Here's a dragonfly I found this afternoon while trimming the hedge in my garden. It sat still for several minutes while I trimmed all around it, so I couldn't resist going inside and getting the camera. Thanks for looking.
No.1 stands out for me,probably cos it's a full body shot
I'm finding that this particular model of Dragonfly seems to be more fearless or vain, in that it doesn't seem to mind posing,
other types don't give you time to focus unless you're real quick
That first shot does something for me. Probably because of the way its wings are poised -- they're not pointing backwards like you usually find them. The colour, the framing, saturation, and the light, oh, the light. As jjjnettie said, exquisite.
Been looking at those macro photos threads for a while. I find them fascinating
Couple of quick question coz I have absolutely no idea how it's done.
How do you focus?
Do you have to get real close or are you like 1 or 2m away and zoom in?
Do you use a tripod and how long are the exposures?
Thanks. Lovely work
Thanks Marc,
With my 50mm macro lens, I need to get within about 5 cm of the subject to achieve full magnification. This distance would be longer with a 90 or 100mm lens. For outdoor shots of moving subjects I do hand-held exposures at about 1/90 - 1/180 sec and focus manually. In practice, the focusing is done by moving the camera back or forward after setting the desired focus on the lens. Hope this answers your questions sufficiently.
With my 50mm macro lens, I need to get within about 5 cm of the subject to achieve full magnification. This distance would be longer with a 90 or 100mm lens. For outdoor shots of moving subjects I do hand-held exposures at about 1/90 - 1/180 sec and focus manually. In practice, the focusing is done by moving the camera back or forward after setting the desired focus on the lens. Hope this answers your questions sufficiently.
Cheers,
Stephen
Wow... that brings another question. How do you get the insects to stay still? I'd never get within 5cm of a fly without it flying off unless I wack it in the back of the head first?
