A few macros and nifty fifties from today

Yandros · 03-05-2008, 10:22 PM

D200+105VR+R1C1

#1 A miniature Euphorbia close up

#2 This cute ickle red guy was posing nicely on the Camassias. I think I've finally got the hang of not darkening the backgrounds using macro flash.

#3 I'm tempted to crop this, but I love the colours from the Berberis

#4 First outdoor butterfly pic of the year. Shame he had a thing for dead leaves though

#5 That Euphorbia again, this time with the 50mm f1.8 @ f2.2 -playing around with shallow DOF

#6 Camassias, again with the nifty fifty, but wide open.

A different crop. At f1.8 things really seem to get funky. The bokeh is just mad, but I love the way the flower spikes are glowing!

Liquid101 · 03-05-2008, 10:28 PM

Great set. All quality shots.

2 and 4 are my picks, love the colourand composition in #2

Interesting, although to the most attractive bokeh in the last 2.

TarMoo · 03-05-2008, 10:34 PM

Nice set

I got one of those miniature Euphorbias last week ....

I'm glad someone knows the names of all these exotic flowers.

jomike · 04-05-2008, 5:45 AM

Some nice ones there, #4 is the pick for me.

You do realise that #2 is a lily beetle, and they will munch their way through any lily plant? My Stargazer lilies are infested with them.

Not so sure about the bokeh in the last two. I've noticed the nifty fifty does strange things to the bokeh wide open.

Mike

BananaTiger · 04-05-2008, 8:07 AM

Nice pics there Yandros. Number 2 is my fav of the bunch. Just love the colours and creamy bokeh in that one. Inspires me to visit the butterfly house in the natural history museum sometime soon

onefivenine · 04-05-2008, 8:23 AM

No 2 stands out to me. Nice job of lighting him. Those shiny insect shells are tricky subjects.

IAN P · 04-05-2008, 9:56 AM

Great set,no'2 stands out the best for me.

jonandjen · 04-05-2008, 10:08 AM

Hi, Nice shots. I particularly like 1, 2 & 6. Nice colours and nice bokeh. Well done.

vulkan75 · 04-05-2008, 10:09 AM

no2 is superb...Love how the soft Bokah contrasts with the sharp beetle

nice

johnaalex · 04-05-2008, 4:27 PM

Another vote for the little red bug

Yandros · 04-05-2008, 6:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onefivenine

No 2 stands out to me. Nice job of lighting him. Those shiny insect shells are tricky subjects.

Thanks

Here are a few things I've worked out, that might be useful for fellow novice bug chasers...

Using 1/250th sec and a small aperture generally equals black background and sometimes pretty harsh light.

Knocking the shutter speed down (I've been trying 1/160th) and not getting quite so greedy with the aperture seems to work very well. That red bug was 1/160th, 100 ISO and only f7.1.

The really interesting part was attempting the same shot without flash...total failure. Even with the 105VR, at 1/80th f8 I didn't get a single sharp image, presumably due to camera shake. With flash I was getting close to 100% keepers.