Beginner Macro

[Peeb]

I don't think any of these are technically bugs, though two are probably close enough for the lay man.

Didn't really know that 'bug' was a technical term, so I supposed I've learned something.

Bugs, critters, whatever- it's still a fine set. Well done St3phaniex3

 

[DogDaze]

you guys pics look good, but with a macro lens or extension tubes, teleconverter or combination the Depth of Field is so shallow, it physically will not let you capture your whole image in focus unless your subject is flat and perpendicular to the camera. post processing (focus stacking) in photo shop is a requirement to get your whole image in focus at 1:1 or greater

I've never done focus stacking and wouldn't even know where to begin. I don't know how to do much in photoshop either.

I guess even though I most likely won't get much (if any) feedback I'll post some new pics.

Awesome pics. im a complete noob to the macro world and also in photoshoping 10 images together to get one beautiful in focus picture. if you are interested in it i would suggest looking up don kom on youtube his work is impeccable and he shoots snowflakes at up to 12:1 (most are 6:1 i think) HANDHELD and goes into great detail how he does it, it is really beautiful if you have not seen it before

 

[St3phaniex3]

I have identified it.

It appears to be a bug.

Very fine set, there.

A rather vague identification but actually totally incorrect.
No 3 is a fly of some sort, I think a robber fly.

I don't think any of these are technically bugs, though two are probably close enough for the lay man.

I believe you are correct about it being a robber fly.

I don't think any of these are technically bugs, though two are probably close enough for the lay man.

Didn't really know that 'bug' was a technical term, so I supposed I've learned something.

Bugs, critters, whatever- it's still a fine set. Well done St3phaniex3

Lol thank you!!

Number 3 is quite good but if you had been parallel it would have looked better. I like the fact that you can see the halteres.

I wish I could have got more angles but with only using a 60mm lens (unfortunately can't afford a longer focal length at the moment) as soon as I started to move, he flew off I was actually quite lucky to get a photo of him at all. I was actually following a butterfly that wanted absolutely nothing to do with me lol and when I decided to back off I looked down just as this little guy was landing (yes he's on a rope. Landlords marking property line for future fence)

 

[St3phaniex3]

Almost forgot about this little guy

Not the best picture ever but I thought it was a cute little thing!

I bet no one would ever guess that I am actually terrified of bugs lol

 

[DogDaze]

couple of my first non-stacked pics with the 105mm.

i did not have all the focal points with the tiny flowers to get a clear stack and i thought the spider was going to jump on me so i was quite shakey and this was the only half acceptable pic

 

[petrochemist]

I don't think any of these are technically bugs, though two are probably close enough for the lay man.

Didn't really know that 'bug' was a technical term, so I supposed I've learned something.

Bugs, critters, whatever- it's still a fine set. Well done St3phaniex3

I didn't have my source material at work, so didn't want to risk miss quoting the definition. My Dictionary of Nature defines a Bug as 'An insect with piercing mouthparts and thickened forewings'. It goes on to say 'In biology, a bug is a particular kind of insect. Bugs belong to the order Hemiptera which contains about 50,000 species. '
I have to admit I'd misused the term often enough before finding out.

 

[jake337]

you guys pics look good, but with a macro lens or extension tubes, teleconverter or combination the Depth of Field is so shallow, it physically will not let you capture your whole image in focus unless your subject is flat and perpendicular to the camera. post processing (focus stacking) in photo shop is a requirement to get your whole image in focus at 1:1 or greater

That's why I really want anext 85mm f2.8 pce tilt/shift macro.

 

[St3phaniex3]

couple of my first non-stacked pics with the 105mm. View attachment 117640 View attachment 117641
i did not have all the focal points with the tiny flowers to get a clear stack and i thought the spider was going to jump on me so i was quite shakey and this was the only half acceptable pic

What's the working distance with the 105mm? I didn't think it would be close enough for things to jump on you.

 

[DogDaze]

couple of my first non-stacked pics with the 105mm. View attachment 117640 View attachment 117641
i did not have all the focal points with the tiny flowers to get a clear stack and i thought the spider was going to jump on me so i was quite shakey and this was the only half acceptable pic

What's the working distance with the 105mm? I didn't think it would be close enough for things to jump on you.

at 1:1 it is 12 inches, that spider was over my head a little bit it started doing its dance a couple time and freaked me out im no fan of spiders

 

[DogDaze]

my first try at free hand shooting then focus stacking, good lord i need a lot of practice 105mm with 68mm of extension this a good pic to see improvement over time with cause it is NOT good be gentle with critique im a NOOB I think i missed about three depths. what is so easy on a rail is so hard in the hand

 

[kalgra]

Almost forgot about this little guy

Not the best picture ever but I thought it was a cute little thing!

I bet no one would ever guess that I am actually terrified of bugs lol

View attachment 117630

I think you are off to a great start! Much better than what most of first macros looked like. I tried a Yongnuo ring flash for a bit and it helped me in the beginning but after a while I found it to be too harsh and too clinical looking. I just bought a cheap $16 6"x6" softbox that Velcros onto the front of the flash and started getting much better results. I am very new myself, been at it less than a year but im starting to learn that the more diffused the light the better, especially on bugs with highly reflective parts.

Perhaps this was mentioned above but one think I have discovered is my lens has a sweet spot for sharpness that is between f/9-11, My guess is this is same for all macro lens if not most lenses in general. When I first started I shot everything with a ring flash at f/22 and couldn't ever figure out why my shots where never as sharp as other peoples I was seeing that I knew where not focus stacking. It didn't take me long to figure out that sometimes its better to use a lower fstop and sacrifice some dof to gain more sharpness. For me I find this to be helpful when I know im going to crop in really close anyway.

Looking forward to seeing more shots as you progress

 

[DogDaze]

well got my r1c1 flash in last week and sure has helped being able to raise the fstop a little bit. pictures seem to be a bit better, but have entered into to a whole new realm of learning. I think I have hit information overload and just need to practice.