Macro Macro Macro!

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PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

I'm looking forward to Spring so I can start shooting macro again.

One day I'm going to get one of these little bastards in focus when they jump.

I definitely third the Raynox adapters, they are absolutely fantastic. I got my first start with macro photography by taping an eye piece of a pair of binoculars to the end of my p&s lens and it worked quite well, then I upgraded to the Raynox because it did the same thing except with much better quality.

This was taken with a Raynox DCR-250 and a Canon Powershot S5IS:

Original (huge) size:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3275/2915924266_6a7d898500_o.jpg

# ¿ Feb 21, 2010 18:54

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 07:40

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Stew Man Chew posted:

Dear OP: how do you like the 105mm Sigma macro? A good macro lens is next up on my list and considering how poor / back-to-school I'm going to be shortly, I'm wondering if going the budget route (from say, the 100mm Canon USM model) will treat me right.

I bought a bargain rated Sigma 105mm Macro from KEH for $149, I don't know if it's just my copy or not but the AF is really slow and noisy so I just use it in MF which is fine anyways since I don't want to scare my subjects. I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself in the position of getting one.

If you can stand spiders, here's a flickr set of most of my shots with the lens
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silenus81/sets/72157618045110348/

# ¿ Feb 22, 2010 05:15

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Wow, awesome looking mantis! I've always wanted to shoot a couple of those but I don't see them all that often around here.

Great shots and cool video!

# ¿ Feb 27, 2010 22:51

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

I've tried using a tripod a couple of times and just can't get used to it. Most of the time my subject (insects/arachnid) will be jittery and move around quite a bit and I just can't risk bumping the branches with the tripod legs or what have you, scaring it off completely.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2010 03:19

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Yeah, I have trouble getting into position without having to lug around a tripod too. I don't know how I would be able to get shots of long-legged flies for example, because every time you shoot they flip out and fly somewhere else on the leaf/bush and you would have to reset everything.

Trying to get this guy to cooperate by facing the camera while chowing down on an ant was impossible and it was extremely skittish, flying from leaf to leaf at the slightest bit of movement.

PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 16:58 on Mar 2, 2010

# ¿ Mar 2, 2010 16:54

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Raikiri posted:

Jumping spiders are relatively cute, as far as spiders go.

Some of my more popular macro shots are of Jumpers :3:

Disco Jumper

The "Midlife Crisis" species

# ¿ Mar 3, 2010 02:25

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

MrFrosty posted:

Hey axolotl farmer could you take a crack at IDing this? Looks like a huntsman to me based upon on my limited knowledge, but the front legs look too long?

Sorry if you find the reflection distracting, I was trying something new.

Good god, I love that style. It actually looks like a 3d render. I hope you can find all sorts of creepy crawlies to photograph like that. In regards to the ID, I agree with axolotl farmer on it being a Green lynx. I don't see them around here too much, I ran across two or three last year and they're quite cool looking and easy to photograph so I'm hoping to see more this year.

My most recent macro isn't too exciting, just a dandelion before I mowed over it, haha. 40D/Sigma 105mm:

# ¿ Apr 5, 2010 01:35

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

seravid posted:

2:1

Great looking crab spider! They're awesome to photograph because they'll hold a pose for quite awhile while you snap away.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2010 18:24

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

axolotl farmer posted:

Hey DFG, are you or ursa_minor going to make another Critterquest thread soon?

Hey AF! We're definitely due for one aren't we? I'm a bit swamped with work at the moment so I haven't had the free time lately to do much of anything. If my schedule eases up a bit soon I'll look into making one if no one else has by then.

Hah, great jumpers seravid! They're my favorite too. I've only seen one of them so far this year and that was while it was scattering down a crack in my deck. If it's anything like last year there will be tons of them around the property by June. Couple from last year:

# ¿ Apr 24, 2010 02:23

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Haha, nice action! bow-chicka-wow.

I'm jealous of everyone who has an MPE65. I don't have a great lighting setup though so I don't think I could put it to good use if I did have one!

This ~~carpenter bee~~ botfly was laying on a floor at work. It had been caught in a spider web, I think, due to all the webbing around it and it was absolutely exhausted. I ended up grabbing it and brought it home for some photos and rehabilitation haha. It's sucking on some sugar water at the moment while watching the basketball game. Tough life. I'll let it go in the morning provided it's active enough.

PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 03:55 on May 24, 2010

# ¿ May 23, 2010 02:41

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

seravid posted:

To make it up, here's the "making of" :

This is awesome! Thanks for showing that. Your results are spectacular. I'm really impressed that it was handheld. Did you just shoot a burst while moving slightly closer? I've tried to do that a couple of times but generally the subject will move and ruin it.

# ¿ May 23, 2010 04:51

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Raikiri posted:

That carpenter bee is a bot fly of some kind... please Google it if you've not heard of them

Oh dear god. Haha.

I have indeed heard of them but I never knew they looked like that. Now I'm kind of glad it died sometime overnight! Those are creepy things, haha. Thanks for the proper id.

# ¿ May 24, 2010 03:49

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

I switched from Canon to Nikon and haven't picked up a macro lens yet, but I'm using a cheapo 70-300 + Raynox DCR-250 and get pretty good results.

Magicicada, Brood 19. Tennessee had a bit of an invasion of them about two months ago. It was an awesome three weeks.

This one is a stack of 4 images, handheld:

Robber Fly:

# ¿ Jul 7, 2011 17:11

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Jook posted:

^^ That robber fly shot is incredible.. did you use a flash and if so how did you diffuse?

Thanks!

Actually funny you should ask because yeah I did use flash, but just the popup flash. A few days prior I came across this guy's DIY Flash diffuser directions and out of boredom and having an empty pringles can around I figured what the hell, I'd see what kind of results it gave. It worked quite well, surprisingly.

Looks crazy but I guess so does digging around in my yard taking pictures of bugs. I ended up wrapping black tape around the can so it wasn't so outrageous.

Jook posted:

Cool catch! For me anyways, bees are very tough subjects to properly shoot so I certainly wouldn't expect a high keeper ratio when it comes to them. Same with most larger flying insects, though I've had good luck with wasps when they're distracted chewing wood or cardboard off my deck.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2011 08:58

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

omgitsdave posted:

Initial thoughts are for just a few bucks more I should consider the 100

Well, it depends on what you shoot but the 100 would be a lot better for bugs and things like that. The 60 would require you to be awfully close. It'd probably be okay for floral stuff but 90mm or longer is what I'd recommend for a dedicated macro lens.

The Raynox DCR-250 is what I have, it's pretty great in a pinch. Here's a yellowjacket wasp with the DCR250+Nikon 50mm 1.8

I had to get uncomfortably close to get that shot, haha. I'd say if you got the Raynox you'd probably be better off using it on the 18-135 at the longer end. I use it on a 70-300VR now and get good results.

7 shots focus stacked:

# ¿ Feb 3, 2012 19:40

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Gambl0r posted:

I realize she is getting great, sharp shots... but the insane color in the backgrounds and flowers, the too-good-to-be-true bokeh, the perfectly placed rain falling... is this for real?!

I saw something a little while back in a real similar style:
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/interview-magical-insect-photographer

That kind of shows his setup and what he does. He claims no editing outside of:

quote:

Sometimes the photos require a little fine tuning that mostly includes general brightness/contrast, white balance correction, and noise reduction. But there is no change in the content of the photo. This is not a photomontage, no pasting in or cutting out objects, no selective coloring or saturation boosting or anything similar. The colors are real, the "snow" is real, and so are the insects, landscapes and the rest.

The results are impressive but man he must be putting tranqs into his sugar cubes because I could never get something like a mantis to pose for me like they manage to get.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2012 01:12

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

azathosk posted:

My guess is that this is taken in the morning. Insects are generally not very active during that time. (But I like the idea of putting tranqs into the sugar cubes.)

There'd be a market for'em in both sugar cubes and powdered form to sprinkle on flowers! I cannot get bees to stay still for the life of me!

yeah, I'm thinking early morning too. Either that or the freezer trick.

For the heck of it (and because I lacked a proper Nikon micro lens) I decided to pick up an old Nikkor 55mm f3.5 Micro PC AI manual focus lens off KEH for some experimenting. I already had a 2X Kenko TC and a Raynox DCR-250 macro adapter on hand so I figured I'd see what kind of quality I could get out of it with all that tacked on. Here's an uncropped/unresized/unsharpened shot with the setup:

The working distance is around 4 or 5 inches when using the lens nearly at its max, unfortunately it extends long enough to block a bit of the flash as you can see so to remedy that I've got a DIY snoot made from a pringles can of all things with a coffee filter on the end of it to diffuse the light which worked fine for me with another setup but I haven't put it on this setup yet. I'm quite happy with the results already so I doubt it'll be disappointing. It's a bit overkill on larger critters but just unclipping the Raynox mostly solves that and gives a much longer working distance in case you're dealing with skittish ones.

edit: and a shot today with the diy snoot/foam diffuser of a carpenter bee which apparently read this thread and felt sorry for me and actually kept still for awhile.

PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 08:43 on Feb 27, 2012

# ¿ Feb 23, 2012 04:49

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Haggins posted:

I might do some macro this week. Anywhere in particular you guys like to go for bug shots? I don't know if I should seek out a flower garden or just find a spot in the woods.

I just look in random woodsy areas, but a friend of mine prefers to go to the local botanical gardens and photograph stuff there. He gets a hell of a lot more butterfly keepers than I do since I guess they're more used to people around there.

# ¿ Apr 2, 2012 04:13

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

I don't know if it has been mentioned here or not but for those who like shooting creatures I recommend checking out the critterquest thread. Pretty cool place with a few entomologists (or people who very well could be!) who will gladly help you ID any odd creatures you might come across.

To contribute, some random recent stuff:

# ¿ Jun 23, 2012 16:30

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Internet Meme posted:

What's better for someone starting out with a kit lens: a reversing ring or an extension tube? The lens is a Sigma 35-80mm f/4-5.6.

Edit: I have a Nikon D70.

Personally I've never had much luck with extension tubes, though I've only tried some really really cheap chinese ones from dealextreme. But I've gotten decent results reversing and it gets you quite close. This was taken with my Nikon Micro 55mm/f3.5 straight up:

and this with it reversed:

I started with one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Raynox-DCR-250-Super-Macro-Snap-On/dp/B000A1SZ2Y and still use it every now and then in conjunction with my dedicated macro lens. It shines more with point and shoots due to the extremely shallow DOF otherwise, but it still gets extremely close and usable shots on my D80/D7K.

A couple others since I've neglected macro for awhile, I keep coming back though. I just can't quit you, critters.

# ¿ Sep 29, 2012 04:47

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Atticus_1354 posted:

This is what I have been using and it drives me crazy how shallow the DOF is. I am switching to a reversing ring and an old manual nikon lens I have sitting around to see if I can get better results. Hopefully that coupled with getting a flash will help me get a few more decent shots. This is the best I have gotten out of it. Sadly the bee kept moving out of reach so I couldn't get a better angle.

Yeah, it can be a pain. A flash definitely helps! I've found that the sweet spot is around f/11 to f/16 which is certainly flash country. It's still not a lot of DOF, but it's enough to get eyes in focus and such. This one is at f/20:

This is from back when I paired it with a Canon S5IS point and shoot, which gets a lot more depth at f/8 given the smaller sensor size.

I really like your bee shot though! They're fun subjects albeit a little frustrating at times because they rarely stop moving.

# ¿ Oct 1, 2012 13:27

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

# ¿ Oct 4, 2012 00:07

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

At first glance I was wondering if I was looking at coral or something. Then I read the description. Haha, that's awesome and disturbing at the same time.

# ¿ Dec 25, 2012 21:50

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

There's been a bug explosion around my yard lately so I've finally got some decent subjects. Here's a couple recent shots:

Brown Prionid Beetle (Orthosoma brunneum)

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)

Female Eastern Carpenter Bee - (Xylocopa virginica)

# ¿ Jul 12, 2013 08:44

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Carolina mantis

# ¿ Aug 12, 2013 05:09

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

the_lion posted:

There's also a Raynox filter you could use on a long lens-quality is not as good as a dedicated lens+tubes though. Bought one, barely used it. A few people in the thread have used them I think.

Yeah I use one of these a lot, to the point a large majority of all my macro is with one. The DCR-250 in particular. I usually pair it with an old Nikkor 55mm micro lens on a 2x TC. This is my latest shot with it:

I've had pretty good luck with it though honestly it shines the most on point and shoot sensors since they're so small it's easier to get great DOF. I used to use it on a 55-250 lens but found it works best on longer primes. You have to get pretty close to things with it too, which can be kind of intimidating depending on the subject. I've had a wasp sting the glass element a few times, though thankfully not me (yet)..

# ¿ Sep 4, 2013 07:25

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Ninja Toast! posted:

What's that magnifying adapter that gets brought up in here a lot? I think it's about 80 bucks and starts with an r?

I'm pretty sure you're thinking of the Raynox adapter. Both the DCR-150 and DCR-250 are quite good, I personally use the -250 version (2.5x mag) and it's handy to have even with a dedicated macro lens.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2013 05:24

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Graniteman posted:

Loving my new stackshot. I'm hoping to assemble a shooting stage over the holidays this month. Just some wood and rails bolted together so I don't have to keep putting things together and breaking them down every time I want to shoot.

Fly

That is awesome! That stackshot thing looks really interesting, can't wait to see what you can do with it fully set up!

A little bit after I posted about the DCR-250 I caught this eastern carpenter ant (C. pennsylvanicus) trying to find some warmth. Figured I'd keep it indoors for the night in exchange for a photo shoot.

D7000, Nikon/Nikkor 55mm Micro/DCR-250/Single flash diffused over the top on a glass desk.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2013 20:00

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Ninja Toast! posted:

That's the one, PreyingMantits. Thanks. That picture was taken with one of those? I just use tubes and an old manual minolta 50 (or one of my cheapish canon lenses) so I thought that could give me a nice bump.

No problem! Sure was.

I honestly haven't had much luck with extension tubes for the magnification I'd like. They tend to make my viewfinder so dark that I have trouble finding where to focus. The Raynox doesn't really darken anything but the DOF is quite shallow through the viewfinder. After some practice you get used to it. Step down to around f/8 to 11 and watch for the closest eye to come into focus then shoot.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2013 03:59

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

InternetJunky posted:

I would love to see what kind of lighting setup you guys used for these, they are stunning shots!

Well since I'm a huge fan of your nature photography and you asked with flattery, I figure I'll reveal my secret. Prepare yourself for probably the greatest macro lighting setup of all time. I mean it, contain your envy....

In this dramatic recreation of the set on my desk, I substituted the ant with some humping bears so as to assist in locating where the subject was placed. I kept it covered with a glass until it settled down enough that I could take the glass off, pop off a few shots and then cover it again before it wandered off. I have the flash set on a cheap wireless trigger and the flash itself is a "well loved" Yongnuo YN462 manual flash with the battery compartment door held shut via one high quality Paul C. Buff brand rubber band. The diffuser is a limited edition foil lined plastic Blue Bonnet brand butter container with a hole cut out for the YN462 head and only the best brand of paper towels are taped to the opening so as to spread the light effectively. Then I simply shot from the lowest angle possible to get the nice reflection, cleaned it up a little bit in Photoshop since apparently my glass desk is scraped to hell and it was done!

If santa decides to deliver my list this year, I'm going to do a setup like this: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/compound-eye/2013/01/02/recipe-for-a-photograph-1-reflected-ant-on-black/ (currently down as of posting, but should be back up before long) since I like the angle better on his and I'd like to photograph a few other creatures in the same visual style so anything that could discourage a prison break is highly desired.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2013 02:24

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

xzzy posted:

I don't think that's as ghetto as this guy's rig:

http://chaoticmind75.blogspot.ru/2013/08/my-technique-for-snowflakes-shooting.html

Hahaha, drat. I've seen his photos spreading around everywhere lately but I never saw what he was using to take them. That's definitely up there on the ghettometer.

InternetJunky posted:

Thank you both for describing/showing your setups. I've tried home-made diffusers in a bunch of different configurations and I've never been able to achieve such nice smooth lighting as what you guys had in your shots. No matter what I try I still get very harsh lighting.

It's a lot of trial and error, especially with DIY. I'll echo Graniteman's post and say feel free to post what kind of setup you're using and an example or two and we'll try to figure it out.

# ¿ Dec 13, 2013 00:15

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Same experience as Ninja Toast! here regarding stacking. I've done it a few times because who doesn't love detail but I don't have any rails or anything so it's really pure luck if I get something usable.

Ninja Toast! posted:

Preyingmantits is your cheap wireless trigger the yongnuo ones? I was looking at getting those and a spare cheap flash but they kinda seem too good to be true for the price. Not that anything I'd be using them for would need them to be extremely reliable or anything.

The ones I have are the "Cowboystudio" NPT-04 triggers, which so far haven't let me down and are probably as cheap as you can get for a wireless setup. They don't do TTL, but that's a common feature missing on the cheap ones. My flashes are all manual anyway so that's not a dealbreaker.

edit:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CowboyStudio-NPT-04-4-Channel-Wireless-Hot-Shoe-Flash-Trigger-Receiver-/121031758595

Seems to be the best price for'em right now. $18.

PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 07:53 on Dec 13, 2013

# ¿ Dec 13, 2013 07:51

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

spongepuppy posted:

Holy poo poo, you can see some awesome detail in bugs with crossed polarizers.

Check this quick video out (sorry about the terrible quality): https://www.flickr.com/photos/spongepuppy/12902061165/

That's an awesome trick. Crazy detail! I never thought about trying something like that.

Ak Gara posted:

Tried using a kit EF-S 55-250mm plus a Raynox DCR-250, for a non macro lens, I'm quite pleased with it. I've never done macro before and the DOF was so tiny! Even at F/32 I couldn't get both eyes in focus! I think I'll try a crappy F/70 600mm I picked up for beans next time.

The more magnification the less DOF you'll get while using the DCR-250, I'd say dial it back to around 150-200mm or so and you should be able to get both eyes in focus at least.

Great first start though!

I'm looking forward to Spring and the life the warmer temperatures will bring. Hoping to find some unique/more rare critters this year.

# ¿ Mar 5, 2014 21:46

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

First macro in almost 2 years. Feels Good Man. D750+Nikkor AI-s 55mm Micro+Raynox DCR-250.

Furrow spider (Larinioides cornutus)

# ¿ Feb 16, 2016 05:13

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Well this is pretty awesome: http://microsculpture.net/
https://vimeo.com/157712307

Each final image is made up of between 8,000 and 10,000 individual photos, because the depth of field of a microscope lens is so incredibly shallow. it takes about 2 weeks to shoot and process each final image.

# ¿ Apr 25, 2016 21:02

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Completely on impulse I decided to buy the Laowa 15mm f4 ultra wide angle macro lens, reviews said it was a difficult lens to use and they're not lying, since the working distance is practically up against the lens but I can see it getting a little easier after some practice.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2018 04:56

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

Bubbacub posted:

Stalk-eyed fly by Jason the Hutt, on Flickr

Great catch. Looks straight out of one of those random life generator games.

Snuck up on a halloween pennant:

PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Jul 1, 2018

# ¿ Jun 29, 2018 05:24

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

RandomPauI posted:

I'd like to get back into wildlife macro photography, but I'm running into a major problem. I can't really on my stomach to take photos anymore and have a hard time getting on hands and knees.

Is there any way to, um, put a camera on a tripod, line up the shot, and then adjust the focus, aperture, and focal length thru a phone or tablet? Follow up, how unrealistically expensive do such things cost?

There are some products like that. One kind that comes to mind is CamRanger although to be honest I've only seen that setup used in studio sessions and I don't know how well it would work when it comes to the purpose you're after though they do market it as a macro option. It's $299 usd but there are also some knock-offs floating around that are cheaper.

There are some options specifically made for macro photography though they usually cater to the focus stacking side of it, such as Helicon remote which runs around $75 usd for desktop/mobile versions or $48 usd for just mobile versions.

PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Jul 5, 2018

# ¿ Jul 5, 2018 04:55

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 07:40

PREYING MANTITS: Mar 13, 2003; and that's how you get ants.

That is a very nice bee. Good catch!

# ¿ Aug 31, 2018 20:06

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > The Dorkroom > Macro Macro Macro!