My new Tamron 90 macro arrived yesterday afternoon ($377 delivered from DWI - not bad!), so I spent a couple of hours at the Mt Coot-tha botanical gardens this morning testing it out. It's the first macrophotography I've done for 2 years, and the first time I've used flash as a light source, so it took a while to work out what I was doing. I'm quite happy with how these turned out, and I think this lens has lots of potential! Looking forward to testing it some more.
I was lucky enough to find a baby green tree snake (only about 25 cm long), which hung aroud for long enough for me to photograph it [image #1]. Image # 2 is a mosquito resting on a crucifix orchid, #3 and #4 are little jumping spiders, #5 is a dragonfly of some sort, and I'm not sure what #6 is!
All amazing shots! The first one is very cool though.
Thanks Marc! Glad you like them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lacad01
Nice set of shots, especially the tree snake
Thanks Adam! I think I got lucky with the tree snake!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paddy
Very nice shots Stephen. You've done well with the lighting, they're all really clear and not hard.
Thanks for the comments Paddy. As I said it was the first time using a speedlight for macro work, so i was quite pleased with these results. I think I will look into a DIY macro diffuser to attach to the speedlight just to get a bit softer light.
An excellent set Stephen – you must be very pleased with that lens. As you mentioned, the light may be a little harsh but that is really a nit pick, especially for a 1st light set!
An excellent set Stephen – you must be very pleased with that lens. As you mentioned, the light may be a little harsh but that is really a nit pick, especially for a 1st light set!
The last one looks a little like a katydid.
Cheers
Dennis
Thanks Dennis! Yes, I'm very impressed with the lens, and my initial assessment is that it's better than the pentax 50mm macro that I used a few years ago.
I'm looking forward to the next BIMBO meetup so that I can inspect everyones flash diffuser setups... (we must be due for a BIMBO meet soon, before the warm weather ends?)
Cheers,
Stephen
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Originally Posted by hotspur
WOW! without a doubt you the very best photographer in IIS Stephen!
Well done on these fine images!
Thanks very much for the encouragement Chris! - but I think I'm fairly average compared to the standard being set here!
Cheers,
Stephen
Quote:
Originally Posted by bloodhound31
Awesome stuff Stephen. What's your flash setup? I love the lighting.
Baz.
Thanks Baz, appreciate the comments! Interesting that you like the lighting, as these were taken just with a "naked" 430 EX II. I was adjusting things as I went along but generally had the flash operating at 1/4 to 1/8 power (in manual mode), and the camera also in manual using f/13, 200 iso and 1/250 sec. I'll experiment with DIY flash diffusers over the next few weeks and see if these improve things.
