lies the treasure.

[rvannatta]

Nnow that is my idea of an outstanding macro shot............

[eaglem]

Nnow that is my idea of an outstanding macro shot............

Thank you for the kind words.

[MSL]

Just stop it! How am I supposed to go out with my manual extension tubes and no fancy flash and even think about shooting things when you keep creating high quality images like this one. I guess I'll just have to go back to shooting polar bears in snowstorms in the arctic, or black bears in a forest on a cloudy moonless night.

[Bob Harris]

Just stop it! How am I supposed to go out with my manual extension tubes and no fancy flash and even think about shooting things when you keep creating high quality images like this one. I guess I'll just have to go back to shooting polar bears in snowstorms in the arctic, or black bears in a forest on a cloudy moonless night.

Now I would really love seeing those photos. A lot more dangerous than shooting insects.

EM, great shot as usual, I really like the transparency of the wings here.

[rvannatta]

Just stop it! How am I supposed to go out with my manual extension tubes and no fancy flash and even think about shooting things when you keep creating high quality images like this one. I guess I'll just have to go back to shooting polar bears in snowstorms in the arctic, or black bears in a forest on a cloudy moonless night.

I peeked a bit at how he did it and I am humbled to say that it wasn't with any fancy equipment the pixel peeping reveals a fairly
vanilla shot with a K5--- 1/250th of a second, ISO 500, f11. and no flash. with a 105mm lens. Looks to me like suburb use of
that great nuclear powered flash light in the sky at a very clever angle---almost back lighting.

[MSL]

Now I would really love seeing those photos. A lot more dangerous than shooting insects.

The first is a white sheet of paper, the second a black sheet of paper

I peeked a bit at how he did it and I am humbled to say that it wasn't with any fancy equipment the pixel peeping reveals a fairly vanilla shot with a K5--- 1/250th of a second, ISO 500, f11. and no flash. with a 105mm lens. Looks to me like suburb use of that great nuclear powered flash light in the sky at a very clever angle---almost back lighting.

And this is supposed to make me feel better ?
That said from what you have indicated he is using a dedicated macro lens - something I still don't have. Sunlight yes - but also horrible winds that have made macro shooting a real pain.

eaglem's images always impress me - macro done well whatever tools are being used

[Cee Cee]

nice detail in this one EM, good contrast against the yellow.

cheers

[rvannatta]

The first is a white sheet of paper, the second a black sheet of paper




And this is supposed to make me feel better ?
That said from what you have indicated he is using a dedicated macro lens - something I still don't have. Sunlight yes - but also horrible winds that have made macro shooting a real pain.

eaglem's images always impress me - macro done well whatever tools are being used

I frankly used tubes long before I had a dedicated macro. I used tubes with just a standard 50mm 'normal' lens back in the film days.
The critical 'correction' that is documented for macro lenses doesn't matter for critter photos. The correction that is specially made
in macros is for 'flatness of field'. as you know the DOF is pretty skinny in macro stuff--- and using a non macro lens it can
be such that getting something like a postage stamp in focus all the way accross is not possible because the 'in focus' field isn't flat.

Unless you step on them first bugs aren't flat either so that really doesn't matter much.

Beyond that--- using a longer lens (like the 100mm) has a tactical advantage for some types of macro photography because
you can get further away As you know 'lots of light' is helpful, and when the camera lens is 1" from the object you are photographing it is fairly easy be the shadow that is making the picture too dark. If you are taking pictures of things that jump, bite, move, sting, fly away, etc. the close proximity increases the likelyhood that they will do some of the above before you get the photo.

I think many macro photographers (certainly including yours truely) don't use AF or even MF when focusing on a object....--- we simply
set the lens to the magnification we we want, and then move the whole camera forward and backwards until the desired thing
comes into focus.... Consequently whether you are using a tube or a lens with a long helicoid matters not.

Indeed some the first macro photos I took, I did just to prove I could because a friend told lme I could--- I had no macro equipment.
but I took a toilet paper core--- reduced the length of it to 2 or 3 inches, took the normal lens off my camera and with a lot of hands
held the lens on the end of the toilet paper core and then the core against the front of the camera. It's actually not as hard as it seems

[eaglem]

Just stop it! How am I supposed to go out with my manual extension tubes and no fancy flash and even think about shooting things when you keep creating high quality images like this one. I guess I'll just have to go back to shooting polar bears in snowstorms in the arctic, or black bears in a forest on a cloudy moonless night.

As was pointed out, I don't use a flash, just natural light. A dedicated Macro lens is certainly the way to go, if you get a 100-105mm it will double up nicely as a sharp portrait lens so you get double value.

Now I would really love seeing those photos. A lot more dangerous than shooting insects.

EM, great shot as usual, I really like the transparency of the wings here.
__________________

Thanks Bob, remember, some insects can be incredibly dangerous as well.

I peeked a bit at how he did it and I am humbled to say that it wasn't with any fancy equipment the pixel peeping reveals a fairly
vanilla shot with a K5--- 1/250th of a second, ISO 500, f11. and no flash. with a 105mm lens. Looks to me like suburb use of
that great nuclear powered flash light in the sky at a very clever angle---almost back lighting.
__________________

Thanks, you explained it very well indeed.

nice detail in this one EM, good contrast against the yellow.

cheers

Thanks Cee Cee.

[WPRESTO]

Just stop it! How am I supposed to go out with my manual extension tubes and no fancy flash and even think about shooting things when you keep creating high quality images like this one. I guess I'll just have to go back to shooting polar bears in snowstorms in the arctic, or black bears in a forest on a cloudy moonless night.

Dear MSL: The traditional challenge is: a natural light photo of a black cat on a pile of coal in a windowless basement at 12PM on a moonless night. Perhaps with ISO 51,000??

[MSL]

Dear MSL: The traditional challenge is: a natural light photo of a black cat on a pile of coal in a windowless basement at 12PM on a moonless night. Perhaps with ISO 51,000??

Can't do that. Black cat may be bad luck and I wouldn't want it to ruin the shot.