Mostly Reptiles and Insects (for critique)

[Natalie]

Hey everyone, long time no post.

I've been spending a lot of time on my photography this year, and I feel that I've improved tremendously in that period. However, there's always room for improvement, so I wanted to post some of my photos on here for critique. All of these were taken with a Canon T1i (500D) with the MT-24EX flash (when flash is used), and were handheld except one shot below that was created from 10 stacked exposures. I shoot in RAW and use Lightroom and Photoshop for editing. Opinions and suggestions are welcome!


California Red-sided Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis) - 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200, no flash



Golden Dung Fly (Scathophaga sp.) - 1/200 sec, f/8.0, ISO 200, flash
This shot was taken when I first got my macro flash, so that's why the lighting is a bit harsh and flat. Still, I like the composition, which is why I included it here.


Aquatic Leaf Beetle (Plateumaris sp.) - 1/200 sec, f/9.0, ISO 400, flash


Jumping Spider (Habronattus sp.) - 1/200 sec, f/8.0, ISO 200, flash


Southern Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix) - 1/80 sec, f/10.0, ISO 800, flash


Black Ratsnake (Elaphe obsoleta) - 1/200 sec, f/9.0, ISO 100, flash


Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) - 1/200, f/9.0, ISO 200, flash


Deer Bot Fly ( Cephenemyia apicata) - 1/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400, flash


Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) - 1/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 400, flash


Lynx Spider (Oxyopes sp.) - 1/200 sec, f/9.0, ISO 200, flash


Santa Cruz Gartersnake (Thamnophis atratus atratus) - 1/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 400, flash


Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) - 1/200 sec, f/11.0, ISO 400, no flash


Eyelash Viper ( Bothriechis schlegelii) - 1/200 sec, f/10.0, ISO 400, flash


Annulated Tree Boa (Corallus annulatus) - 1/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 400, flash


Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus) - 1/400 sec, f/5.0, ISO 400, no flash


Jumping Spider (Salticidae) - 1/200, f/7.1, ISO 400, flash


Brown Basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus) - 1/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400, no flash


Yosemite Toad (Bufo canorus) - 1/200 sec, f/13.0, ISO 200, flash


Yosemite Toad (Bufo canorus) - 1/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 100, flash


San Francisco Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia) - 1/500 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200, no flash


Mountain Gartersnake (Thamnophis elegans elegans) - 1/200, f/8.0, ISO 100, flash


San Francisco Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia) - 1/250 sec, f/7.1, ISO 400, no flash


Coast Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata multifasciata) - 1/200 sec, f/8.0, ISO 400, flash


California Red-sided Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis) - 1/200 sec, f/8.0, ISO 400, flash
This shot was taken in deep shade, the lighting is all from the flash.


Cobra Lily (Darlingtonia californica) - 1/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200, no flash


Dewy Pine (Drosophyllum lusitanicum) - 1/8 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800, flash (10 exposures stacked!)


Long-tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata) - 1/200 sec, f/13.0, ISO 200, flash


Rubber Boa (Charina bottae) - 1/125 sec, f/8.0, ISO 800, no flash

Thanks all!

 

[Overread]

Honestly a very varied and large collection - a bit big for specific critique, but overall I honestly really like what you're producing here. Certainly I think you've got a good few very nice keeper shots here and you're getting your focus in just the right spot each time. A bit of work on the macro flash diffusion here and there (far as I can tell this never ends with macro shooting ) but otherwise I suspect that I've little to add that you don't yet know already.

Great stuff

Golden Dung Fly and the Jumping Spider shots I especially like

 

[Dominantly]

You've got some darn good captures there, but they're all freaky as hell.

How do you go about getting shots of all those venomous snakes?

 

[Natalie]

Thanks guys!

Overread - Yep, that's definitely something I want work on. Right now I use Gary Fong Puffer diffusers on each of the flash heads, but I think even that might not be enough to diffuse the light properly. Do you have any suggestions on how to get an even softer look? I probably won't be able to put a real softbox on one of those flash heads, though I've never tried.

Dominantly - The venomous snakes are actually easier to shoot than most of the non-venomous ones! This is because North American pitvipers tend to be slow-moving animals that are content to sit in one place (in contrast to many non-venomous varieties, like gartersnakes, that are always moving). Copperheads in particular are very good photo subjects because they tend to be very placid and will sit in a good position for you for long periods of time. Rattlesnakes are a little more active and tougher to shoot, but usually once you get them into a position they're comfortable with, they'll stay that way.

 

[Overread]

I'll stick to shooting venomous snakes through glass - might be more tricky camera wise but its less tricky venom wise

As for diffusion, best you'll probably read on the subject is here:
Juza Nature Photography Forum • View topic - Some Ideas on Macro Flash Diffusion
Juza Nature Photography Forum • View topic - The reason for my macro flash diffusion techniques
Juza Nature Photography Forum • View topic - Concave Flash Diffuser Test

That might look like a lot of writing, but honestly once you read it you'll find that the theory and basic ideas are pretty simple. Most of the debate ends up in effective design and materials you can use to create the effect. Myself I'd suggest getting 4 of these:
Kaiser Adjustable Flash Shoe 201200 B&H Photo Video
They slot into the housings on the twinflash between the flash and the lens ring. Adding two of them gives you a lot more ability to put more diffusion materials on the flash heads before the units start to invade the working area infront of the lens.
Myself I'm thinking on trying to use this and then attach half of the mini "light tent" (as outlined in above articles) to the flasheads themselves rather than to a cup on the end of the lens; just as I find that the cup on the lens method works really really well, but also tends to push things and make it much harder to get the rig in position without disturbing the subject.

 

[Demers18]

Those are some very nice shots. Thanks for sharing. I would say my favorite is definitely that jumping spider

 

[shootermcgavin]

I think I'm going to call you crazy snake lady. Other than a water moccasin I've never seen a poisonous snake, you're pretty luck. You should poke them with a stick and try to get them to strike while you take a photo.

 

[Dominantly]

Yeah do that^^^^^ lol

 

[Natalie]

Haha, I actually do move and manipulate the venomous snakes for the purpose of photography, though I'm experienced with this and I do it safely with snake-handling equipment like hooks and tongs... Don't try it at home. The snakes don't normally strike at inanimate objects - since the hooks (or a stick) don't give off heat, they don't provoke the snake into striking.

Overread - Thanks for those links! They are incredibly helpful and I've bookmarked them so I can refer to them in the future.

 

[Dominantly]

Man, that shot of the Brown Basilisk is spot on!

 

[OregonT3i]

Great shots! Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed all of them very much, but my favorites were the two of the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake and the shot of the Eyelash Viper. Your composition looks great.

 

[Snakeguy101]

Finally! Another herper on here! Great shots!

 

[Natalie]

Thanks for the comments everyone! Haha, I've been here nearly two years now, I just took a break for a while.

 

[Joel_W]

An outstanding collection of macro shots. The insects are my favorites, as I have a terrible fear of snakes.

Went back and took a longer and more detailed look at your pictures. The Brown Basilisk is a very strong composition, as is the Jumping Spider. The Tree Boa is a super composition too. All the Viper shots are extremely well done, and take a much braver photographer then I to have captured those images.

You sure make it seem as though The San Francisco area is a hot bed of reptiles. Here on Long Island all we have is Gardner snakes, and Black snakes. And that's more then enough for me.

 

[FlightIsPossible]

Wow... very nice. Loved them all.