Macro flower photographs

[kris]

I have used the 12-24mm for this purpose as well. With the 12mm you can focus pretty close as well and it is a beautiful effect with the background if you take the right angle.
Still, for macro work I mostly use the 105mm nowadays, I really like the DOF on that lens. Seeing your wide angle shots though...I have to spend some time with the 12mm once more.

Dear Peter,
the 105mm is a superb lens indeed. But wide-angles lenses can offer some different point of view. Clearly they have some disadvantages, you have to stay closer, and the Zeiss cannot be used for moving subject, but are
lighter and smaller so you can partially compensate. Besides, often we use two cameras with the two optics,
I use the wide-angle and my wife the 105mm so we cover the two edges.

I also have a 10-24mm, the distortion however is more pronounced, nothing you cannot cure with PP.

Yes you should try, it is a different way of looking at macro photos, and especially for flowers it can give really good results.

This has been taken with a 50mm f/1.8D, 1/250s f3.5 ISO 100


I'll post some more shots later, they are on a different computer at home.

Cheers,
Andrea

[johnbharle]

Kim, thanks for the compliment.
For these macros it is usually manual settings, 1/250s and F/11. I shoot handheld mainly, so my light needs to be good. I don't use flash while shooting macro (makes the camera too heavy), so the light is from the sun, preferrably direct sunlight on the subject.
In this case the focus has been on the little yellow stamen.
Try for good light and shoot a number of photos when you do handheld. Some of the shots will be out of focus, but there should be some keepers in there. If you use a tripod, you should be fine, as long as you get your focus right.
Try out a few techniques and after a while you should find one that works best for you.

Peter, what lens do you use? Do you use extension tubes? Thanks, john

[jeeperman]

I really don't do a bunch of flower images and have yet to break down and buy a proper Macro, but thought I would share some of what I do with my 70-400. I have posted some of these elswhere but kept neglecting to add them to the flower thread. In which you all have posted some wonderful images.

[Letrow]

I really don't do a bunch of flower images and have yet to break down and buy a proper Macro, but thought I would share some of what I do with my 70-400. I have posted some of these elswhere but kept neglecting to add them to the flower thread. In which you all have posted some wonderful images.

I like them Paul, great lens. This one is my favourite.
What brand is that lens exactly?

[Letrow]

Peter, what lens do you use? Do you use extension tubes? Thanks, john

John, sorry for the late reply, I have been busy for a couple of days with painting the interior of my house (well, parts of it at least).
I have a Nikkor 105mm F/2.8 VR which I use for macro. I am still not entirely sure what the VR does for me when shooting macro, but my impression is that it helps (if not in reality, then in my mind at least). Although a lot of people will focus manually when doing macro I have found that the AF works fine for me, as long as I use single focus.

[jeeperman]

Thank you, Peter, the lens is the Sony 70-400G.

[kris]

Dear Peter,

here are few other photos I took with the Zeiss Distagon T* 2.8/25.

1/200s, f/8.0, ISO 100


1/500s, f/8.0, ISO 200


and finally

1/400s, f/4.5, ISO 400

[Letrow]

Nice and sharp Andrea!
I have one example of what I do with my 12-24mm lens usually and where there is a flower prominently in the foreground. This was shot at 12mm (which would be approximately 18mm on a FX camera), but I think I have to experiment a bit with the different lengths and the minimum focus distance to see what can be done.



Although it won't work for the shots where you need to get really close, it is appealing to do some 'macro' work with a wide angle lens.

[kris]

Nice and sharp Andrea!
I have one example of what I do with my 12-24mm lens usually and where there is a flower prominently in the foreground. This was shot at 12mm (which would be approximately 18mm on a FX camera), but I think I have to experiment a bit with the different lengths and the minimum focus distance to dee what can be done.

Although it won't work for the shots where you need to get really close, it is appealing to do some 'macro' work with a wide angle lens.

Dear Peter
thanks for your reply.

The 'macro' with wide angle can be really challenging. Clearly you have to be close enough to cut out unwanted background, and this may pose some problems. My first shots were terrible, and I am slowly improving the results.

You may wonder why I do 'macro' with wide angle lenses. In short I like mountaineering, and this imposes some limitations on the equipments. When you have to carry your camera and lenses for hours up and down in the mountains you look for something light and not too big. For this reason I opted for the 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S VR, which I use as a general purpose lens. It is not the best lens, but it is light and small. However I really love the results I can get with the 35mm and the 25mm.

Your picture is nice but the background is taking too much of the scene and the flower is lost. What you think about this?



The DOF is probably a little too large, but IMHO it is not really disturbing.

Cheers
Andrea

[Letrow]

Dear Peter
thanks for your reply.

The 'macro' with wide angle can be really challenging. Clearly you have to be close enough to cut out unwanted background, and this may pose some problems. My first shots were terrible, and I am slowly improving the results.

You may wonder why I do 'macro' with wide angle lenses. In short I like mountaineering, and this imposes some limitations on the equipments. When you have to carry your camera and lenses for hours up and down in the mountains you look for something light and not too big. For this reason I opted for the 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S VR, which I use as a general purpose lens. It is not the best lens, but it is light and small. However I really love the results I can get with the 35mm and the 25mm.

Your picture is nice but the background is taking too much of the scene and the flower is lost. What you think about this?



The DOF is probably a little too large, but IMHO it is not really disturbing.

Cheers
Andrea

Yes, I like it, that is how I could do it actually.
This photo was taken for the wideangle effect of course, so it was more about getting background with something nice in front. And at 12mm your example would not be possible I think, without cropping anyway.

So the 12mm might be too wide for this actually, but I could try to zoom a bit more between 12 and 24mm and see what happens. The minimal focus distance would be the same as far as I know, so the flower could fill the frame nicely.

For smaller flowers the 105mm micro is still the best solution, but for big flowers, like the one above the wide angle would be good.

[Letrow]

jacobaea vulgaris

[kris]

Yes, I like it, that is how I could do it actually.
This photo was taken for the wideangle effect of course, so it was more about getting background with something nice in front. And at 12mm your example would not be possible I think, without cropping anyway.

So the 12mm might be too wide for this actually, but I could try to zoom a bit more between 12 and 24mm and see what happens. The minimal focus distance would be the same as far as I know, so the flower could fill the frame nicely.

For smaller flowers the 105mm micro is still the best solution, but for big flowers, like the one above the wide angle would be good.

Dear Peter,

now I understand. What disturbs in your picture is the lower left corner. It is too close and enhances the
distortions of the macro. Cropping the picture should improve the result. Something like this

There is still the flower on the right lower corner. If it were not there, you could have used a smaller DOF
concentrating the focal plane on the flower.


The close out-of-focus was also my primary mistake in my first shots. In my experience the close out-of-focus with wide angles is usually unpleasant. At least in my shots it was usually so. On the contrary the out-of-focus behind the focus plane gives generally nice results. This is an example of what I mean. It is not really a flower, but not too far from it. Again I used a 25mm.


When I use wide-angles for close-up shots I always try to have a clear space between the camera and the main subject. Of course it is not always possible to avoid objects. If you manage to have them on the border you can crop the picture, either in PP or using a longer focal length. Sometimes they are just there, as for example in my picture with the insect landing on the flower. In that case I first took some shots to have at least some. Then I eliminated the disturbing branch out-of-focus in the picture. But the insect did not came back....

Cheers

[Letrow]

I see what you mean Andrea. Time to experiment a bit with the possibilities. I have to admit that I haven't used the wide angle much yet, although I like the effects you can get very much.
Sadly though we are definitely experiencing autumn here in the Netherlands, so my choice of flowers is going to be limited.

[kris]

I see what you mean Andrea. Time to experiment a bit with the possibilities. I have to admit that I haven't used the wide angle much yet, although I like the effects you can get very much.
Sadly though we are definitely experiencing autumn here in the Netherlands, so my choice of flowers is going to be limited.

I understand... Here also autumn is coming. We still have some flowers, but the season is ending.
In the meantime you can make experiments with different subject, just to become confident with the lens.
In autumn/winter there can be days with fantastic light.

Cheers
Andrea

[Franci]

It rains in Rome, too!!! so it is time to play around with my new flash (SB-910). This time I just added a close-up lens to my 16-85 mm lens.






An unusual view!

[Franci]

A spoiled rose

[Letrow]

eupatorium (a genus of aster)

[kris]

This should be a camellia.

[Bobobird]

Hey Paul, no idea you did flowers. Very nice set.

I usually try to take in a shot or 2 on my outings. These were taken this month with either the 70-300 L or the 150 macro.

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.

[just me]

Here are a couple of mine......

Griddi.......