Attempt at Macro, still learning.

[soze]

Found a mantis in the front yard.

 

[Derrel]

Pretty good subject matter, and a pretty good early attempt.

 

[Overread]

First thing that stands out to me in both these shots is the lighting - its great! No hightlight spots or problems, which is not an easy thing to get with a highly reflective insect like this one.I'd be interested to know what you used to get this shot as well as the settings you used (check the C&C link in my sig for advice on how to find photo settings)

Depth of field also looks good and the claws have certianly come out sharp - but the eye you have missed in focus sadly. It looks as if you've focused on the middle of hte insect rather than his eye, which is where I normally try to place the focus in my shots first. Sadly the eye being out of focus is what is standing out to be as the downside to both of these shots, though there is also the red petal in the foreground, but that is a far harder thing to avoid when your shooting angle is often constrained and you can't simply reach out to remove it from the scene.

Overall a good starting in macro!

 

[soze]

First thing that stands out to me in both these shots is the lighting - its great! No hightlight spots or problems, which is not an easy thing to get with a highly reflective insect like this one.I'd be interested to know what you used to get this shot as well as the settings you used (check the C&C link in my sig for advice on how to find photo settings)

Depth of field also looks good and the claws have certianly come out sharp - but the eye you have missed in focus sadly. It looks as if you've focused on the middle of hte insect rather than his eye, which is where I normally try to place the focus in my shots first. Sadly the eye being out of focus is what is standing out to be as the downside to both of these shots, though there is also the red petal in the foreground, but that is a far harder thing to avoid when your shooting angle is often constrained and you can't simply reach out to remove it from the scene.

Overall a good starting in macro!

Yeah, was kind of disappointed i didn't get the eyes in focus. Was kind of hard for me to really hold still and focus w/out a tripod too I took these leaning on the side of the house.

I used the Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 APO DG Macro

1st picture:
Aperture: f/5.6
Speed: 1/160
ISO 800
Focal Length: 300mm (Not sure how this is calculated when using the lens' macro mode
no flash

2nd picture:
Aperture: f/5.6
Speed: 1/125
ISO 800
Focal Length: 300mm (macro mode)
no flash

I wish I had used a tripod, but I'm not sure if I would've gotten the angle I wanted. I used manual focus as well, since it was hard to use auto focus and have it focus on the correct subject.

Here are a couple more from the same session: