't worry about the copycat feeling - everything has probably been photographed before. Just try to take photos you are happy with and you will gradually develop your own unique style.
I'm Cathy, a long time lurker, with afew posts some time ago. I am a hobbiest who has recently moved to New Brunswick, anada and am just starting to get out again with my camera. I spent last summer shooting whales in the bay, this spring I bought a new macro lens to replace an old one, and am looking forward to getting out with it. I love flowers, and snakes, haven't found many snakes here, but flowers in abundance
cathy
) but I have decided to be less hard on myself and maybe be a little less shy about posting anything here, since other people can point out faults or areas that need improving quicker than I can.
