Macro with 5D II, 105mm and LR3

[Katherine Lihou]

I've decided it's better to post in the macro section even though it's critiques I'm really after

The first lot I posted were done with a 450D, 105mm and free PP apps. I've just changed to using a 5D II, the same Sigma 105 and Lightroom 3. I never seem to be able to look at my own stuff objectively but my daughter says there's an improvement. I'd appreciate your opinions.

This is the first lot sent via Lightroom and the iMac so if I've made any mistakes with the export/resizing etc. please correct me.

This one's pretty soft but I liked the way the light of the rising sun was shining through this baby cricket

I'd love to try B&W and am currently reading Harold Davis's book 'Creative Black and White'. Will probably be adding Silverfx next to Photomatix on my wish list . This is very noisy but fun to play with in LR on a rainy day in the garden.

Love snails and love wild grasses so couldn't resist this one....

This waspy thing was washing which kept him still enough to take the shot.

Cheers,

Kate

 

[Pete Askew]

Not much to criticise there Kate. The lighting on the Cricket works very well and I like the B&W and the snail very much. I think, however, that the wasp lacks dynamism, but that is one of the big problems with macro shots of insects I always think; capturing the detail and making it work as an image.

I think the snail is very well shot and framed. My only comment would be to consider cropping a touch off the LH side and maybe blurring that leaf on the LH side a touch so that it draws the eye less.

The B&W droplets is a super shot and I like the squarish framing (how about making it really square?) and I like the vignetting. I might be tempted to maybe increase contrast and sharpening just a touch though. It's a good conversion to B&W and suits the subject well. SilverFX would certainly give you more control over the process though. Have you tried the demo version (fully functional with no watermark for 15 days)?

Hope this helps.

 

[Katherine Lihou]

Not much to criticise there Kate. The lighting on the Cricket works very well and I like the B&W and the snail very much. I think, however, that the wasp lacks dynamism, but that is one of the big problems with macro shots of insects I always think; capturing the detail and making it work as an image.

Pete,

I agree completely. I’ve been getting really frustrated recently by the restrictions imposed on macro photography when sharpness is seen as the holy grail. The shallow DOF imposes limits on the orientation of the subject and flashes can alter all the subtle colours given by natural light.

I mean, I really love invertebates so I adore the amazing detail and magnification found in the works of the great macro photographers but I’ve recently realised that it’s not the only way I want to go (should I be speaking in whispers here? ).

I feel that macro or close-up photography can be taken in so many different ways. Extreme sharpness and magnification is only one way, but looking at the net not many people are thinking outside the box much with macro.

I’m going to experiment much more with it this year. Do B&W macros, use PS to alter images, use things that apply to other kinds of photography. It’s hard to describe what I mean but I think you’ll understand what I mean.

I think the snail is very well shot and framed. My only comment would be to consider cropping a touch off the LH side and maybe blurring that leaf on the LH side a touch so that it draws the eye less.

I think you’re dead right. I haven’t learned how to use the adjustment brush in LR yet but will make those changes just as soon as I do.

The B&W droplets is a super shot and I like the squarish framing (how about making it really square?) and I like the vignetting. I might be tempted to maybe increase contrast and sharpening just a touch though. It's a good conversion to B&W and suits the subject well.

I can’t work out which bits to take off to make it square. Would you like to have a go yourself? If it’s possible with images posted to forums I’d also very much like to invite you to play with it contrast and sharpening-wise too (never forgetting what dear Oscar said about temptation ).

I’ve always loved looking at B&W photos but have only tried converting a couple so far. I’m realising just how much more you can push a B&W and I’m learning that there’s a temptation to be far too gentle with things like contrast and sharpening.

SilverFX would certainly give you more control over the process though. Have you tried the demo version (fully functional with no watermark for 15 days)?

Not yet, but as soon as I start taking some landscapes I’ll be loading the Silver Efex demo along with the Photomatix one.

Many, many thanks for your help and for taking the time to give me a detailed critique.

Cheers,

Kate

 

[Paul Lange]

For me it's the first two shots, maybe a small crop on the RHS of first shot? Sharpness seems to be the thing that everyone goes for on Macro photography but its a useful creative tool and can make the image more interesting. I would have said the the first two shots didn't need to be any sharper than they are.

 

[Mike Milton]

These are all quite interesting in their own way. My fave is the one of the water drops and I'd not change it in any way. I can't quite orient myself with respect to the snail doing a headstand but love the balance of colour.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

I'm with Mike - the water droplets make for an excellent shot - you get lost in the detail and scale just fades away

Like the B&W treatment as well - really suits the shot.

Not sure about the snail, looks a little soft maybe?

 

[Katherine Lihou]

For me it's the first two shots, maybe a small crop on the RHS of first shot?

Thanks. I’ll try that

Sharpness seems to be the thing that everyone goes for on Macro photography but its a useful creative tool and can make the image more interesting.

Absolutely. In macro photography it’s an essential skill which takes much practice, but as you say, a tool. I just think that a lot of the potential of macro photography is lost when its made an end in itself.

I would have said the the first two shots didn't need to be any sharper than they are.

I’ll probably be sticking to them that way but am always happy for anyone to offer alternatives versions if they want to edit anything I post. It’s so good to get other views as I find it really difficult to see what’s right or wrong with any pictures I take.

Cheers,

Kate

 

[Katherine Lihou]

These are all quite interesting in their own way. My fave is the one of the water drops and I'd not change it in any way. I can't quite orient myself with respect to the snail doing a headstand but love the balance of colour.

I’m very fond of those colours too. My garden seems full of wonderful purples against greens at the moment. I hardly had to enhance those at all.

The snail fascinated me because he was making his descent down a very narrow grass stem. Wrapped himself around it and didn’t waver at all.

Up until now I’ve just been taking snaps of things that interest me. I’ve only just started to learn how to take photographs and think about things like composition, values, background etc. The first lesson I’m learning is that just because I’m fond of the subject doesn’t mean that it will automatically make a good photo

Observations much appreciated

Cheers,

Kate

 

[Katherine Lihou]

I'm with Mike - the water droplets make for an excellent shot - you get lost in the detail and scale just fades away

Like the B&W treatment as well - really suits the shot.

I’m just getting more and more fond of B&W

A stand of wild barley had been flattened by something unknown overnight and then rained on. I didn’t see the potential in the shot at all and was just trying to capture a small grasshopper trying to find its way through all the raindrops. I failed there but close up in Lightroom I could see some really interesting patterns in the grasses which looked even better in B&W.

I’m very fond of wild barley. As kids we used to use them as darts which would stick to clothing. Don’t know how widespread that game was…

Not sure about the snail, looks a little soft maybe?

Definitely. It was soon after sunrise on a very dull day and I was having problems trying to make the whole snail sharp when using a monopod. I knew that 1/60 was likely to lead to softness, but couldn’t resist the shot. Wish it was possible to reverse motion blur PP

Cheers,

Kate

 

[Rudi Venter]

Kate, I love the way the sun lights up the subject! It makes it "pop"!

The second image is stunning! I keep on going back to it for another look, well done and I think B&W is perfect here. I have also been playing with B&W lately, in the past I always preferred color but many images simply work better in B&W.

I agree, sharpness is not everything, sometimes it is great and helps with an images but sometimes it is not important and can even be a negative. I have sometimes fallen in the "Sharp at all costs" trap, it is great to know how to get that special sharpness but also good to now when to avoid it.

Well done, looking forward to more posts from you, thanks for sharing!
Rudi

 

[Mike Milton]

Up until now I’ve just been taking snaps of things that interest me. I’ve only just started to learn how to take photographs and think about things like composition, values, background etc. The first lesson I’m learning is that just because I’m fond of the subject doesn’t mean that it will automatically make a good photo

Hmmmm... Well, one can certainly make a technically excellent image of things one is not invested in but, in my experience, one can only make an impassioned image when the subject speaks from and about one's heart.

I often consider a thing by 'working' images of it to see what I think and feel about it.

So, I suspect that fondness is a necessary, if not sufficient, ingredient.

 

[Pete Askew]

Well said Mike. I agree wholeheartedly.

 

[Katherine Lihou]

The second image is stunning! I keep on going back to it for another look, well done and I think B&W is perfect here. I have also been playing with B&W lately, in the past I always preferred color but many images simply work better in B&W.
Rudi

Thanks Rudi

I've just finished a book on B&W photography but it didn't give me much of a clue. The author was talking about seeing things in monochrome but that's very difficult. As a starter I've been going back to past images and trying out quick conversions to B&W in Lightroom. I think that gives a better idea of what works.

I've also been fascinated to learn about the subtleties involved in professional B&W conversions. So much to learn (which always makes me a happy girl ).

I agree, sharpness is not everything, sometimes it is great and helps with an images but sometimes it is not important and can even be a negative. I have sometimes fallen in the "Sharp at all costs" trap, it is great to know how to get that special sharpness but also good to now when to avoid it.

Definitely. I want to learn how to get it when I want it and most of all to learn where best to use it.

But returning to B&W, you said you'd been playing with it lately but I don't remember seeing any examples here. Do you have anything you'd like to share?

Cheers,

Kate

 

[Katherine Lihou]

Hmmmm... Well, one can certainly make a technically excellent image of things one is not invested in but, in my experience, one can only make an impassioned image when the subject speaks from and about one's heart

I'd agree completely, and there are parallels in the other arts. There are many technically brilliant musicians out there without an ounce of feel. They may play a piece 'perfectly' but their work leaves me cold, but obviously, without technique, a musicians' emotions can't be conveyed.

In case I was a bit ambiguous in my last post, what I meant was that I'd taken thousands of photos of invertebrates over the past year simply because I love them. Some to ID, some to draw, but mostly to get a closer look at the fascinating lives they lead, but in all that time I learned very little about photography and only a handful of those images were good photos. So fondness for the subject wasn't sufficient to produce good images.

I often consider a thing by 'working' images of it to see what I think and feel about it.

Very interesting. Do you make the equivalent of thumbnail sketches beforehand like painters do, or do you mean spending time considering or manipulating the images once taken?

So, I suspect that fondness is a necessary, if not sufficient, ingredient.

Most certainly.

Cheers,

Kate

 

[Mike Milton]

Very interesting. Do you make the equivalent of thumbnail sketches beforehand like painters do, or do you mean spending time considering or manipulating the images once taken?

Cheers,

Kate

I mean taking multiple images of a thing and then exploring each not so much as, "which is the best picture?" but but from the perspective of "what does that image say about my relationship to that thing"

This might be done by taking a few shots (or many shots) of a thing at a single time or it might be over days, years or decades.

sometimes the things themselves change, and sometimes I change. A rock is just a rock, until it becomes a portrait - and one you correctly assessed. But *all* pictures are, in some sense a self portrait, and that can be heightened in the manner I suggest.

hmmmm.... perhaps this would be an interesting discussion on its own

 

[Katherine Lihou]

I’d certainly be very interested.

I’ve not been doing photography for very long but have been drawing since I could hold a crayon, and have noticed many parallels between the two artforms. I’m not at all introspective so I've not thought about it before but you got me thinking about why we choose the subjects we do and what that says about us. I’d love to hear what others think about it if you’d like to post a new thread on the subject

Cheers,

Kate

 

[Pete Askew]

I have copied this conversation into a new thread in the Photography Method and Equipment > General section of the forum as it has taken on a life of its own and is pretty central to much of what many of us do. I hope that's OK.