Macro Shots - Tamron 60mm

[jstp]

Hi,

It has been a while since I have put anything up so I thought I would show some of my recent shots with my Tamron 60mm macro. All of them were taken hand held, if you would like to know the exif please let me know. I hope you like them.

Cheers

J

[ScoutR]

Hi Jason - All three are great shots. I love the narrow DOF on the fly and the detail on the dandelion. My least favourite is the first shot because of the blue bands on the edges of the flower. Not sure what that is, and it probably bothers me because i have the same issue with some of my close up florals.

I would find it very helpful to hear some critique from the macro shooters on these, especially if anyone knows what causes the blue outline on the edges of the white flower.

Wendy

[jstp]

Hi Wendy,

Thank you for the reply. I think the blue bands that you are talking about are a result of my post processing, I deepened the colors and probably overdid it now that I take another look at the end result. This is the original photo with no processing. Thanks again for your feedback.

Cheers

J

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Jason,

The Dandelion is my favourite, everything is (really) sharp that should be and it is nicely exposed, plus the background is subdued and simple.

That leads me back to the second, which, in the spirit of Wendy's request for more detailed critique, I find to have been overexposed, this has blown detail on several specular highlights and given some colour fringing - although maybe that was enhanced in PP like the blue edges on #1. If #1 has another fault, I'd suggest it is just too busy; the rules of a good simple composition apply just as much to macro, as any other form of photography.

I see the EXIF on the second was Nikon D5100, 60mm, 1/350s f/5.6 and iso125.

I would definitely trade some iso for greater DoF, since even the front edge of the eye is very soft, shooting at f/11 or f/16 might, if you'd got lucky with the focus,* have resulted in a better image. Noise wouldn't be too much of an issue if the PP crop isn't significant and you downsize and sharpen before upload.

* I speak from experience; shooting handheld at this magnification, I often find my bodily 'sway' fore and aft is usually greater than the length subject - and even with IS (on my 105mm Nikkor) and AF, the number of shots where the 'right' bits of the subject are sharp is largely a lottery.

I have quite a few of flies in my October 2010 PAD gallery at PBase, see this one for f/11 and a narrow DoF example here (f/4.5).

Practice improves skill; so keep at it,

[jstp]

Hi Dave,

Thank you very much for your advice, it is all taken on board, every little bit helps me learn and advance.

Cheers

J