Been itching to go out and try some new flash techniques, and i finally got some time this evening.

Flash used in manual mode off camera with a sb attached, i metered every shot with a lightmeter. This setup was much easier to setup then i thought, considering i used a 90x122 cm sb .-) LOL. It must looked weird, me crawling on the ground with a large softbox beside me, in the middle of the forest.

Walked around 5-7 km into the forest, was no problem at all, since the sb has its own carrying bag and i use my camera tripod as a light stand (all shots handheld). Offcourse takes a couple of minutes to setup and to break down.

I do realize alot of the shots could have been sharper, i had a hard time keeping up with the antz lol, (manual focus). But im very pleased with the setup and will try to refine it the coming weeks. And try to find a little more interesting subjects.

To give you and idea of the available light, in aperture mode i got s:1/30 sec, F/2,8 iso:400. time was around 08:00 pm.

Shots are resized/cropped, usm, curves. converted to srgb.

C&C welcome as always.

/Paul L.


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Very nice work - lovely lighting. I particulalry like #2 and #5. What lens is this, Paul?

Great shots Paul, the ants look like they are wondering what going on! Really like #'s 2, 5 and 7

I would like to see a behind the scenes shot of your set up.

Thanx Rob and Russt. I used the Tamron 90mm/2,8. Ill get some behind the scenes shots next time ill use it,

Thnx for looking guys.

/Paul L.

#1 is gorgeous, and a definite candidate for Matthew's latest assignment on low key pictures!

uli

Thnx Uli. It was alot of fun.

/Paul L.

Amazing shots Paul. I usually hate bug shots but these make me want to look even closer. After studying them a little I realized you have 2 different kinds of ants here.

Thnx Colin!, Glad you found them interesting. Yes two diffrent kinds of antz indeed, first one is not more then 1-2mm long.

Russt here is a image of a similar setup, used my Elinchrom battery pack (instead of my sb800), this time and a smaller umbrella(instead of the 90x122cm sb). The large sb provided a much softer light wich i prefer. But the umbrella worked aswell. Was easier to setup though



And two shots using this setup.


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/Paul L.

Paul.R.Lindqvist Wrote:I used the Tamron 90mm/2,8. Ill get some behind the scenes shots next time ill use it,

Ah...I should have know that. Its an amazingly good lens - I'm not surprised that you use it.

Yes its proven it self more then once. Its a bargain considering the price tag.

/Paul L.

Great work Paul. I have been thinking about getting a portable power supply for my Bowens kit for sometime now.

Thnx Weddingshooter. Sadly i havent had much time to test this setup with people subjects, hopefully ill get some time over in the coming weeks.

/Paul L.

How totally fascinating, Paul. The ants are so vivid and the detail is fantastic. I don't think I've seem them this up close before!

Your setup sounds cool.... thanks for sharing.

Now that I look at the first series again, I really like the first two ant shots..... and that last fern is just amazing.
When I bought my macro lense I had a few sleepless nights debating whether to get the tamron 90 or canon 100. since they are more or less the same price in the US now, I ended up getting the Canon and I am in love with it, but I have heard that the tamron performs every bit as well in terms of sharpness, color, bokeh etc. And it is much lighter than my good old Canon....

uli

Thanx ST and Uli, The Ants was alot of fun to shoot, but hard to keep up with, since it was late they where less active (lucky for me lol).

Yes the Tamron is a superb lens, I usually stick with nikkor glass, but the tamron was to good to miss out.

Thanx for looking guys.

/Paul L.