I have been a lurker for quite some time. I have been doing photography professionaly for a few years and have always been intrigued by macro work but just never done any. It was basically just spend the money on lenses and such that would make me money in return. With what I do that just didn't include a macro lens. Well about a week ago I had some extra cash and got an amazing deal on a Canon 100mm f/2.8. I have been having a blast taking photos of anything that looks interesting. Here are a few I have done in the last week since I got the lens.
C&C Encouraged....I'm very new to Macro and it has proven a lot more difficult than I imagined. I am always up for tips and critique.
RMD some good work there in the macro's - you have a good grasp of the fiddly depths of field and you use it well to get some interesting looks to your photos! The fly - whilst well shot - is clearly facing the wrong way -- of often a trail with macro - would I also be right in thinking these are handheld shots?
And in answer to the OP of this thread - you ask why I float, well mostly my reason is that I find myself on quite a few forums and I simply run out of time to post in them all and also have time left over to take photos -- though this place is now in my sights for a bit so I shall be around here more
I often tend to fall short on commenting on photos in some sites because I hate just posting "Great shot" it feels so empty to just say that and yet that is what I find is all I can say for many - and a brief look around here shows that the average quality is very high indeed!
Expect to see me - if you do - in the macro and wildlife areas!
See you all around the place!
overrerad wrote:
RMD some good work there in the macro's - you have a good grasp of the fiddly depths of field and you use it well to get some interesting looks to your photos! The fly - whilst well shot - is clearly facing the wrong way -- of often a trail with macro - would I also be right in thinking these are handheld shots?
And in answer to the OP of this thread - you ask why I float, well mostly my reason is that I find myself on quite a few forums and I simply run out of time to post in them all and also have time left over to take photos -- though this place is now in my sights for a bit so I shall be around here more
I often tend to fall short on commenting on photos in some sites because I hate just posting "Great shot" it feels so empty to just say that and yet that is what I find is all I can say for many - and a brief look around here shows that the average quality is very high indeed!
Expect to see me - if you do - in the macro and wildlife areas!
See you all around the place!...Show more →
Thanks! And yes, all of my macro's so far have been hand held. I just picked up a Bower e-ttl ringlight and have been pretty impressed with the results from it so far so I am sure I'll be posting more soon.
Hi to all,
I am a noob (less than a year into DSLRs) and a lurker (not shots uploaded yet). I have discovered macro through FM, and purchased a Canon 100 f:2.8 to go on my 40D. I am only now getting my feet wet with flower and insect shots, my first target being to get my pics impeccably sharp (not as obvious as it might seem). Also need to get into post-production, as it really helps develop a picture's full potential.
At this stage, I have 3 limits; One is time, as photography is "only" my hobby, the second is that I want to enjoy myself and cannot spend hours producing shots one by one, and the third, of course, is that the spectacular level of what is posted here is totally intimidating.
Congrats to all of you, who post so many inspiring shots, and to Tom for his contribution and this thread in particular
Hi folks! Another noob, checking in. As you probably hear a lot, it's pretty intimidating to post up anything with so much talent in here. I was hoping that you could share some of your knowledge though.
And I thought I'd post up my first impressions as someone that JUST got into macro photography a few days ago (thanks to SteadyHand for the 100mm macro), in case any of you are interested.
2) Photographing moving objects is MUCH tougher. 99% of my shots were out of focus. I even tried capturing a spider in a glass and shooting that, but it's nowhere near as sharp as what you guys post: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3271/2786818413_2655e3de91_b.jpg
^ Spider kneecaps? :P
4) Macro photography favors those that put in the extra effort. Sometimes opportunities present themselves at bad times, but it can be even more rewarding.
So there's still a lot to learn. For right now, I'm focused on lighting:
- what kind of flash would be suitable? 430EX or 580EX?
- flash brackets... I'd like a DIY rig, but don't really have tools available to cut metal and so forth. What options are there?
A 430 or 580 is a good flash head which will work well with macro photography - I would go for a 580M2 for the added power and also for the ability (in the future) to add additional flash units to the setup and use the 580 to triggor them (as teh 580 is a master flash whilst the 430 can only be slaves). Also get a off camera cord and shoe so you can have the flash positioned where you want it - I have not tried this, but it does open up a lot of creative lighting options.
For the light with any flash if you get some white tioilet paper and fold it a few times and then hold that infront of a flash using some elastic bands - this will act as a cheap diffuser and break up the harsh nature of the light - though I would highly recomend a Lumiquest Softbox for a flashead.
As for the flash brackets there are a lot of guides online, but if you don't have the tools/skills to hand then it might be simpler to get a proper flashhead - though you can certainly do a lot of macro with just a normal flash head such as a 430 or 580 (and they have the added bonus of working with a whole host of subjects past macro).
As for you shots were the insect ones taken from tripod? If so were you using a focusing rail?
I tend to take my macro handheld at the moment - mostly as I find insects move around too much for tripod work (a good monopod is what I really need) - turn on manual focusing, set the macro lens to 1:1 magnification on the focusing ring - and then move back and forth - usually concentrating to make sure the focus is on the eyes (far from easy).
Settings I tend to use:
f13
ISO 200
1/160sec
flash on -- though you might find with the popup flash that you need ISO 400 due to its lesser power
New as well on this forum . My name is Chris and i live in Greece.
Of course i love photography and of course i love macros. I have recently bought myself my first dSLR and slowly equip my Canon 450D with lenses and stuff. It is an expensive hobby after all. I have found this forum browsing in the Internet and i was really stunned by the work and quality of the macro photos posted here. I decided to sign up and i am trying to visit the forum as often as i can .
I must say i am sometimes dissapointed by my work after i've seen all these amazing macro posted here .....i guess i have a ton of things to learn......well thats why i'm here !!!
Hi all,
New here. Enjoy macro/birds/wildlife photography. Using Canon and Olympus cameras. Am semi-retired and try to spend a lot of my time on photography
and my computer.
Olivia
This thread is amazing, thank you for making us feel welcome!
I'm a 21 years old Canadian medical student who started his college in Europe. I lived in Germany for three years, and started getting very interested in photog there. In 2006, knowing nothing about photog at all, I assisted a local photog for 4 days who did a lot of nude and boudoir, as well as portraiture and weddings. It was an eye opening experience.
In September 2007, to celebrate my return home, I purchased my first SLR. I purchased a K10D and over the months better and better glass, still looking for my style. I then never knew I would get into photog so seriously- had I known I would have spent so much as I did already, I might have went another direction gear wise.
Macro peaked my interest around December. I'm always mesmerized when looking at huge close-ups of insects, it is fascinating. To try and get into it, I took a BetterPhoto macro course and due to a bad LBA, purchased one of the last brand new Voigtländer 125mm APO-Lanthar left in the World with a K mount . Unfortunately due to huge time constraints with college, I could never take advantage of the course so well.
The MF of the VL was a huge holdback to me, lacking proper experience, and having a yet undevelopped eye for macro subjects. My shots were disasters and I was so frustrated I left it on the side to pursue other kinds of photog.
I finally found my niche two months ago into studio/boudoir/nude photog, and built my own studio. The VL still had its use, but since I had barely used it since December 07, I would sell it. Posted an ad on a pentax forum, and within minutes had 5 PMs with offers going as high as twice what I had paid. That happened 2 weeks ago, and I started thinking "What am I doing? DON'T SELL THIS!".
So even if studio photog is what I feel the most comfortable in, I want to give macro another REAL try. This time I have more experience and a better eye. Still, posting macro shots around here can be intimidating. So many talented macroers, it's mind blowing, and a good well needed slap in the face back to reality.
Hi, all,
It is the first time here in macro forum. Though I have taken some macro pics but never satisfied. Hwever, today as I saw some of Tom's pics...I am a bit challenged and I may try to take pics of some little animals...
I do use D300 and have a couple lenses of other makers and are very old MFs. I would like to try them out once I get some adapters. Good to visit here...I learned some new techs for macro photos. Thanks,
I guess I'm a lurker. I came here a couple of years ago as I was looking to buy a lens. I was recommended by a friend (K. Mahaffey). I held off and ended up buying the lens from someone I knew offline. I don't know why I didn't start reading regularly, but I didn't. Recently I've started reading the FM site forums and have discovered a great community with some fantastic posters. I'll get my image upload turned on within the next week and will have to post a few of my macro attempts. We'll see how well I do.
I have been Lurking these site for a few years and do occasionally post. I have had a fascination with macro photography for a long time. I am a Graphic desinger by profession
but i love photography.. I started off with a 10D and a 100mm macro 2.8 and it was a great setup
after a while i got bored with macro and sold the 100.. which was a mistake.. im not saving up for another copy.. since then ive upgraded to a 40D and have a 70-200 2.8 and got myself a 500D closeup filter for it. which seems to fulfil the urge for macro when it hits
I have learned alot of macro and would like to thank everyone for posting advise and comments on my and others photos.. i Still have alot to learn and will try to participate more
Been a lurker for quite a while. Mainly in the portal section. Started looking at the Macro stuff more and more. I post questions and comments a lot. It wasn't until Tom Hicks started the reverse 50mm and August challenge threads that I finally posted a couple of shots when I got a reversing ring for my old 50mm lens. Unfortunately time does not allow a lot of experimentation. But I get to play ocassionally. Now I have the Macro bug (no pun intended). I want to spend more time using what I have before spending $$ on a dedicated macro lens. In the mean time I am having fun.
I hope to contribute to this forum more in the future.
I am both a noob and a lurker.
I look around for reviews, techniques.
Main attraction for me is wildlife, old cars and airplanes.
I started long ago but living in a former communist country access to equipment was scarce at best.
I restarted at 39 yo, but got more into it at 40.
I have a couple of pics posted in the one of the threads about planes (don't remember which).
Currently, I have a Canon 40D, a Sigma 150 Macro (returned for exchange with another one), a Canon 70-200 f4 L IS USM (fabulous lens), a Tamron 17-50 (another great lens) , and a Canon 100-400 (I just love this. I got it from here, used indeed, but super clean and darn sharp. Just could not tell that it is used).
I hope to have time to be more active.
Hello
I'm chris, ive been interested in photography since the late 80's but it never really went much beyond the casual family snapshots tho at times i got some decent pics.
My first SLR set up was a canon but it got stolen on a Deer hunt when the trucks got broke into but with the money i received i got a new Minolta X-700, 4 lenses and some filters.
When the Digital age came into focus i got the HP Digi cam and used it for some years then got the Kodak Z740 and now last Aug i got a canon S5 IS powershot.
I have had this website on my favorites for over a year I think!
Now that I have my new macro lens on the way I will be around a lot more.
I have not really been lurking much exept for the last couple of weeks since
I ordered my new lense.
Some of the photos here are just amazing.Great motivation!
