2018 Project 52, 1st quarter by Sandy (skitterbug)

[rudi]

Good catch on the little beetle, which is a ladybug/ladybird, or 'lieveheersbeestje' as we say.. and an interesting macro subject (to me).

[Geoff F]

Looks like one of the Harlequin Ladybirds to me. Some good detail with these images.

Harlequins were originally an Asian species which was imported as a form of pest control but they have considerably increased in numbers and often seek shelter around buildings during the worst of the winter weather. They have now spread throughout Europe as well.

[skitterbug]

Sandy, an interesting set of photos in difficult lighting.

The last image caught my attention, perhaps because of its comparative simplicity. I'm surprised you were able to apparently freeze the moving water with a shutter of 1/80 but you seem to have done so.

Hi Bruce - I had a bit of difficulty trying to capture my intended subjects sharply. At first I didn't have enough light and then I fiddled a bit with the "triangle of magic" as I like to think about the three (speed - ISO - aperture). I finally dug out my tripod.... I really wanted to see if I could get that smooth glassy sorta of look to the water, for the fun of it and I never achieved what I was after. Although truth be told, I really don't like that smooth glassy look that we see so often in photos. I like my water to look like water, choppy, bubbles, waves, whatever. But we all have ideas about what we like to see and there are places for all techniques! Since I'm still becoming comfortable with the Mark II camera, I'm attempting to do try most anything so I can find the settings and the mechanics of applying them "on the fly"! Practice! That's my middle name! And I've a lot to learn yet!

Thanks for your comments!

[Wavelength]

That was an interesting set of images; the bug cooperated well with you

[skitterbug]

Good catch on the little beetle, which is a ladybug/ladybird, or 'lieveheersbeestje' as we say.. and an interesting macro subject (to me).

Hi Rudi - Interesting name for that little critter. I was pleased that it didn't mind me snapping pictures of it. But the 'lieveheersbeestje' did reach a point when it had enough and flew off to another room. Most people would probably chase after it and rid their space, but so long as there are not a lot of them, I don't mind a few. I don't like using chemical spray, etc. I think it is hard on our environment.
I wanted "closer"! But my equipment doesn't allow "sharp" and "closer". I could see little legs and features that I felt would have been interesting but I wasn't able to do it. <huge sigh> I bet with your setup, you could produce some amazing shots of one of these!
Thanks for looking at my pics!

[skitterbug]

Looks like one of the Harlequin Ladybirds to me. Some good detail with these images.

Harlequins were originally an Asian species which was imported as a form of pest control but they have considerably increased in numbers and often seek shelter around buildings during the worst of the winter weather. They have now spread throughout Europe as well.

Hi Geoff - These ladybirds seem quite prolific and I have a few to use as subjects! I tried capturing pics of these during last year's P52 project and didn't get very decent results so changing equipment and figuring out lighting has helped. I still didn't quite achieve what I was after. However it was good fun for this week's challenge.

Whoever thought about calling this species "harlequin" must have had a sense of humour. It fits perfectly!

[skitterbug]

That was an interesting set of images; the bug cooperated well with you

Hi Nandakumar - This bug did seem very patient! It does seem like most of the time bugs really don't want us near them but this one didn't mind a bit. Do you suppose I ought to have it sign a release form so I can use the photo? Naaa, probably not ....I'm laughing about that thought...

Thank you for commenting!

[rudi]

... But my equipment doesn't allow "sharp" and "closer". I could see little legs and features that I felt would have been interesting but I wasn't able to do it. <huge sigh>...

I bet with your equipment, time and practice, you will get "sharp" and "closer' .

[skitterbug]

I bet with your equipment, time and practice, you will get "sharp" and "closer' .

Hi Rudi = I gotta keep working on this because it is a challenge and I enjoy trying to figure stuff out. Plus CiC's group has been fantastic about sharing knowledge!

Thanks for the encouragement!

[skitterbug]

Week 7 is nearly over and I'm still looking forward to spring or at least when I can feel comfortable about dragging my camera equipment back outside "to play". In the meantime, I've been scanning old photos. I've a few that are entirely too big for the scanner and was debating what to do about them. Ah HA! Camera time.

I used the Mark II with the 100 mm 1:2 lens. I will admit that the lighting wasn't the best and if I want to do this some more, I am going to need to do something about it. However, for a start, I really didn't think this one turned out too badly. I did not fix up all the damage since it is a drawing created over 100 years ago. I am ambivalent about whether I should repair it or not.

Great Great Great Somebody or other..... I haven't figured out for sure who it is yet!
ISO6400 (higher than I realized. I had it set on Aperture Priority) 100 mm - f/6.3 1/40 ss.

[Shadowman]

Nice effort.

[skitterbug]

Nice effort.

Thank you John!

[Wavelength]

You did a nice job, Sandy

Regards

[skitterbug]

You did a nice job, Sandy

Regards

Thank you very much Nandakumar!

[Geoff F]

There is quite a bit of shadow noise, Sandy, which isn't surprising considering the Iso. I always set this manually at a maximum of 800.

You need to get your camera absolutely parallel to the subject and introduce some side lighting from both sides. Obviously using a tripod. Your aperture can be fairly open because you don't need much focus depth. Shutter speed can be quite slow, although you may need to use mirror lock up and a cable release. Alternatively, the shutter timer may be an option.

With this sort of situation I sometimes attach the image to a wall with Blu Tack (do you have something similar) then try to arrange some lighting if the room lights fail to give an even lighting. With a tripod, it will be possible to accurately measure your lens to subject distance to ensure that your camera is exactly square on to the subject.

A Custom White Balance is a good idea so you have a better chance of avoiding any room lighting false tints.

[Cantab]

There is quite a bit of shadow noise, Sandy, which isn't surprising considering the Iso. I always set this manually at a maximum of 800.

You need to get your camera absolutely parallel to the subject and introduce some side lighting from both sides. Obviously using a tripod. Your aperture can be fairly open because you don't need much focus depth. Shutter speed can be quite slow, although you may need to use mirror lock up and a cable release. Alternatively, the shutter timer may be an option.

With this sort of situation I sometimes attach the image to a wall with Blu Tack (do you have something similar) then try to arrange some lighting if the room lights fail to give an even lighting. With a tripod, it will be possible to accurately measure your lens to subject distance to ensure that your camera is exactly square on to the subject.

A Custom White Balance is a good idea so you have a better chance of avoiding any room lighting false tints.

Sandy, I agree with all Geoff's comments.

With this type of stationary setup you might perhaps even think of using the base ISO on your camera, presumably 100, in order to minimize noise as far as possible. On the other hand, I'm not sure at what ISO noise begins to be an issue with the 7Dii. You might well be able to shoot at a bit more than ISO 100 with no risk of generating noise.

[skitterbug]

Hi Geoff and Bruce ~ I agree about the ISO setting and hadn't realized that AV had selected such a high one. In my delight at being able to take digital pics, I totally forgot to check my camera's chosen settings! (duh) Next time I take some pics - which will probably happen for next week's project posting - I plan on using manual settings. This first picture that I captured is from a charcoal picture done on that heavily textured board so it already looks noisy without any help from me! And the higher ISO didn't help the situation!

Also I appreciate the excellent suggestions to improve my results! The only thing I probably won't do is stick the old charcoal and photos to the wall. They are quite heavy really and I would not want them hitting the floor! They are not on the light weight photo paper that we are used to having for our photos but heavy duty almost cardboard like paper. So I'll have to make sure to have the photo as upright as possible to accomplish that part of the task.

Again, thank you both for your thoughts about this project! I am anxious to give it another try and see what I can do!

[Geoff F]

You can have the source image at an angle with no problems, Sandy. Just make sure your camera is at exactly the same angle and you aren't creating any light shadow from yourself or your camera. Also make sure that the lighting is illuminating the subject evenly. I sometimes do this when photographing old images which are in a photo frame that can't be disturbed.

But in those circumstances there is an additional risk of getting reflection from the glass.

My tripod has an adjustment where you can set the central column to an horizontal position to photograph a flat on the floor image; but that needs very careful lighting to avoid any shadows. Also, the tripod can become unstable.

[skitterbug]

Hi Geoff - Thanks for the added information. It has been very dreary outside so I opted to wait a few days until we have more sunshine to help with lighting. I do have an idea how I may get it set up and I'll definitely be curious about the results. Gosh I am glad we are in the digital age. No more waiting to see how pictures turn out!

I am still dithering about what tripod to spend money for so I am working with the older one that I have. It wouldn't be capable of the horizontal position you mentioned. Way too unstable for that chore! I did finally order a white balance card so I'll put that to use when it arrives.

Thank you for keeping me on track! This is fun stuff to do when there is help available.

You can have the source image at an angle with no problems, Sandy. Just make sure your camera is at exactly the same angle and you aren't creating any light shadow from yourself or your camera. Also make sure that the lighting is illuminating the subject evenly. I sometimes do this when photographing old images which are in a photo frame that can't be disturbed.

But in those circumstances there is an additional risk of getting reflection from the glass.

My tripod has an adjustment where you can set the central column to an horizontal position to photograph a flat on the floor image; but that needs very careful lighting to avoid any shadows. Also, the tripod can become unstable.

[joebranko]

Hi Sandy. This is a nice shot. Good job. I have never tried this type of photo so I have no experience to call on, but I like what you have been able to do.