[silvergray545]

Originally Posted by vachss

Oh dear god... and I thought landscapes would be hard to choose. I've been a serious bug photographer for the past 4 years or so. Can I just post my favorite fifty or so?

Those are some really cool pictures. What kind of macro do you use? I have a 60mm but I know I can't get detailed photos like that. Also, how close do you have to get to the bugs to get photos like that?

I'd like a macro lens where I could stand 25 feet away from the bugs and still get detailed photos like that lol.

[- Paul -]

Have I put this one forward before?


Sunflower and Bee by PRotography EU, on Flickr

[vachss]

Originally Posted by silvergray545

Those are some really cool pictures. What kind of macro do you use? I have a 60mm but I know I can't get detailed photos like that. Also, how close do you have to get to the bugs to get photos like that?

I'd like a macro lens where I could stand 25 feet away from the bugs and still get detailed photos like that lol.

Thanks, but you can do a lot with the 60mm macro - that's one sharp lens. It'll go down to 1:1 magnification, which lets you fill a frame with a 15 x 22mm scene. That ought to be enough to see detail in the compound eyes of larger insects. A real key with macro is lighting. You don't necessarily need a fancy dedicated macro flash (though they're handy), but some kind of off-shoe flash with a diffusor will both allow you to highlight detail and freeze motion.

FWIW I kinda went off the deep end a bit on the whole macro thing. Most of my stuff is shot with the Canon 65mm MP-E lens, which goes all the way down to 5:1 magnification but requires you to shove the lens 2-4 inches away from the bug's face. There are alternatives that let you back off more. The Canon or Sigma 180mm macro lenses are probably the best examples, but these are big unwieldy beasts and don't let you get to the same high magnifications as the MP-E. If you do want to sit a foot away from your subject and still get 1:1 magnification, though, they are probably your best bet.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I don't mind sitting this one out, but this theme may favor those with macro lenses. But that might not be a bad thing. Up to you.

You can do a lot with an inexpensive 25mm Extension Tube and a 1.4x or 2.0x Teleconverter on a short tele. You don't have to own a "macro" lens to get some fun shots.

Dave

[dcstep]

Bumblebee


Bumble bee on lavender by dcstep, on Flickr

[panicos81]

[Chewy734]

nice shot... perhaps an even faster shutter speed would've helped?

[spanner1751]

Beautiful colors there, Dave and Panicos.

[DARK_M3]

Dragonfly of some sort. Pretty cool!

[bosstones]

I should post a picture of the windshield on my MCS. Lots of insects there (or what's left of them).

[vachss]

That's a beautiful Dragonfly, Panicos. I love the eye detail.

[panicos81]

thanks guys. it was shot with my old Sony a200 and an old carl zeiss 35mm prime with manual focus only.. that was probably the best lens i had so far and i got it practically for free from ebay..

[UdubBadger]

Originally Posted by signes

I'm not even going to click on this thread again...

[MaximusJ]

I fell asleep sitting on the couch with the laptop on my lap while processing my picture for this contest.

[Chewy734]

did you wake up to a crotch burn?

[MaximusJ]

LOL no; my gf bought me one of those lap tablet for laptops to prevent my eggs from boiling.


Oh well; i'll wait for next contest then! I thought I had a good one for a first try at macro.

[M_Six]

I just walked out the back door of the office to go grab a coffee and suddenly found myself in the midst of a large swarm of yellow jackets. There were dozens of them all around me. Some guy painting the building says, "Don't worry, it's just a swarm of bees."

I'm thinking, "Don't worry???"

I was also thinking of this contest, but I think I'll not go out and try for a macro.

[Chewy734]

shouldn't the voting thread be up today?

[MP0WER]

While hiking with my wife and her friend i had all of 3 seconds to snap this pic. I wish i would have realized what the DOF looked like.....

"She's got Legs"

[vachss]

MPOWER - I really like those FL millipedes. I'd never seen one in my usual winter visits, but they were pretty common when I stopped there in June of last year. Yours is much more colorful than the ones I saw.


(Not a contest entry)

[MaximusJ]

I messed around with my extension tubes this weekend and even at closed apertures of F14, I was getting those very shallow DOF when using more then 30mm of combined tubes. At 1.4, it was impossible to take a clean pic. So I managed to get nice pics only with either my 12 or 20mm tubes. At 36mm, the magnification is nice, but if your subject is easily scared, you'll miss your shot.

At maximum extension of 68mm (12+20+36mm), you're almost touching your subject.

Gotta read some stuff about macro tho; all i've done so far was just trial and error.

I'm still gonna post my pic tonight even if its not admitted. I hunted all week for that shot so might as well post it. lol.

[MaximusJ]

"no contest" entry I guess ;p