Tom...I'm fairly new to the forums...but really do enjoy reading and seeing the very creative photos. I am an amateur photographer (I have a day job that keeps me from being out very much for the joy of just shooting pics), but want to really learn more. I love mostly outdoor nature types of shots, but have lots of opportunities to get family pics too. For family pics I usually use a point and shoot (Canon PowerShot A2000 IS) simply because I don't want to lug all of my Canon equipment from Chicago to Boston where our kids live. Although, with a new grand baby on the way in late Feb/early Mar I may change my mind on this front.

I am very open to learning how to better see and frame and take shots. I am looking at local community colleges to take some classes so I can expand my capability. So far I have not found any user groups out here in the western suburbs of Chicago, but I plan to keep looking until I find something. Any suggestions on how I can, in limited time each week, grow in my knowledge and ability. I have Kelby's three books on Digital Photography and I try to read a bit each week. I just purchased a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro from a fellow FM poster and am excited about learning more about macro photography.

Well, way too long on the post already, but this gives you an idea of where I am. Looking forward to your response. Thanks for the challenge you have given and for the encouragement to continually move forward. Later...Dave

chaplndave wrote:
Tom...I'm fairly new to the forums...but really do enjoy reading and seeing the very creative photos. I am an amateur photographer (I have a day job that keeps me from being out very much for the joy of just shooting pics), but want to really learn more. I love mostly outdoor nature types of shots, but have lots of opportunities to get family pics too. For family pics I usually use a point and shoot (Canon PowerShot A2000 IS) simply because I don't want to lug all of my Canon equipment from Chicago to Boston where our kids live. Although, with a new grand baby on the way in late Feb/early Mar I may change my mind on this front.

I am very open to learning how to better see and frame and take shots. I am looking at local community colleges to take some classes so I can expand my capability. So far I have not found any user groups out here in the western suburbs of Chicago, but I plan to keep looking until I find something. Any suggestions on how I can, in limited time each week, grow in my knowledge and ability. I have Kelby's three books on Digital Photography and I try to read a bit each week. I just purchased a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro from a fellow FM poster and am excited about learning more about macro photography.

Well, way too long on the post already, but this gives you an idea of where I am. Looking forward to your response. Thanks for the challenge you have given and for the encouragement to continually move forward. Later...Dave

Dave look here for local clubs ,http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=chicago+photography+clubs&btnG=Search&aq=f&aql=&aqi=&oq=

I have never had any formal training in photography, not even a high school photo class , so I'm not real sure what all the college courses in photography cover .
Basic camera function , composition that sort of thing. If you can get into one of the camera clubs , you can meet people on your same level and go on shooting outing together , most of the more experienced people will help and may be able to suggest things that are more specific to your type of photography interest.

If you keep reading here on the macro forum , take some pics , post them people will help and give suggestion on how to improve . You need to shoot a lot and post a lot , it can take some time so be patient. It may take a year before you get some things that you feel are good .

Thanks Tom...I appreciate the reply and the information. I have actually done a bit of research online as to clubs in the area with the closet one in St. Charles. I will check them out. One quick question...at the bottom of their listing it says: PSA? NO What is PSA? Is it Photoshop Association? or something similar?

I am getting my Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro lens in the mail today. The FM member who I bought it from was kind enough to overnight it to me. I am excited about getting started doing some macro work. My wife and I joined the Morton Arboretum last fall and I think that will be a great place to get some wonderful macro shots as well as general shots.

I will try to post some that I feel are at least somewhat worthy of the FM site looking for some feedback. While I have taken pictures for years, I have learned very little other than family members who may have told me they like a particular shot. I do have Photoshop Elements 8 installed on my home computer and hope to learn how to "enhance" my photos. I do have a brother in law who has learned much from PE and is an encouragement to me...although he lives about three hours from where I live so we don't get together as often as I would like. He is much more into sports photography and portraits...having taken several of our family's high school graduation pics.

Anyway, I will look at what I already have on my computer and perhaps post a shot or two for some evaluation. Do you pretty much stay here on the Macro section, or do you work in other areas as well? Thanks again for the reply and the encouragement. I am ready to learn...

Hi all

Just a quick introduction.

I am 38 and live in South Africa but have travelled and lived in various parts of Southern Africa (As a kid/teenager mostly) as places such as Malawi (Born there), Zimbabwe, Mozambique, but I guess I call SA home at the moment.

Always had a interest in photography most of my life but never did anything about it until I purchase my first 300D about 5 or 6 years ago.

Became a "serious hobbyist" last year, by serious meaning taking photos more than once every few months.

The transition from snapper to hobbyist came about after I took a serious look at some of the macro photographers work on Flickr, some of whom are members of this forum.

Thier work inspiring in me a desire to try push myself outside of what I was normally comfortable. Many of said Flickr members answered a heck of a lot of "noob" questions regarding technique, equipment etc and I think I wouldn't have managed without thier help and inspiration via thier work.

Other than that I now try a few photos etc day, view other peoples work and read as much as possible on the subject.

Currently only do macro as I have only two lenses which are both macros but hope to eventually get a decent telephoto for some bird and dragon fly work.

Looking forward to discovering more excellent photos on this website.

Best Regards
John

Gallery/Portfoliohttp

I don't suppose I am a lurker YET, since I just logged on to this site 3 or 4 days ago, but am immediately drawn to this forum. I guess it was good I came to this forum before I had time to be too intimidated. I recently retired and became intensively involved in digital photography and was suprised to realize how much I enjoyed macro photography and photography of flowers. I claim no expertize, but have had a great time by jumping in and trying my hand. I am looking forward to checking in on this forum and becoming temporarily intimidated, but eager to progress. Meanwhile, my recently compiled web site is www.CharlesStephensGalleries.com for anyone who would like to know more about me, and my efforts. Charles Stephens

Hi I'm a noob lurker
I've been visiting this site for over a year and find it both inspirational and educational. I've had my Canon 400D for the past year and a half and feel like I have a huge amount to learn. After reading these messages I've decided to upload some photos for the first time. I've not posted any photos before as the quality on here is so high...... I guess we all have to start somewhere. I spotted these frogs last spring in my garden pond and used my 60mm macro lens.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Best wishes
Julie

Really like these; thanks for sharing. Pools and ponds in my area are always too muddy to get transparency like this. Really like them both.
Michael R

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!).

Hi all,

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!

~Wendy

I will say one thing, that spider creeps me out.

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

Hi I'm Justin,

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.

Justin

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

Hi 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?

Justin

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.

Justin,

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!

Daniel

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.

Justin

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!

Great Justin,
Be sure to post some pics when you can
Hi Michael, sorry I can't answer your questions, but post some pics when you can
Cheers,
Daniel