Posts Tagged Macro
December 9, 2010 – Bug
Posted by Dave in Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on December 9, 2010
Bug
Thursday, December 9, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1994
Bug!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm macro lens, cheap macro ring flash. 1/160s, f/18.0, ISO 100.
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October 19, 2010 – Ant
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on October 19, 2010
Ant
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1965
What were you expecting, more fall colors?? Nah, not today. Instead, we’re going to go with an insect picture, just because I know how much my friend-in-law likes them. (That’s what you call somebody who is your friend by marriage, right?)
This one wasn’t taken with my normal macro setup. So I think that’s worth talking about. I took this one while out hiking, whereas most of my insect pictures are taken around my neighborhood. The macro stuff I usually use (macro lens, extension tubes, macro flash, sometimes a tripod or a monopod) can be kind of bulky. It’s fine if I know I’m going to be looking for bugs, but on a hike, bugs aren’t really the goal. So, that led to the question of what I should bring along. Ideally, if I did see a cool bug worth taking a picture of, I’d want to be able to do so. But, all the stuff I’m already bringing on hikes (camera, 3 lenses, plus filters, extra batteries, etc) is kind of annoying, so bringing even more stuff, like a lens specifically for macro and a flash, is not really desirable. So, as a compromise, I’ve started just bringing a couple extension tubes. They’re pretty lightweight and small, and they’re pretty rugged, so you don’t have to take as good of care of them as you do lenses. After doing some experimenting, I decided I could get “close enough” by using the tubes with my telephoto lens. (That worked better than with my wide angle or my standard range lens, for what it’s worth.)
The day I took this picture was really the first time I really tried it out in actual use, and I was glad to see that the hacked-up setup did indeed work “well enough”. It definitely wasn’t as pleasant to use as my regular setup, but it got the job done. Good thing, too, since I was on a hike that was supposed to have really great views (but didn’t, they were only mediocre) on a day that was supposed to have really nice weather (but didn’t, it was that bland featureless overcast that just kills me. And then it started raining), so it was nice to have other things to take pictures of. Although the fact that I didn’t have a flash meant that I had to crank up the ISO, but the results were still passable.
So, to summarize, here’s the setup I bring with me on hikes these days, for those who are curious. Camera (Canon EOS Rebel T1i), with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens attached. I usually have that in my hand the entire hike. Then, I have a small camera bag attached to the side of my backpack. In there, I have two lenses (Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 and Canon 55-250mm IS), two extension tubes, two filters (circular polarizers for the 11-16 and 17-50 – need to get one for the 55-250, but haven’t bothered yet), 3-4 spare batteries (they’re super cheap on eBay), a couple spare memory cards (that I haven’t needed to use in years), and a lens cleaning cloth. That’s all the important stuff anyway. Then, I sometimes also (when I remember) bring along a gorilla pod, but I basically never get around to actually using it. I really should use a tripod more often, for those times when I want to slow down a river or get some depth of field. But… whatever.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens with Opteka extension tubes. 1/250s, f/7.1, ISO 800. Focal length: 55mm (Well, that’s what the lens was set at..)
Popularity: 17%
October 6, 2010 – Hibiscus Flowers
Posted by Dave in Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day, Tropical/Beaches on October 6, 2010
Hibiscus Flowers
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1726
So there’s been a decent-sized increase in interest in the pictures I took in Jamaica recently. (The increase in interest is recent, the pictures from Jamaica are.. well, they’re also recent. But.. less recent. I was talking about the interest.) Not among, you know, “real people” per se, but among people that I work with. And my mother in law. On the one hand, it’s a little bit frustrating, because most of the pictures I take are NOT from Jamaica, and nobody cares as much about those. But, on the other hand, it’s making me realize that I should really sit down and go through those pictures. So far, I’ve only grabbed one here or there, but I haven’t yet dug through the whole pile to grab anything that’s interesting. Don’t get your hopes up or anything, I feel like I’ve already posted the best ones, so what’s left will just fill out the middle of the pack a bit. But, they’re still worth posting here.
In the meantime, here’s another one I happened to have lying around. It’s another shot of the hibiscus flowers that were so prevalent around the area(s) of Negril where we stayed. Hibiscus flowers are weird. They’re pretty, and have a lot of character, but they’re kind of hard to take interesting pictures of. That middle part can be really… droopy.. And it’s pretty long too, which can make it hard to get both the tip and the body both in focus, if that’s your thing. (And yes, I’m really going out of my way here to keep it clean. ) But the color is really fantastic, and there’s a lot of nice detail in there, so if you get one to turn out, it can be pretty cool.
Speaking of interest, by the way, I should mention that I can make prints of just about any of the pictures you see me post. And they’re cheap, since I get them printed at Costco. A 12×18 print is only 3 bucks, and a 20×30 is only about 10. Recently, I got one of my pictures printed on canvas, at 20×30, and it looked FANTASTIC. It was mounted on a wooden frame, so it was ready to hang. That came out to about 100 dollars, shipped. So, a few folks that I know are asking for prints here or there. If you want to get in on that action, definitely let me know.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 17-50mm lens, and I think I used a little screw-on “macro lens” attachment for this guy. 1/250s, f/5.6, ISO 800. Focal length: 33mm.
Popularity: 25%
September 29, 2010 – Bee and Orange Daisy
Posted by Dave in Animals, Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on September 29, 2010
Bee and Orange Daisy
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=2002
Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday! Except that, umm, it’s Wednesday. Yesterday sort of didn’t really happen, at least as far as this blog is concerned. Whatever, get over it. It’s Wednesday! That’s awesome! And you get a bug picture today! Yesss!
There’s not many bugs up here in Seattle. At least, not in my neighborhood. There’s one kind of spider, and there are bees. So, that’s what I get pictures of when I go out to get bug pictures. Really, I should take some field trips to the woods specifically for bug pictures. Maybe I’ll do that at some point, and actually see some different bugs. Actually, that’s really not a bad idea. But it hasn’t happened yet. Well, it happened once, I went to Carkeek Park and actualy found some different bugs. But I mean I should do it again. As far as the flower, I keep calling these things orange daisies, but I actually don’t know if that’s what they actually are. They have a whole bunch of them planted right at the entrance to the south parking lot at the zoo here in Seattle, so I take a lot of pictures of them. Because they’re pretty. And I like to take pictures of pretty things. That’s the way this blog works.
Also, it seems like having a claw sticking out from right next to your eyeball could be useful. I’m not sure for what, but I’m sure you could figure out something to do with it. It’d be a bit creepy, sure, but man, that’d be handy for reading the newspaper and stuff. Or if you had a pair of broken sunglasses, you could totally still use them.
In other news… It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about it, so I’m going to go ahead and give another plug for Flattr.com. Flattr is based on a really cool idea: you pay a couple bucks every month, and then when you see a website or article or something you enjoy or find useful, you click the Flattr button (that looks like the one below). Basically, it’s like a Facebook Like button, except that, at the end of the month, everybody you Flattred that month gets an equal cut of your couple bucks. (Or, it all goes to charity if you don’t find anything you like in a given month..) It’s nice because it’s only a couple bucks, and it makes a big difference to small- and mid-size blogs and such that aren’t big enough to make any money from advertising (or, alternatively, don’t want to bother their readers with advertising. Hi! I’m Dave!) I’ve been doing it for a couple months now, and it’s very cool. The biggest problem I’ve found so far is that the number of websites that have Flattr buttons is still pretty small, so it can be difficult to find things to Flattr. So, if you have a site or a blog, you should absolutely sign up, and let me know! Okay, plug over, that’s the last you’ll hear about it for awhile (other than the boilerplate stuff at the bottom of every post and on the sidebar, but, whatever.)
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm Macro lens, Phoenix macro ring flash. 1/160s, f/18.0, ISO 100. I think I may have also used an extension tube or two.
Popularity: 14%
September 20, 2010 – Some Weird Plant
Posted by Dave in Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on September 20, 2010
Some Weird Plant
Monday, September 20, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1059
Anyone have any idea what the heck this thing is? I found it earlier this summer in the Rose Garden. I’m going to call it a “flower”, but I don’t even know if that’s true. I like the texture though. That’s it for today, short post, eh?
UPDATE: Somebody identified the plant as an “Astilbe”. Now I (and you) know!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Quantaray 70-300mm lens. 1/100s, f/6.3, ISO 800. Focal length: 183mm.
Popularity: 10%
September 13, 2010 – Gnat
Posted by Dave in Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on September 13, 2010
Gnat - Reverse-mounted lens
Monday, September 13, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1037
Welcome back from the weekend, everyone! This picture was taken almost exactly a year ago, immediately after I had originally gotten my reverse-mount lens adapter. (End of August, to be a little bit more specific.) I chose it today because it’s particularly illustrative of some of the cool parts and some of the not-as-cool parts about using a reverse-mount for macro shots.
First, the good parts. This was taken with a 13 dollar attachment and the 18-55mm kit lens. So, “very minimal financial investment” would be appropriate to say. This bug was freaking tiny. I mean, it’s a gnat. You know how big gnats are. They’re little dots. So to be able to see all of this detail is (I think) really cool. I could go on and on about that, but, that’s the basic idea.
Now, the bad parts. This list is longer than the “good parts” list, but that’s not intended to say that the negatives outweigh the positives, it’s just that I can speak more specifically to the drawbacks. The first is the extremely limited depth of field. One thing I really love about this picture is how well it illustrates that. I mean, you can SEE how narrow of a band you’re working with. That’s a gnat, for god’s sake, and only 2 of his six legs are even discernible. So, forget about using autofocus, you just need to pick a focus point, then move forward and back until your subject is crisp. Then, hopefully your shutter finger is fast enough to get the shot before you sway backwards or forwards by a fraction of a millimeter. (Did I mention that taking these shots is ridiculously aggravating??) This will sound familiar if you read this blog with any frequency, but: a big part of the limited depth of field is just due to macro photography in general. But it’s exacerbated by the fact that you’re using a reverse-mounted lens (as opposed to one that’s macro-specific.) This is because, since the electrical connections for your lens are now at the *front* of the lens, your camera can’t control the aperture, and thus you’re taking pictures with it set wide open. Because of this, using the kit lens (or other less-expensive lens with a usually-undesirable small maximum aperture size) is actually helpful. If you were using a lens that was stuck at f/2.8 or wider, it would be even worse.
My other favorite frustrating thing about using a reverse-mount is that you end up working with an extremely small amount of light. This picture was taken with very-late-afternoon light (probably an hour before sunset) shining directly on the subject. But yet, I still had to resort to using ISO 1600 and a 1/80s shutter speed to even get it to expose. (It was “hand-held”, but I had the camera wedged up against the tree. It was an image-stabilized lens, but your electrical connections aren’t connected, remember?) Full-on mid-day sunshine is better, but still, you’re stuck with higher ISOs and slower shutter speeds, unless you’re using a macro flash. So, I apologize for the ugly graininess, it was really unavoidable. I believe this issue is really unavoidable with extreme macro photography. It may not be quite as bad with a regular-mounted macro-specific lens, I’m not totally sure if different optical setups are able to help with this sort of thing or not, to be honest. But, it’s a true fact that macro photography is a different beast.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Reverse-mounted 18-55mm kit lens. 1/80s, ISO 1600.
Popularity: 15%
September 8, 2010 – Spring Blooms
Posted by Dave in Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on September 8, 2010
Spring Blooms
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1518
Remember those days, back before I had a macro lens or even a set of extension tubes? Ha ha, yeah, those were the days, huh? Back when we were all (5 months) younger and (5 months) more foolish. Back then, in order to get macro shots, I either had to use a set of magnifying glasses on the front of my lens, or just focus as close as I could and call it good. Wow, how primitive! And then, and then, and then.. I got my hands on a reverse-mount adapter, which suddenly allowed me to get freakishly close! I could take pictures of flowers and bugs and little awesome tiny things! Unfortunately, since none of the lens’s electrical connections were attached to the camera, I lost the ability to do simple things like control my aperture. That meant that, in addition to the shallowness of field that comes along with macro under normal circumstances, I had to approach the problem wide-open! That meant that, instead of getting a picture of a bug, I’d get a picture of an extremely narrow sliver of a bug, surrounded by a big blurry splotch that was most likely the rest of it. Ah, nostalgia.
That’s when I took this picture. This spring. With my reverse-mount adapter. I was really excited about it at the time, but since then I’ve moved on to things like extension tubes, which are really not much more expensive (30 bucks instead of 15), but still give you the benefit of things you normally take for granted, like the aforementioned aperture. Combine those with a cheap macro ring flash, and then the magic starts happening! But, I didn’t realize any of that at the time. Oh well, it was still fun.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, 18-55mm kit lens with reverse-mount adapter. 1/1600s, ISO 200.
Popularity: 10%
August 26, 2010 – Bee or Wasp? No! A fly!
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on August 26, 2010
Fly, Genus Spilomyia
Thursday, August 26, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1652
Anybody know if this is a bee or wasp? I think the answer would lie in what the stinger looked like, or if there even was one. Unfortunately, you can’t see it. Sigh.
UPDATE: A reader named Joan Knapp (see her blog here) pointed out that this is actually a fly, “Genus Spilomyia”. So there you go!
What do you mean that flower looks familiar? Umm, right. This may or may not have been taken at about the same time as yesterday’s picture. Actually, all three pictures I’ve posted this week came from last weekend. I think that’s actually the first time I’ve ever done that. Normally I try to spread things out so as to not saturate the blog with one subject. Plus, then I can post two pictures that are really similar but yet a little bit different months apart, and nobody says anything. Oh, wait, nobody says anything anyway. Right.
Notice how the eyeball patterns are different? Weird. Have I mentioned lately that you guys should all sign up for Flattr?
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens, cheap macro ring flash. 1/160s, f/18.0, ISO 100.
Popularity: 16%
August 25, 2010 – Orange Daisies
Posted by Dave in Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on August 25, 2010
Orange Daisies
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1649
Well, okay, whatever, maybe they’re not daisies. Seriously though, what are they?? I don’t know, and none of you ever feel like telling me. So, eff it, they’re daisies.
I like a lot of the elements of this picture. But I’m only posting it today so I can talk about what I *don’t* like about it. Because not only do I feel that it didn’t live up to its potential, I don’t even think it’s a particularly good picture. Why? Well, it’s too dark, and there’s not enough contrast.
For whatever reason, things that are really strongly red or orange really play tricks with the camera sensor. The redness maxes out way too early, leaving the rest of the image a bit dark. I tried to brighten this one up, but when I was able to get it to the point where I was happy with the overall illumination, the deep red and orange petals were way beyond blown out. So, the only way to be able to maintain ANY of that red vs. orange details (which is the most interesting part of those flowers, if you ask me), was to keep it kind of dark like this. And I guess if you’re not looking at it in the context of any other pictures, it’s not too bad. But I’m not super happy with it.
Then, there’s the contrast. I was trying to go for the effect of having those two flowers in front really pop out, but I also wanted to create the idea of them being in the middle of a huge flower bed full of them. Unfortunately, in this result, it’s hard to catch the difference. There’s just not enough of a difference between the in-focus ones and the out-of-focus ones for your eye to grab on to. A lot of times, you can use focus vs. bokeh to provide that contrast that I was going for, but with the strong reds and the lack of a sharp edge on the far petals, in this case they just blend together. Another option would have been to put a little bit of green just above that close flower, I should have gone with that. It’s of course easy to say that now, I just wish I had thought of it then.
Oh well, maybe next time, huh?
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i. Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens. 1/320s, f/9.0, ISO 400.
Popularity: 13%
August 16, 2010 – Spider Eating a Bee
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Animals, Macro, Picture of the Day on August 16, 2010
Spider eating a bee
Monday, August 16, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1639
I know, I know. A lot of you really hate this kind of thing. But, this drama was happening just outside my house last night, so I figured I’d share. This guy had built a web that went clear across the little alcove over my front door, which got me right in the face when I walked outside. I suppose after he had nabbed this guy, he got a little bit cocky.
Before last night, it had been awhile since I had brought out my macro ring flash. I don’t really have a good excuse for that though. I really need to get back on it. I suppose one reason I don’t use it that much is that we just don’t have many bugs out here in Seattle. And, the bugs we do have are just the ordinary kind – flies, bees, and spiders. I’ve seen some ridiculously awesome bug pictures out there, of wild and exotic things, and we just don’t really have that stuff around. But, that’s no excuse, I know. I promise, I’ll try and get out at least a couple more times before the end of the summer.
In the meantime… Have I mentioned Flattr.com yet? (Yes. Yes I have.) You all need to check it out. I’m serious. After playing with it over the weekend, I’ve decided that the biggest issue right now is that they need to get more Flattr buttons out there. Meaning, they need more publishers to sign up to give people stuff to appreciate. So, if you’re reading this, and you have a website or a blog or even just a Flickr feed, you should totally sign up. Then, let me know (either by commenting below or sending me an email: dave (at) davefry (dot) net), and I’ll happily click away on whatever Flattr buttons I see. I’m not even going to tell you that you need to Flattr me back, that’s how magnanimous I am. Do it! Seriously! Now!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm macro lens. 1/160s, f/22.0, ISO 100. Focal length: 90mm.
Popularity: 13%
August 5, 2010 – Star of Persia
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on August 5, 2010
Star of Persia
Thursday, August 5, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1587
I realize that a lot of you reading this blog don’t get quite as jazzed up about pictures of flowers as I do, but the reality of the situation is that I have a whole crap-ton of them. Because, quite frankly, it’s a lot easier to go across the street to the rose garden or to take a walk around the neighborhood than it is to go on some crazy hike. I try to space them out at least a little bit so I don’t scare you all away, but if I keep burning through the non-flower shots, I’ll eventually be left with nothing but a huge pile of crazy flowers and bugs to inundate you with. But, it’s been more than a week since I tossed one out there, so it’s well overdue.
Based on the results of my normal flower-identification routine (which is to say, spending 5 minutes looking for flowers on Google), I’m fairly sure these flowers are called “stars of Persia”, so that’s what I went with. (Are there any Persians out there? Do these look like your stars??) These were, not surprisingly, in the rose garden. Taking pictures of flowers like these is somewhat counter intuitive to me. Normally, overcast Seattle days tend to make for uninteresting pictures (clouds aren’t bad in and of themselves, but around here we get these completely featureless grey skies that can make just about any picture into a real snoozer.) So generally I look for sunny days (or, even better, “mostly sunny” days with nice fluffy clouds), and stay inside when it’s featureless-ly overcast. But, I’ve found that I like my flower pictures better (in general) on overcast days. It feels like it allows the true colors of the flower to take center stage, and it means there aren’t any harsh shadows to worry about (since the light kind of comes from everywhere). You of course have less total light to work with, so you have to jack up the ISO and open up the aperture, but other than that you can get some nice results. At least that’s how I’m feeling today, anyway. Basically, I’m just trying to say that just because the weather’s not what you were hoping for, you should still get out there and take some pics. I always have to remind myself of that, because I’m HORRIBLE about getting lazy and blaming it on the weather. Somebody should totally send me a link to this post so I can read that.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Kiron 105mm f/2.8 macro lens. 1/160s, aperture unknown, ISO 200. Focal length: 105mm (duh!).
Popularity: 13%
July 21, 2010 – Bee and Daisy
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Animals, Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on July 21, 2010
Bee and Daisy
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1611
So I always seem to gravitate towards posting some kind of macro shot, either of a bug or a flower (or, well, both..) on Fridays. Not exactly sure why I feel that way (that’s a total lie, I know exactly why, I just don’t feel like sharing), but it’s the truth. And, I know, this isn’t Friday, it’s Wednesday. But it might as well be Friday, because I’ll be out of town the next couple days, and thus I won’t be posting anything. Which means that you get to look at this little guy for the rest of the weekend.
This is the first picture I’ve posted (and among the first I took) with my new (to me) Tamron 90mm macro. So far, I’d say I’m reasonably happy with it. I had some decent results, but I also had some that were less than stellar. I’m not going to blame the lens for those just yet though, and to be fair I’ve only taken the lens out on a couple walks around the neighborhood, and it’s definitely shown some promise. Hopefully you’ll all get to see some more pics from it in the coming weeks and months and years (I know, bold statement, given that I’ve only been doing this blog for just over a year now.)
Have a great weekend!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens. 1/250s, f/10.0, ISO 200. Focal length: 90mm (duh!).
Popularity: 13%