A few macro / close up pictures from earlier this summer and recently.
I am familiar with photography, less so macro. I have been enjoying the new perspective it brings. All of the below are using the Lumix S1 - first two and last are with the Irix 150mm F2.8 macro (EF fit), with the Sigma MC21, which I have enjoyed using. With one I used the Canon EF25 extn tube (I think) to get extra close. The third was with the Sigma 135mm DG HSM (L mount version) and cropped in (at least 2x), so more close up than macro. The fourth with the Lumix 24-105mm F4 macro.
The first three are all natural light and no modifiers. Fourth with diffused sunlight, and the last with OC flash.
I've started more recently using extra light - diffused slightlight or flash. I've been using what I had around: a white umbrella for diffusing sunlight, and for flash - two flashes, off camera on small tripods, placed close to the subject, fired using PWs, and using paper as diffusers.
The fourth image was taken on Monday using a white umbrella to diffuse the late afternoon sunlight.
The fifth image was taken last w/e using that flash set up. I tried with more ambient light - via higher ISO - but prefered this version. I could have dragged the shutter more to make the background less dark, but did not think of that until afterwards!
I tend to use a tripod with the camera just to steady the shot - using more like a monopod style, to take the weight - but will hand hold also.
My aims / objectives - how to develop the techique to get bold and vibrant images. I'm not so interested in bugs (I make an exception with bees!) - but understand why others are. I like the colour, texture and artistic composition that comes with flowers, etc..
Thanks in advance to taking time to look and or comment.
Glen
Thanks for taking the time to comment Harold and for your feedback.
Slightlight - well the sun was at a slight angle... but well spotted, sunlight it was!
Fungi - good idea, I'll keep an eye open. I had not given that much thought.
Flash or boosting natural light somehow (especially this time of year) seems to be the way to go, although the set up is more laborious than I would prefer, but worth the effort for lower iso / better colours. I can't quite justify the extra expense of mounted twin flashes as this is not what I do most of the time (mostly family pics), and plus I have the existing flash kit lying around.
If you go up the magnifications, and to smaller apertures, in poor light you may find that illuminating the subject with diode illumination stops the sensor "hunting".
Clarification: That is illumination for framing and focusing, not for exposure.
I shot this a few years back with a Nikon D5100 and a 55-200 zoom with a closeup attachment. The water drop was hanging off of the mirror on a truck when I noticed these gnats swimming around on the drops. I used the on camera flash.
LostLensCap wrote:
I shot this a few years back with a Nikon D5100 and a 55-200 zoom with a closeup attachment. The water drop was hanging off of the mirror on a truck when I noticed these gnats swimming around on the drops. I used the on camera flash.
It looks like lenses are my subject of choice for my beginning forays into macro photography . This one was done using the Canon 100mm f2.8L IS USM at f/8.0 and a shutter speed of 1/10. I used the focus bracketing feature on the R5 with 10 images and then processed the stacking using DPP.
R5 - Canon 100mm f2.8L IS USM at f/8.0 SS 1/10, 10 image focus stack
This was probably my favorite macro from last year... I discovered a new field of photography that is endlessly interesting! Open to some critique. It took probably 75 frames to get this shot; honeybees are not still for long!
Not many live subjects to shoot in the winter, so I've decided to try and get better at product photography (with a macro lens, so I hope that qualifies them for posting here)
Shot with a Laowa 100 mm 2:1 macro, a Godox AD200 from left/above and a hand held flash gun with a gel and snoot for the accent in the background.
