I was out again today working on my 180 macro photos of the same subject the past few days. This time I did not use a extension tube on the 180 lens, actually I don’t think it works well with this lens. I have a focus rail but did not use it for focus stacking. When this close to a subject I can see what focus stacking is popular, but this guy is moving. All that said if the subject is very small the tube does work, I found a subject very small and pretty sharp.
I tried a range of different f-stops and f/22 seems to work pretty good. From what i can see the F/11 is sharper but the DOF is pretty narrow. So I will most more examples of this subject as a new post.
What I liked about this is the main subject was joined by a much smaller subject there is some detail in there. The little guy was there just for a very short time, so I captured then both.
This photo is no flash, although I did use a reflector to add light to the front on the left. 1/160 F/16 iso 500. There was a small leaf in the way so I use wooded clothes pins to move things out of the way. They work well and are harmless to the plant. I would like composition advice and lighting I think for this one. The main subject I think is a little soft but I am not sure.
Dean, I like that you are experimenting with different things to improve your shots of these caterpillars. You are so fortunate to have them available to you like this. I like the composition much better in this one, but would have preferred not shooting down at him, but more at his level, if the background wasn’t too busy. I think it is sharper than the other one as well. Not quite as tact sharp as you would like maybe, when viewing in large view, but still pretty good, so maybe the extension tube may have caused some focus issues. I am bothered by the harsh shadows, especially in front of his face. If you were using a reflector, that may have been what caused it. In fact, I think the reflector is causing some highlights in the leaf, that may not would have been an issue, but I know you were trying to have enough light to use f22, and not push the ISO too high, which at 500, you probably could have gone higher without noise being an issue. The leaf is a nice platform for him, being long and narrow as he is. The background is really nice. The little critter beside him certainly makes the caterpillar seem like a giant. Looking forward to more of your shots, and learning together with you what works and what doesn’t with the 180 mm lens. I have one, but I haven’t used it too much yet, so I still have a learning curve with it.
Dean, for me the “main” subject here is the jumping spider and how small it is relative to the caterpillar. The details and sharpness look good here. Part of me would like to see all of the antennae shadows in the frame, but that would make the spider even smaller so it might not be a good idea… BTW, I’ve used that lens with 56 mm of extension tubes with no loss of sharpness. With that much extension and the 1.6 crop factor you’re in the 2X magnification range when you work near the closest focus.
Thanks Shirley and Mark. He was in a place I could not be level with him. That is what I try to do when I can. The background I changed a bit because it was more brown. I am happy to hear the extension tubes work well. Sometimes I like to do a ant carrying something 3 times its size. I need to practice at home with shapes like insects, although I do have many places in AZ to find the little ones
Dean: Good to see you continue working these caterpillars. I’m not resonating with this particular image all that much. Unlike Mark I think the spider is a negative. It’s not apparent to me even in the largest version that that’s what it is and the relatively harsh light and dense shadows aren’t working for me. Also because I shoot a fair amount of monarch caterpillars myself I find it difficult to get a good image of a partial unless there’s some compelling supporting elements. Sorry to be a downer and don’t quit experimenting because I’m being a curmudgeon. >=))>
Thanks Bill, that is really helpful. So when I have shadows like that are you saying it is best to just block the sunlight. I do with flowers but thought it with insects. I am trying to do partials with insects but I really have just started with that. It is easier when the whole insect is in the FOV. I also have a Canon 100-400 ii which gets really close as well but I usually use that when I cannot get close enough to the subject.
