This week had not been the most successful photography week. With the fall migration starting, I've tried to switch back to bird photography - tried being the key word. I have not had much luck getting portfolio quality bird photos this week. So, I took a break and decided to do macro photography yesterday. Still not a great day, but better. Here are a couple yellow-jackets from Woodman Fen enjoying the goldenrod.
Flickr News...
"Congrats! The photo Grasshopper you added to the group Spectacular Insects has been selected to be its cover photo."
Pretty cool to be selected as the cover photo for a group with nearly 7,000 members and over 81,000 images.
Pretty Petunia
Wanted to photograph the beautiful bloom before it disappeared. Grew these petunia's from a survivor from last year.
Morning Glory
After a rough week of bad photographs and limited shooting time, had a few great minutes this morning before work shooting some cold grasshopper at Sweet Arrow Reserve in Bellbrook. They weren't interested in moving, and I was glad to take advantage.
Warbler Season Is Back
The warbler's are starting to make their way through Ohio. Today at Woodman Fen, spotted two new species for me: Tennessee Warbler and Northern Waterthrush.
Northern Waterthrush Nikon D7000 ISO 800 600mm f/6.3 1/1000 sec.
Eastern Wood Pewee Nikon ISO 800 600mm f/6.3 1/640 sec.
Happy Labor Day
Here's a few hummingbirds laboring this weekend. Makes me tired just trying to photograph them.
Wow! What a Difference a Day Makes
in Macro
Awesome lunchtime photo walk at Woodmen Fen in Kettering, Ohio. First good chance to get a true dragonfly photograph. The Red-Veined Dart's were numerous and with a little patience and careful approach, they were willing to be photographed. What a difference a day makes. I was prepared and didn't have the comedy of errors from Tuesday. Today - a great success!
This hoverfly photograph was an early morning shot at Sweet Arrow Reserve.
Emma's Sunflower
in Nature
My daughter, Emma, planted this sunflower from seeds we collected last year. The challenge - photograph the flower without killing the plant. Usually I would trim the flower and bring it into a nice, controlled studio environment.
Is It Monday Again? Rules of Photography
Sorry - no pictures yet this week. I'm having a continual Monday.
Today I was reminded of one of the first rules of photography - Check Your Gear. Out for a quick lunchtime photo walk, I was enjoying the diversity of insects and arachnids at Woodmen Fen. First problem, snapped a few shots and no flash, the batteries were dead. Swapped batteries (always carry a spare set.) Cool, thought I was able to capture a couple funnel spiders out hunting. After about 30 minutes, I had grabbed what I thought were a few really sharp shots. Checking the images, I was worried that the images didn't look right. Oh wait - the ISO was set up at 2500 from photographing a nighttime football game. Thirty+ shots, down the drain. ISO corrected and the honey bees were out in force. Popped another half dozen shots - everything seemed dark. All my settings looked normal, what was going on. Flash settings? Wait, EV compensation was -3.0 instead of +3.0. Flash settings now corrected. Oh! 12:58 PM. Time to go back to the office. Better luck next time.
Before You Shoot Checklist:
- ISO
- f/stop
- Shutter speed
- Flash power
- Battery levels in flash and camera (always carry a spare set)
- Take a couple test shots
- Readjust as necessary
- SHOOT AWAY (and be happier than I was today)
TIP: Shooting macro, I operate in M-Mode. My go to starting point is ISO 200, f/11, 1/200 sec. with a EV of +3.0 to give as much light as possible (this could vary greatly depending on your lens and flash set-up.)
Lighting Success
Personally, I find hard-shelled beetles to be some of the most difficult subjects to photograph in macro-photography. The glare and blown-out highlights you can get off the shell are very difficult to manage. Below are some photographs from Grant Park in Centerville, Ohio. These utilized a new soft-box/diffuser I custom made for my gear.
Here is a couple shots of the softbox diffuser. Note, this was prior to welding the prototype - please excuse the questionable craftsmanship.
Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 reversed with BR-2 Reversing Ring plus two PK-3 27mm extension tubes. Hand-made mobile softbox/diffuser on a Meike MK910.
Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 reversed with BR-2 Reversing Ring plus two PK-3 27mm extension tubes. Hand-made mobile softbox/diffuser on a Meike MK910.
Lunch Time
Captured this spider having lunch - a Scarlet and Green Leaf Hopper. The image is a focus stack comprised of four separate images, taken hand-held at Dayton's Hill's and Dales Park. The four images were hand edited in Photoshop to ensure a seamless stacking.
Check out Creative Drum
Thankful today to be featured in an article from Creative Drum - Top Macro Photographers Share Their Secrets. Check it out at the link below:
http://www.idesigni.co.uk/blog/top-macro-photographers/
Top Macro Photographers Share Their Secrets
"If you have ever tried macro photography for yourself, you probably know that it is a fascinating field to work in, but also a very competitive one. There will always be somebody who takes sharper images or steals the perfect moment better than you… Don’t panic! In search for the most comprehensive advice on how to take the perfect macro shot, we got in touch with some of the world’s best macro photographers...."
Down By the River
Holes Creek runs through Grant Park in Centerville, Ohio - a great place to find a great variety of bugs and birds. While I was busy spotting bugs, Stefan Minnig spotted an American Redstart, Black & White Warbler and a juvenile Chestnut-Sided Warbler. Finally finished my latest soft-box for my off-camera flash - really happy with the results. The light diffuser casts a nice even light across the field.
A Bit More Early Morning Dew
Thought I wasn't going to find anything this morning, and then stumbled across this Robber Fly sleeping.
Early Morning
Well, today is Back-to-School day for the girls. Bad news - waking up early. Good news - waking up early. Was able to capture some great damselfly images before work today at Sweet Arrow Reserve.
Get Hopping
Sweet Arrow Reserve was full of grasshoppers today. While they don't like to stick around for photographs - so many grasshoppers meant lots of chances.
This little hitchhiker appears to have ridden an apple home from the grocery.
Caught in the Wild
At Woodmen Fen, caught this Ruby-Throated Hummingbird feeding. While not technically an awesome shot (too much noise), really happy to get the picture.
Around the House
More test shots - some with one extension tube (27.5mm) and some with two (55mm). While I love getting close, I'm thinking the two extension tubes pus the Nikkor 50mm Reversed is just a bit too close for most subjects - at least insects larger than 5mm.
Big Little Photos
Been testing out a new lens configuration. Here are some additional shots using the BR-2 Reversing Ring with a Nikkor 50mm 1.4 manual lens.
Feeling Defeated by Persiod
Spent a good chunk of the night up watching Perseid Meteor Shower - not much luck catching images this year. Below is the only share worthy photo.