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Home > TME Community > Share Your Work > Macro > My first macro shots
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My first macro shots
Started August 10, 2009 @ 12:39pm by Baassie
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Baassie
Posts: 63 |
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| My first macro shots | August 10, 2009 @ 12:39pm | Hi everybody!
Just bought myself a 'macro'-lens (Olympus Zuiko Digital 50mm f/2) for my Olypmus E-510. I bought it primarily to make nice portraits, but because I can finally get a really shallow depth-of-field I wanted to try some close-up flower and insect shots. I've gone a little overboard with the DOF (just to see the maximum result I kept the aperture at f2), but in time I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.
This one's more to the abstract, which I actually like.
Wish the tail end of the body and left wing were in focus...
I really like the composition and color of this one, but unfortunately the DOF is too shallow and I failed to keep up with the wasp and apparently focused on his leg haha.
Unfortunately, I don't think I have a button on my E-510 to preview the DOF 
Sebastiaan, Amsterdam |
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Flo
Posts: 15,844 |
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| August 10, 2009 @ 12:59pm | Congrats on getting one leg in focus, lol! These bee critters move around a lot and most don't like it when we get too close with our "big black boxes"!
I like them all, but I do like #2 the best. I guess because of its simplicity. And that is one of those bee-flies - looks like a bee, but it has only two wings. Bees, wasps, hornets have 4 wings.
Flo - PPY
"May we live in peace without weeping. May our joy outline the lives we touch without ceasing. And may our love fill the world, angel wings beating." aziza
http://photos.tonebytone.com |
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Wes
Posts: 8,139 |
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| August 10, 2009 @ 1:39pm | Great job on the first time out, Baasie. DOF field is a bugger with macro shots. I still can get a good job. So, I am trying step focusing on my critical shots now, especially on things that don't move. With insects, I find luck entering into the equation a little more. I have yet to get one to stand still for me while I do focus stacking
Each of your images have a different kind interest to me. The first one is more abstract because of the short DOF that you are dealing with, but the in focus parts allow me to stop and look closer.
The second one is an almost in focus shot of the critter. You are so close to getting the head end in focus, that I can almost see the facets on the eyes. That is good. The wings are also in very good focus. I still think this is very good, since it is your first effort.
In the last image, the colors are definitely a drawing point for the image. The fly is not as well focused as the second one but I like the background bokeh and the diagonal stem going across the image.
Good goind and continued success.
Wes |
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Jackie
Posts: 102 |
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| August 10, 2009 @ 2:15pm | | The second one is my fave too because you caught the elegant wings and shape of the flower petals. I wouldn't worry about not having a DOF preview button. By the time you preview a macro shot the bee will have moved a millimeter throwing the focus off anyway. Have fun with the new lens! |
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RickT
Posts: 1,694 |
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| August 10, 2009 @ 2:44pm | Uh-oh. Now you've stepped in it--you're going to find yourself becoming addicted to going small! This might be a good time to share some of the things that you'll otherwise discover through trial and error, especially for insect pics.
1. Lots of light (for bug pics) is your friend, especially if you don't use flash. You can sleep in during the magic/golden hours close to sunrise and shoot at midday. It's also when the bees are most active. With enough light you can stop down and still have the short shutter speed to freeze the bug's activity. You will read a lot about diffraction causing a softer shot as you get into the high f-stops, but with the really tiny subjects I prefer f/11 to f/16 to get a reasonable depth of field. I reclaim a lot of that "softness" by using the sharpening functions of Photoshop's Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). Frankly, I'd rather have a shot with the front half of the body in focus than worry too much about hitting the lab-derived sweet spot of my lens. At f/8 on really small insects/spiders/flower-features, I would only end up with a couple of microns of depth, and they might not be in the plane I wanted.
2. Focus is truly critical, no matter what f-stop. Whenever possible, I use a tripod. Like a competitive marksman, I find that even my heartbeat can cause my focus to waver. If you can't use a tripod, then use a flash and try to trip the shutter at the prime point as your body oscillates back and forth through the focus zone.
3. The wind will be your enemy. If possible (and it often isn't  ) work out a way to stabilize your subject. A small tripod with a twist tie can work. There are also "third arms" you can buy that will grab a plant stem at one end and secure to your tripod at the other. Having an assistant hold the plant can work, but you'd be surprised at how unsteady we humans are at macro working distances.
4. After reading your camera specs, it looks to me like your 50mm is the equivalent of a short telephoto, which is good. As long as you can get full magnification at a distance of about 1 foot, you should be able to get a lot of shots without scaring off your subject.
Keeping in mind that these are my opinions, and that you will find your own macro style, I still hope that there's something there that can help.
RickT
Boulder, Colorado
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rwteichler/
PPY |
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Last Edit: August 10, 2009 @ 11:03pm by RickT | |
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Baassie
Posts: 63 |
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| August 11, 2009 @ 10:18am | Thanks everyone, for giving me great comments and very helpful advice on how to procede!
To respond to all in order:
Flo: I like the second best too, because of its simplicity. Nothing fancy but just the way I wanted it (well, almost anyway lol). Indeed it is a bee-fly. I really like the eyes and the structure of his single pair of wings.
Wes: thanks for the comments; I agree with you completely on the different reasons these (albeit far from perfect) pictures appealed to me. I googled the focus stacking. I think it's a bit out of my league for the moment (software and knowledge-wise), but something to keep in mind for that perfect occasion, when I'm a bit more experienced.
Jackie: I guess you're right about the DOF preview button, although I was thinking more along the lines of static photographs of flowers, etc., just to give me a faster learning curve on which aperture to pick in a given situation.
RickT: I believe I've indeed stepped into the world of the small and got hooked! Unfornately, one small step for man is a giant leap macro-wise.  But that's the beauty of macrophotography ofcourse, so I'll just have to get better at it. Thank you so much for all the great advice on how to continue. They will not go to waste. The first thing I'll need to buy is a good tripod. I've been using handheld in combination with the internal image stabilizer in my camerabody up til now. Thankfully, my heart rate is under 60 bpm in rest, giving me some time to shoot, but a tripod will definitely help. I don't have an external flash yet either and I think the internal flash will not help due to the lenscap, but that will have to wait (budget-wise).
When I've got some more (and better) pictures I'll post them! Thanks everyone!
Sebastiaan, Amsterdam |
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