A few nights ago I was watching a video on basic macro photography tips for good bug photos. Today I decided to go try them out!
The video was pretty simple overall – you need a macro lens (or an extension tube), a camera (of course), and a flash diffuser. All I have is the camera and a lens with a “macro” mode – not as good as a dedicated macro, but still acceptable.
The entire setup. A less floppy diffuser would be nice.
For the diffuser, I cut a hole in a piece of printer paper and stuck it over the lens. It works pretty well!
Look at those wings!
Weirdly, about half the bugs I approached flew away instantly. No idea why…
Bug’s Eye View of the Average Macro PhotographerA caterpillar! I wonder what the long hairs are for…
Walking around the yard peering into tall grass and plants looking for bugs, I felt like a Bug Catcher from Pokemon…
To be fair, this is probably the closest I’ll get to experiencing what it’s like to document Pokemon using a Pokedex.
Eugh. This isn’t actually a spider! It’s from the order Opiliones, which are arachnids, but not spiders. It’s also commonly known as a Daddy Long Legs, or Harvestmen. This one had a golden iridescent sheen to it – probably something about the structure of its scales refracts/reflects just the right wavelengths of light. I didn’t get a single crisp Bumblebee photo – they were always moving around, even when sipping nectar from these blackberry flowers.An ant thing. This was larger than a common black ant. This one posed for me! When I got close, it switched positions a couple of times as if trying to let me get several angles. No idea what this little dude is, but he has cool patterns on him.Another view of this ladybug.Ladybug isn’t bothered by how evil this plant looks.She crawls right up the spikes.Oh, bye!
I also got a few nice non-bug shots:
Maybe next I’ll try 3D printing an extension tube to let me use this lens for better macro shots (or one of my other lenses).
ChatÃmanwi, or Mary’s Peak, is the tallest peak in the Oregon Coastal Range.It’s about a 45 minute drive from home, and has beautiful views and flowers in the spring.
In the middle of moving, I somehow still found time to buy another camera . . . To be fair to myself, I’ve pared my collection from about 30 to only 8 I plan to keep, so I’m doing good.
The limitations of my compact “prosumer” digital cameras (dynamic range, small sensor size) had me wanting to upgrade to a DSLR, so when I found this Nikon D200 (A high-end APS-C sensor camera from 2008), I jumped at the opportunity to snatch it, batteries, and a lens for $77.
The white spot at the upper right is lens flare – you can’t see the sun in the photo, but light from it is causing this artifact on the image.
Today I needed a break from working on moving plans. So I took the D200 out to the Mary’s River natural area, a seasonal wetland about 15 minutes from where I live.
One advantage of the larger sensor (about 6x larger than my other cameras) is the bokeh–or background blur–I can achieve with it. However, I have to be more careful of focus. Here, you can see the flower isn’t totally crisp.
In the spring, it has a ton of flowers – now less, but I still managed to see around a dozen different types.
This blackberry blossom had a ton of little beetles (or weevils?) crawling among the stamen. Poison oak was also aplenty. It’s easy to spot at this early stage, because of its red, shiny new leaves.I don’t actually know if I react to it – so far, I’ve either been extraordinarily lucky, or don’t react to its oil.Another bug! Notice the sunspots right above the bug – the flat sides are due to the physical shape of the opening in the camera lens. Some people don’t like this effect – I do.A weevil friend! You can tell due to its distinct “snoot” and antenna attached halfway up the snoot.For this photo, to get everything sharp, I had to use a smaller aperture (the hole in the lens that lets light through) – the smaller the hole, the deeper the area in focus is. The larger the hole, the less deep the area of focus is. Most of the photos above used the largest opening size in the lens. There were SO MANY DAISIES. I really wanted to pick a bouquet, but didn’t want to carry it (in addition to my camera and bag) all the way back. Wasps are pollinators too, but I still prefer honeybees 😛
One nice thing about this camera (and its 10MP sensor) is that – as long as the image is in focus enough – I can crop quite a bit. The wasp image above was about 8x larger than what you’re seeing, but due to the higher resolution of the sensor, I can crop in to just what I care about afterwards.
This old car is hanging halfway over the edge of the river bank, supported by several trees grown through it. It might be a Fiat 850 or something close, but I can’t tell for sure.I love the colors and very soft grain of this photo.More daisies . . . …Woah, not a daisy!This might be my favorite photo of this whole walk. These flowers are beautiful, and the bokeh, lighting, and colors are fantastic.I’m not sure what bird this was.Two bugs sharing a daisy!Delightfully evil looking plant.This bumblebee was a happy accident – I was snapping photos of something else and heard a buzzing near my ear!The 2015 Chevrolet Volt isn’t the sleekest of cars, but I like mine.
All for now!
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