[matthew]

There's a lot to see in the world of small details, but for this assignment, just seeing small is enough.

A number of people, myself included, are just learning the specific equipment and techniques of macro photography. Others are old pros, with photos and tips to share. Let's use this thread to explore and instruct.

[Petographer]

I just shot this a couple days ago trying the reversed 50mm f1.8 method.

[smarti77]

Great choice for an assignment. Still very new for me and I have found it difficult to get consistent results. I tried the reverse lens method (holding lens by hand) with very little success. Does anyone use a reverse mount adaptor for this? If reliable I might consider buying one...

I'm going to cheat a bit and repost this shot from another topic I just posted. Taken with Pentax DS, 2x Vivitar converter, 28-80 sigma (at 80mm in macro). Manual settings and standard on camera flash...



Looking forward to get some advice / ideas from the more experienced members.

[matthew]

I tried the reverse lens method (holding lens by hand) with very little success. Does anyone use a reverse mount adaptor for this?

I used this a few times with my Sony F828, but not often because the lens adds a lot of unsupported weight to the zoom mechanism. What I did to mount the lens was to find a 50f1.8 lens (used, $10) that fit the inside ring of a UV filter that fit my camera lens, and glued them front-to-back. The UV filter was scratched anyway, so I just broke the glass out of it without remorse.

[Schellamo]

Yeah, my 50mm lives with a UV on it anyway- I didn't break the glass, but I find it helps it to fit snuggly so its a lot easier to manage.

[matthew]

Here's one from last night.

[XeoX]

Wow, Matthew, this is magnificent! The cold tonality is just the right one! I like the lightning, too. Great work.

[shuttertalk]

Awesome shots everyone!

Peto - it almost looks like you're peering into the soul of the cat!

Smarti - awesome detail and clarity.. the colours are very punchy!

Matthew - Brilliant (ha ha) shot of the crystal. I like how you've controlled the colour - it's very "cool" looking... awesome!


Hey everyone, I think we can learn alot from this thread, so if everyone could please post their techniques and equipment used for each shot, it would be awesome! (e.g. reversed 50mm f/1.8, while wearing an apron and hopping on one foot)

[matthew]

Hey everyone, I think we can learn alot from this thread, so if everyone could please post their techniques and equipment used for each shot, it would be awesome! (e.g. reversed 50mm f/1.8, while wearing an apron and hopping on one foot)

Excellent idea.

Mine was taken using a 35mm Macro lens (70mm FOV) at f8, handheld and lit with on-camera flash. I should have used a tripod and higher aperture, but was only 'testing' my studio setup. I'm trying to build a light tent that will allow me to photograph small objects in repeatable conditions, but don't have the lights set up yet. (Or bought, for that matter.)

Those are pieces of shattered tempered glass from a transit shelter. The magnification is approximately 1:2 with the frame slightly cropped. The image benefits from extensive post-processing, darkening and bringing up the contrast, with the final step being converting a duplicate layer to a harsh monochrome and then doing a "colour burn" blend mode to darken the foreground and bring back some of the natural blues and greens.

[noisynoodle]

Here are a few from the archives....all taken with the Pentax:

Cod liver oil capsule and 1/2 inch nail taken with 50mm f1.7 plus extension tubes:



Crocus emerging - also 50mm f1.7 and tubes:



Miniature glass chess piece taken with Vivitar Series 1 105mm macro lens:



Very small frog - also S1 macro:



--NN

[wulinka]

Wow, tons of inspiring shots and techniques!! you guys are doing great with the reversed lenses, I never tried that, for the simple reason that my kit lense was my only lense and I didn't want to risk to get it dirty inside.

The light is also nice in yours, smarti, unlike flash that is often so hard.
Matthew, fantastic!

Have to run out and try to catch up. for now, maybe I can reuse this one?



taken with my canon 100mm macro and flash.

[peter]

a lil bit blurry with a close focus lens ...so not quite macro .. im not really sure how to do the reverse 50mm thing ~_~

[Kombisaurus]

Beautiful shots ppl!
Although I am a little concerned with NN poking nails through cod liver capsules... Please remind me not to accept any medication from her!

Here's my contribution. Strictly speaking it's not a macro by a long shot, but its still a close-up bug shot so I thought I might get away with it. With a spider this size, I didn't really need a macro lens to shoot it anyway!

It looks to me like this spider is a female Golden Orb Weaver (http://www.spiderzrule.com/orb.htm) and if so, its body can grow to 45mm and legs span an average human hand. This example seemed pretty close to that size, but I wasn't about to pick it up and check.



Taken with my EF 135 F/2L (non-macro) lens @ f/3.5, 400 ISO, 1/90th sec shutter, handheld with EX-430 flash and diffuser. No extension tubes or special macro tricks - Just treated as a normal everyday shot. I was positioned 90cm/3ft from the subject (the closest focus distance of the lens) and then cropped the final image down to get rid of the empty space.

Ok.. Next time I'll try to post a real macro shot.

[smarti77]

Here's my contribution. Strictly speaking it's not a macro by a long shot, but its still a close-up.

At what point does a 'close up' become a macro. Is there any clear distinction?

[matthew]

At what point does a 'close up' become a macro. Is there any clear distinction?

Eek... that sounds like a big question.

for the purpose of the assignment, I'm going to stick to the "if it quacks, it's a duck" school of thought.

[matthew]

I've been experimenting a bit. This is the chain on a fingernail clipper, found buried in the dirt under my favourite bridge. And yes, it's very noisy; blame Don.



Pause:

[smarti77]

Continuing the quest for fine detail...close up.

Australian 50cent piece...


US quarter (very un-Australian of me, I know)


Same image at 100%

[wulinka]

it is still very very cold here...... but nice!

just for your orientation, the height of this picture is equiv. to ca. 2.5 - 3 cm, or just over 1 inch.

[wulinka]

hmm, and this, I am not too sure. It's not a great picutre, because the background isn't right for the purpose, and somehow it lacks some contrast, I find.

but I thought i was lucky enough to get it, so I'll share:

[smarti77]

Sorry, I know some of you hate these bug images but I took this today and I really like the way it turned out.
If you look closely you can see the fly sticking his (or her?) tongue out...

[shuttertalk]

Wow, that is a really awesome shot of the fly! And yes, his tongue is sticking out - what a catch!

[matthew]

Uli, great job on the ice.

Smarti, that fly is outstanding.

I haven't been using a tripod much, which hurts my ability to get really small. This is about 1:4 size.

[Petographer]

What great images in this thread. wulinka, I find your ice fasinating. The colour is awesome!

[R90S]

Crummy picture ...(ouch. sorry. couldn't resist the pun)

R

[matthew]

Puns are always welcome. It's good to see you again.