Currently viewing the tag: "Pro optic"
Rain can be fun and exciting especially if you are thinking of macro photography. That’s just what I did last Thursday. It was raining all morning and the moment the rain eased down, I went outside for some snapshots. At first I was overwhelm, but when I saw the droplets of water decorating the grass I was excited and couldn’t wait to have it photograph. It was really an amazing scene. Armed with my EOS 60d, EF 85mm F/1.8, a pro optic extension tube and my 430 EX II flash, I managed to create some excellent photos of water droplets. You can view them on my gallery here and here.
I used my 430 EX II flash to light the subject off camera mounted on a , because even though it was day time, there isn’t enough ambient light to illuminate the grass, first it was really dark and cloudy, and I was shooting at between f/9 and f/11. I cannot set my aperture to wider than f/8 because it will give me a very shallow depth of field and would be really hard to focus. Thanks to the canon eos 60d’s ability to control external flash remotely using it’s built-in flash, I was able to light my subject without any hassle I didn’t use a tripod or a monopod with this photos, i brought some rubber mats with me so I can crawl down on my belly and really go down for a close-up shot.
Camera Gear:
These are my camera and lenses after selling some that I don’t use.
From left to right, first row:
- Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras with Third Party Compatible Lens Hood ET-65III from Amazon.
– This lens is my go to lens for portraits, it’s small, lightweight, sharp. Also a great macro lens when paired with the Pro Optic Budget Auto Extention Tube . You can buy this lens from Amazon
and Adorama
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens with Third Party Compatible ES-62 Lens Hood from Amazon. This is a great all around lens, great for indoors, low light, portraits, you name it. Perfect lens if I want to travel light. This lens is available from Amazon
and Adorama
- Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC . This is the lens I use the most. It’s the one attached to my camera 90% of the time. Available from Amazon and Adorama
Upper Row Attached to Camera bodies
- Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Ultra-Wide Lens
. This the latest addition to my canon gear. This has change the way I see things. This lens is sharp, light, and has great focal range.
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens. This is the longest lens I have at the moment, this lens goes out with me on every outdoor event, and it’s the one I use to take photographs of wildlife.
Camera Bodies:
Other Accessories
Nature has a lot to offer and finding simple textures and patterns in subjects like leaves, rocks, trees, fruits can be very exciting and at the same time challenging. Patterns and textures contribute a lot to composition. Like the photo of the leaf above. My intention was to really capture the patterns and the texture of the leaf to show the beauty the tactual aspect of the photograph.
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Yes, it’s true. If you are serious about macro insect photography there are times that you will need a lot of patience and a lot of practice with your gear. Because insects / bugs move quite a lot, you will have a hard time getting them in focus, unless your insect subject stay still until you are done. In photographing insects here’s what I do:
- Practice a lot with my gear.
- I bring some snack and water.(^_^)
- Find the right spot.
- Wait patiently.
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Taken handheld. Flash Off Camera slightly to my left.
When I started doing macro I struggle a lot and didn’t really know what was missing , until I realized, “Light”, lots and lots of light. And after this, everything became easy, thanks to my handy Canon 430 EXII flash and my Demb Diffuser Pro. The idea is to let the flash improved the quality of light . This is especially helpful if you are photographing insects or bugs, that are hiding in trees, under the leaves or crawling on the ground. I didn’t realized this at first, I used to carry around my tripod every time I do macro, but not my flash. Now, I don’t use my tripod often when I’m doing macro, and now I have my lightstand, and my flash with me all the time when I’m doing macro. Using the Flash off Camera is a good way to light your macro subjects and this will give you great flexibility provided, you have the room and time to setup, if not using the flash on camera with the right diffuser, works just as well.
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There has been a lot of discussion about this topic and my answer, again, is of course, it depends on your budget. Close-up filters are generally cheaper compare to extension tubes and extension tubes are cheaper compare to true Macro Lenses. What’s the difference between the two?
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Day 4. The Daddy Long Leg Spiders.
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Day 4. I don’t know what kind of creature this is, but it’s nice and colorful, I see them all time in the bushes. Looks like they feed on leaves and some wild flowers.
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Day 2. The Fly.
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This week is Macro Week, let me start with this photograph of an Ant. Aren’t they amazing.
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