Three bugs

[lesno1]

[Geoff F]

Black & Yellow Longhorn Beetle, Athous Beetle probably Athous haemorrhoidalis, an unidentifiable Ichneumon Wasp.

[lesno1]

Thanks Geoff

[Wavelength]

Great; last one is not well focused?

[xpatUSA]

Sorry, Les, but it looks like flash was used and I can understand why, having visited the West Midlands a time or two.

So for me, the highlights are a bit off-putting, sad to say. Easy enough for me to say of course, as I bask in the wonderful Texas light ...

[DanK]

Ted, I can't tell whether flash was used, although #3 certainly looks like it, and there are blown highlights in #1 and small areas in #3. However, there is nothing wrong with using flash as such in macro work of this sort. Most of the bug macro photographers use flash most of the time, to allow for a reasonable depth of field, to stop movement, and to provide better lighting than you get in full sunlight or shadow. For the most part, problems arise if the flash is either positioned poorly or insufficiently diffused. I even use diffused flash when I am forced to shoot in open sunlight. For example, all of these were taken with flash:







The key is adequate diffusion and keeping the flash head very near the subject. Even with that, however, sometimes reflections are a problem, as some insects have very shiny shells. Therefore, it isn't always possible to entirely avoid specular highlights, and postprocessing is often essential for toning down hot spots.

Les, for what it's worth, my take is that these are good captures, but they point to two areas for improvement. One is better control over lighting. The other is--I think--getting closer. The first of these, and some of your other postings, have lack of clarity that can be a result of severe cropping.

I haven't done bugs in a long time, but this has given me a kick in the rear. I have an oak-leaf hydrangea packed with pollinators right now, and if the wind dies down, I may assemble my rig (it takes a while) and try my luck.

Dan

[lesno1]

Hi Dan thankyou for clarifying that i have just purchased a new flash with twin heads and a diffusion kit so i hope for some improvement , and you are right i do use flash even in sunlight it improves the images when used correctly i think one of the main things is diffusion .
Great shots that you added by the way

[xpatUSA]

Ted, I can't tell whether flash was used, although #3 certainly looks like it, and there are blown highlights in #1 and small areas in #3.

It's in the EXIF, Dan. I checked there because of the highlights, as a matter of fact.

However, there is nothing wrong with using flash as such in macro work of this sort.

I did not say that there was anything wrong with using flash, generally speaking. I'm sure Les' new kit will improve matters a lot.

[lesno1]

It's in the EXIF, Dan. I checked there because of the highlights, as a matter of fact.



I did not say that there was anything wrong with using flash, generally speaking. I'm sure Les' new kit will improve matters a lot.

Yes Ted flash was used but it was also very bright full sun i think a combination of the two was the problem

[xpatUSA]

Yes Ted flash was used but it was also very bright full sun i think a combination of the two was the problem

I agree. I used to have similar issues shooting watches for sale. Not flash, but polished metal curves are not ideal subjects. I ended up with a couple of home-made diffusers and a MagLite torch for highlighting if necessary. Of course, my watches didn't fly off without notice.

Good luck with your new stuff. With diffusers, size does matter ... the bigger the better, see P.26:

http://kronometric.org/phot/lighting...20handbook.pdf

Which explains why the best diffuser on the planet is a fully overcast sky ...

[lesno1]

I agree. I used to have similar issues shooting watches for sale. Not flash, but polished metal curves are not ideal subjects. I ended up with a couple of home-made diffusers and a MagLite torch for highlighting if necessary. Of course, my watches didn't fly off without notice.

Good luck with your new stuff. With diffusers, size does matter ... the bigger the better, see P.26:

http://kronometric.org/phot/lighting...20handbook.pdf

Which explains why the best diffuser on the planet is a fully overcast sky ...

Thanks Ted very useful

[Geoff F]

Les, I use flash for most of my macro work. The trick is to set your camera with manual settings and vary the flash output to suit individual scenes. In much the same way as you would use exposure compensation settings without flash. I sometimes use a diffuser for very close work but my experience has been that beyond about 2 ft it doesn't make any difference. Mine is a Lastolite Mini Apollo which is about 12 x 8 inches so it increases the flash spread.

[DanK]

There are a variety of ways to do this. I keep the camera on manual but never use manual flash. I use the flash in auto (TTL) mode and control the impact of ambient light or distance from the background by varying ISO within a range of 100 to 400, occasionally 800. 200 often works well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk