Macro Mania!!

[Viky]

Hi,

I realized I'd been reading up too much on macro lately without actually doing much shooting...

So, decided to attempt some real macro work this Sunday.... I don't own a real macro lens, yet, armed with a high tech DIY diffuser;), the $18 28mm FD vintage lens, the trusty 50mm 1.8 and my favorite lens, the 70-300IS, I decided to spend a few hours at the local park..

Ended up getting some half decent shots..

#1 The Sunflower
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8896.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 70-300IS (1:4 )

#2 The Petals
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8712.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 28mm FD Reversed @ f/11 (2.5:1 )

#3 A Closer Look
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8716r.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 28mm FD Reversed @ f/22 (2.5:1 )

#4 Playing with DOF
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8706r.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 28mm FD Reversed @ f/2.8 (2.5:1 )

#5 Up Close & Personal
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8717r.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 28mm FD Reversed @ f/22 (2.5:1 )

[Viky]

#6 A Very unusual flower / bud
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8747.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 70-300IS @ 300mm (1:2 )

#7 This beautiful Dragon Fly paid me a visit
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8752-1.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 70-300IS @ 300mm (1:2 )

#8 Mr Spider - all of 10mm long
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8781.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 50mm 1.8 (1:3 )

#9 I'm growing up!
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8759.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 70-300IS @ 300mm (1:2 )

#10 Same spider- looks menacing at more than twice life size!
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8791r.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 28mm FD Reversed @ f/22 (2.5:1 )

[Viky]

#11 Head On with the Dragonfly
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8767a.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 70-300IS @ 300mm (1:2 )

#12 Another angle on the Spidey... looks even more frightening!
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8811.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 28mm FD Reversed @ f/11 (2.5:1 )

#13 Eight eyes on a 2mm x2mm Head! God is such a craftsman!
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8808r.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 28mm FD Reversed @ f/11 (2.5:1 )

#14 Butterflies!
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8845r.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 70-300IS @ 300mm (1:2 )

#15 Such Beautiful Colors..
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8856.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 70-300IS @ 300mm (1:2 )

[Viky]

#16 The Hardworking Bee!
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8867r.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 70-300IS @ 300mm (1:2 )

#17 More Butterflies!
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8877.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 70-300IS @ 300mm (1:2 )

#18 Another play with DOF
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8915r.jpg
400D + EF12 Extension Tube + 50mm 1.8 (1:3 )

#19 My Hi-Tech DIY Diffuser – A must for all the reverse 28mm shots!
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8967.jpg

For the detailed shooting parameters like Shutter Speed, Aperture & ISO, pls check out the Exif. Where exif shows aperture as f/0, means this photo was created wit the reverse 28mm and the camera did not recognize the presence of any lens.

Thanks for looking! C & C Welcome!

Vicky

[Honest Gaza]

Interesting shots Viky....an unusual use of the 70-300mm IS.

I like a lot of the shots especially the Dragon Fly in #7....but it has produced a horrible "bokeh" effect in #1.

[michaelb]

Some great shots here Viky and very inventive use of gear, which I'm a big fan of - I particularly like #'s 9, 11, 12, 13 & 15.

[24Peter]

Yes, agreed - very creative, both in terms of shots and equipment. Nice work!

[Viky]

Thanks guys! Glad u liked these:)

Remember, its recession time, so just trying to make the best use of whatever is already there in the bag:p;)

Here are the larger sizes (30% crops) of my two favorites:)

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8767-30.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/IMG_8811-30.jpg

All the shots are hand held.

[FLiPMaRC]

:eek: Wow Viky! Great work.

[adam75south]

dude, i don't even know where to start with these. number 7, 11, and 12 are awesome!

[devin]

God damn. Very very nice especially considering the setup. Great!

[Viky]

:eek: Wow Viky! Great work.

Thanks Flip!

dude, i don't even know where to start with these. number 7, 11, and 12 are awesome!

Thanks Adam! Glad u liked these:) #11 & #12 are my favorites too!

God damn. Very very nice especially considering the setup. Great!

Thanks Devin!

Using the reverse 28mm setup is definitely challenging..

For one, the DOF with the reverse 28mm even at f/22 is less then 1mm... and when the flowers are even lightly swaying in the wind makes it so difficult to judge focus. With the reverse 28mm, neither Auto focus nor the Manual focus ring are working... you don't even get focus confirmation from the camera...the only way to achieve focus is by moving the camera forward / back and judge focus by looking through the viewfinder. Due to this very reason, you can't even use a tripod with this setup unless you have a macro focusing rail. With you squinting hard through the tiny dark viewfinder at 2.5x life size magnification and the plants even lightly swaying...it soon starts to get really dizzy:)

I have however learned a new cheat to get over this problem... so, next attempt should be better;)

Another big limitation with the reverse 28mm is that the plane of focus is fixed at around 2" from the front of he lens... you can't focus any closer and you can't focus at anything further than this either:mad:

While acceptable for plants or other stationery objects, this working distance is too little for shooting any live bugs as they will definitely get scared.

But, in my case, this must have been one tough spider as he was anything but scared! He was actually threatening me all the time... did you notice, how he has both his front two legs in the air pointed towards me in the classic aggressive boxer pose!

To sum it up, using the 28mm reversed setup has its set of quirks and limitations, but at the end, it gives you a very rewarding feeling if you can get some decent shots out of it:)

[TheWengler]

Well, you didn't disappoint. A wonderful collection of shots.

[faisal]

#11, #12 and #17 are my favorites.....all of them are very nice shots...and interesting flash setup, looks waaaaay better than my DIY diffusers...

Btw got only one question....how many shots did you take in total cause I've tried reverse mounting and getting it right is quite hard, especially when hand held....

[Viky]

Well, you didn't disappoint. A wonderful collection of shots.

Thanks Lukas! Glad u liked these:)

#11, #12 and #17 are my favorites.....all of them are very nice shots...and interesting flash setup, looks waaaaay better than my DIY diffusers...

Thnks fais! This is more of a flash re-director cum diffuser;) However, I've designed a better reverse macro rig with DIY flash bracket, Off camera flash with a much better design diffuser..... all I need is time to make that thing:)

Btw got only one question....how many shots did you take in total cause I've tried reverse mounting and getting it right is quite hard, especially when hand held....


I think I took a total of around 200 shots in the 2hrs time I spent there... but this is the total quantity with all the lenses combined.

My keeper ratio with the reverse 28mm is low too... around 30% i reckon... the most common reason for the culling is lack of critical focus:o