Spider Portrait

[kawabunga]

I took a week long nature photography class last week (I bet you all missed me...)

Anywho, while up there, I got to try out using a bellows setup with my camera and loved it!

Here's one of the shots I got that I am pleased with.

Whatcha think?

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/kawabunga/spider.jpg

[Pappy]

I dont understand why you did not open up that macro and get more in focus? Most close up work is loaded with detail!

I stole a shot from my friend Bryce....still has limited DOF but loads of detail, color and contrast! Not to mention you guys are nuts haha I hate spiders and snakes!

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o119/swampswimmingshrek/Snake-2.jpg

[kawabunga]

Originally posted by Pappy
I dont understand why you did not open up that macro and get more in focus? Most close up work is loaded with detail!

That was shot at f/16. With the bellows set up the DOP is severely shortened and the amount of light making it to the sensor is dramatically reduced. The further you pull the lens from the camera, the less light you're getting. I was shooting with natural light and my lens only had one more stop at f/22. I also like where the focus ended up, with it being basically his "face." Or whatever you can have for a face on a spider, I hate those d@mn things! I'm surprised I was even able to snap the pic.

It was my first day experimenting with the set-up, so I'm happy with what I was able to achieve in the short amount of time I had to use it.

Here's a snap shot a friend took of the set up for me.
I was practicing shooting a banana :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/kawabunga/setup.jpg

[kawabunga]

Snakes are fun too!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/kawabunga/grasssnake.jpg

One that I snapped about 3 weeks ago.
I know it's just a little grass snake so it's not quite as BA but hey, that's what's in my back yard. And I have fun with it.

[Pappy]

I hate snakes period:p I wouldnt run for my camera, I would get my Hoe haha

Get some lighting equipment if your going to do interior macro work, makes all teh difference in the world. I cant make out what lens your using in the picture, hopefully it has an adjustable aperature ring....sure helps! And on a D80, using bellows can cause some issues with how the camera meters the light (no electronic communication) Step down metering can help as well. Maybe even a set of extension tubes would help, not expensive and will be alot faster and less bulky if you cant swing a macro in the 85-105mm range. I loved my 105!!! Macro/close up is a blast!

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1212/1426388172_0b4a1096b8.jpg

[kawabunga]

Originally posted by Pappy
I hate snakes period:p I wouldnt run for my camera, I would get my Hoe haha

Get some lighting equipment if your going to do interior macro work, makes all teh difference in the world. I cant make out what lens your using in the picture, hopefully it has an adjustable aperature ring....sure helps! And on a D80, using bellows can cause some issues with how the camera meters the light (no electronic communication) Step down metering can help as well. Maybe even a set of extension tubes would help, not expensive and will be alot faster and less bulky if you cant swing a macro in the 85-105mm range. I loved my 105!!! Macro/close up is a blast!

Oh, I love my 105 micro lens! It works amazing for a lot of my work. I do a lot of indoor shooting with off camera flashes already and love it.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/kawabunga/redtulip.jpg

The lens I was using with the bellows was a 50mm f/1.8 because that was the only lens that I had that has an aperture ring. That particular set up had no metering ability so a lot of it was shoot, check, adjust, re-shoot. It didn't take long to get the hang of it but it usually took around 3 or 4 shots to get the correct exposure.

I'm gonna start saving my pennies for some sort of extension. I haven't decided if I want to go with tubes or the bellows yet though. Both are fun.

[Pappy]

You need to work on the focus, the flower isnt as sharp as it could be. Thats one thing about Macro work, every flaw is magnified!

[kawabunga]

I'm aware of that.

I'm confident in my ability to shoot macro work. It's a lot of fun for me and every flower/bug/critter is a new challenge. I'm not a pro by any means nor do I claim myself to be, I'm still learning every time I pick up the camera.

Does this one look better to you?

The closest and furthest parts of the flowers are out of focus intentionally. I was not going for tack sharp throughout the entire image for this images particular use.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/kawabunga/whiteflower.jpg

[Pappy]

The white one looks great! The color works well as the focus works to the edges. The center still isnt tack sharp where your focus point most likely would be (slight underexposure will also cause that) but I like it! A bounce card would have opened up the shadows slightly inside the flower and offered some seperation as well. Easily fixed in PS too!

[Pappy]

Like this....now I love it!

[kawabunga]

That does look good and I like it that way as well. It just wasn't the effect that I needed for my assignment, I needed it a little darker. But it does look nice.
I did experiment with moving the light and using bounce cards to fill some shadows a tad. It's crazy how different you can make things look with a little fill light.

And thank you for the compliment.