Thanks everyone. #1 wasn't taken at 1:1, Butterfly was a bit too big to do that. I was lying flat on the ground though in order to get this shot. Had to snake it in from around 5' away very slowly so as not to scare it. It was sunning itself, so it was pretty much going to stay where it was unless it was scared off. Thankfully I got a few decent shots off of it. #2 was one of the first shots taken with the Sigma 150mm - a vastly different setup to the 50mm/tube combo that I'd been using up until then. Considering the differences in the setups, I was very happy to nail this shot. #3 - HIF (hoverflies in flight) @ 1:1. This is not an easy thing to do, hence the shot not being really perfect. Up until I took this shot, I hadn't seen another image of mating HIFs. I've managed this a few times now on 3 different occasions.
My gear - eos 1D Mark IIn (or my backup body, Canon D60) + Sigma 150mm f2.8 EX APO Macro lens + Canon 430ex flash. I generally mount the flash on the camera hotshoe. I use a sto-fen diffuser on the flash. I vary FEC (flash exposure compensation) as needed. I also have a off shoe adaptor and flash bracket but rarely use them these days cos I'm lazy. I generally shoot at 1/200, f11, ISO 400, FEC + 0.3 stop. Oh and I shoot hand held. Tripods are just too cumbersome and too slow (although they do offer sharper results I do admit). I don't use AF, but set my lens to the desired magnifcation and then use the racking focus method to achieve sharpness.
Any specific questions, please ask and I'll be only too happen to assist.
i shoot hand held too... i just cant use a tripod or mono, they are just too restrictive. I like to be able to move around. people try and convince me to use a mono or tripod for birding too, but i can get a clean shot at 1/160th so i dont need to.
