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Close up pics from a new poster – criticism welcomed
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Hi All
so… having never posted here or put any of my images up for scrutiny – here goes.
I haven’t been taking macro or close up pics for long but I get quite alot of time in the field from my work and get the opportunity to snap away without much idea of what i’m doing. the nature of the stuff I’m interested in, like damselflies and butterflies, means that i don’t use a tripod. i use a 105mm lens and only natural light so far. I’d be really interested in any critique of some of the images below (taken in ireland plus a couple on hols in Greece) – what I’m finding really hard is increasing depth of field and getting crisp images of beasties that are very easily disturbed – any tips?
Female hairy hawker
End of the line – death of a large red damselfly
Four-spotted chaser – newly emerged
Blue-tailed damselflies
Marbled white – Greece
Common blue – Greece
have reduced image sizes – hope this works. sorry for the long post.
thanks!
Will
Welcome to the forum Will. :)
These are excellent for your first post. Lovely natural light shots. Hunting Damsels and the like can be quite a challange. Seems you have it off to a tee. I can’tfault these images. #3 is a little bit on the soft side, but I’m just being picky. The best way to get more dept of field and avoid camera shake is by using a flash. An alternative is to use a monopod or the like. I use a bamboo pole clasped tightly between my left hand and the camera. ;)
Dave OS
those images cant be flawed, especially the mating damsel fly’s. also the colors in the last two are fantasitc. all but 3 are tack sharp. you dont need any help!! well done.
Good shots. I think you’re definitely on the right lines.
Oshead’s bamboo stick sounds a good idea as well – I may have to try that one myself.Thanks very much for generous responses folks – I think they are a product more of the amount of time I spend in the field (and a certain understanding of how to approach the ‘prey’) and the volume of shots taken rather than photographic knowledge. The latter is building though – hence my moving onto a forum such as this.
Great idea with bamboo stick since I have found monopod to be impossibly inflexible when trying to get a shot in often contorted and awkward positions. I am hugely impressed with the quality of macro pics that are appearing on the forum here – I had not really thought of using a ringflash before since I was told that results were too unnatural. But it is clear that, with an appropriate understanding of the settings, great results are possible (I have already lifted the phone today to make enquiries about models / costs etc). I have also never used processing software such as PS except for what came free with the camera – so i will definitely be looking into that.
I am really fascinated by the results of the 65mm MPE – but such a dedicated lens is still a bit ‘one-day…’ at the moment.
I did use a tripod today when emptying the moth trap (I run it for study / survey reasons and all captives are returned unharmed!) and got a couple of shots of a poplar hawkmoth:
thanks again for the feedback and I look forward to a bit of involvement in the forum
By the way – what’s the optimum cropped size for posting an image on the forum?
Will
You’re so lucky having a job like that. :) I like the first image. Very nice light. The second is a bit dark underneath. But still not bad at all.
I presume you are using the Sigma 105mm macro. I’ve heard nice things of that lense. You should get the most from it before moving on. The MP-e 65 is a very specialised lense. It is only for lifesize and greater (x5). It takes a while to get used to it. Maxium focusing distance is 4 inches at lifesize. So you end up missing more than you shoot sometimes. :(. For Damsels and Butterflys it’s probably not suitable in most cases. Unless you are after extreme close up. If you need more magnification on you’re current lense you could try a Diopter (magnifying glass filter) for the front of the lense.
As far as software is concerned. It goes part ‘n parcel with digital photography. I use Photoshop mostly for spot removal, removing noise, sharpening some detail, color correction and curves adjustments. Usually in that order too. :)
Looking forward to seeing more of your images.
Dave OS
the photos are very good Will, I especially like the last two moths in the first post.
Thanks all
Dave – yes I use a Sigma 105mm DG macro EX – it’s a great lens for a number of reasons. First it suits being out in the field and being able to respond to having to take a photo of a flighty butterfly etc without having to get too close, but is also fine to be hand held so no need to mess with tripods etc. Also, it’s a great portrait lens as well, if that’s what you’re after. I really recommend it.
I may try the diopter option – thanks.
Should be getting out in the field a good deal next week so hope to have some shots to put up then.
Cheers
Will
According to your EXIF data the first Moth photo was M – Manu f 5.6 1/80 s ISO100 168 mm KB (105.0 mm Real)
So your depth of field is very limited with the Sigma 105 , I understand that if you went to f11 or f16 that you would be at 1/10 sec and difficult to hand hold. Therefore tripod is essential to Macro photography.. Very good photos though, you are certain ally on the right trackThanks for that – yes for the moth photos it was overcast (so not much light) and it was windy (so not just an issue with camera shake but also movement of the subject) so it was difficult to both get DOF and a crisp image. I am intending to get a ringflash to see if I can increase the DOF while maintaining a sufficient shutter speed. I suppose that’s the nature of photography ‘in the field’ – you just have to deal with it!
Thanks again for the advice. I am doing some butterfly, moth and dragonfly surveys over the next few weeks so should have some more images up.
Will
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