I took the pic below using just a sheet of white card laying flat on the table at one end and then curving up to a box at the back (giving me an 'infinity curve') and then bouncing flash off the ceiling. I was pleased with the result and it was no trouble to set up.




Dan

Just been looking through the entries - there are so many great ones on there that I'm finding myself being extra critical to seperate them out.

Don't let it put you off, but also don't be surprised if I say something like 'This would have won it if the parrot in the background wasn't blinking'. **

Keep posting them, I've got all day monday...

Dan

** Don't bother looking for a blinking parrot, I was being hypothetical.

I can see it in PBase if I copy the URL and paste it into my browser, but it still doesn't show in the post, which it will often do once I've seen it in another window.

Oh well, at least I have seen it, and know where to find it for judging.

Dan

Can't see your picture John.

Dan

Simon, those are great, I especially like the second one for the pose, it's a bit more unusual, and it looks like the fly's about to flit off. Kind of reminds me of a Spiderman pose too.

Just got a set of those bellows myself, but haven't had much of a play with them yet, just doing a few water doplets on plant shots one evening a week or so ago. With my Sigma 105mm macro I think they give about 2:1, but I'm looking at ways to reverse a 50mm or 24mm on them.

Find it surprisingly easy to hand hold too, seems to sit quite comfortably in the palm of my hand.

Dan

...and thanks from me too.

This was one of several I took of this dragonfly, as it perched quite happily basking in the sun. First one was from a few feet away, last one was from a few inches (a portrait version of the one posted, so pretty much just the right hand side of that pic).

But I think what this thread shows is that a variety of different approaches can yield excellent results, from supplementary lenses like the Raynox, to extension tubes, semi-macro telephotos to true macros of varying price. Niblue's one just posted looks stunningly sharp, and at £20!

Although I use my Sigma for the majority of my shots, the extension tubes still come out every so often, either on the Sigma, or the 50mm, or 24mm, even on the 16-45 (at 16mm, with the shortest tube on, the subject actually touches the front element as you get it in focus, but the perspective is really wierd for a macro. Should try it with my 10-20mm... )

Dan

A teleconvertor will mean that you don't have to move closer to get higher magnification, with extension tubes you will need to get closer, not sure whether one will give you more depth of field than the other - never tried tesing it.

I use a Sigma 105mm, and although you do need to get close-ish to subjects, that's all part of the fun, and as long as you get the 'slowly, slowly catchy monkey' approach down to a fine art, you can get pretty much any insect with it.

I use flash for many shots, especially those of things in flight or when the light is just too dim, but it simply depends on the subject and the look I want.

I often also use apertures of f/2.8, f/4 or f/5.6 in my macro work. Maximum depth of field isn't always what I'm after, and many times as long as the focusing is spot on, a smaller DoF doesn't matter.

This was natural light at f/5.6, 1/250s, ISO200, *istD and Sigma 105mm, handheld.




A proper macro lens is definitely the way to go if you're sure you want to pursue macro photography, if not, then get yourself some extension tubes, you can always use them with a macro lens if you get one later.

By the way, the flash I use is just a cheap manual one by Centon, with a Lumiquest diffuser on the front, cost about £30 all in.

Dan

Now I'm sure you've seen this thread before, but if not, here's a challenge for you...

https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3835

Got myself some bellows the other day, so may try reversing a lens on the front of another, on the bellows to see what happens. Luckily, I have a flash.

Keep having fun!

Dan

If you mean you have your blank 'paper' sized to 18 inches wide, and your image at 18 inches wide, but when you drag your image onto the paper it doesn't take up the full width, it must mean that the image is a lower resolution than the paper.

To get an 18" image from a DSLR you'll need to resize with the 'Resample Image' box ticked, and make sure you have the resolution of the paper and the image set the same. An easy way to check you've done it right is to make sure the pixel dimensions for both are the same, rather than the document size.

Hope that helps,
Dan

It's not so good down here either, yesterday the wife said we should put the electric blanket back on...

Dan