Practicing with the caterpillars - new shots added

[dlanter]

Don't have very many Gulf Fritillary caterpillars this year, but found a few to use as test subjects for my recently acquired Tamron 180mm f3.5 macro lens. They are slow moving which makes them good photo subjects, but one of them was a little too slow when the jumping spider came around.

I am very happy with this lens. The sharpness, bokeh & overall image quality is exceptional, but my technique is going to need some tweaking. With my insect photos I shoot exclusively handheld and the extra length of this lens in addition to the weight of a 430EX flash mounted on a bracket at the end of the lens is a lot tougher than my 105mm setup. I think I'm going to have to find a smaller, lighter weight flash if I stick to this setup.

The first shot below is handheld trying to get a good angle on the spider, but not succeeding. The second shot I used my monopod to help stabilize the rig, but I really don't see much difference between using the monopod & not.

[rjsalinas]

nice colors. i think the tamron 180 will be my next purchase if i can talk my wife into it

[dlanter]

Thanks Robert. I think the lens will be a keeper, just need to work on my technique like I said and I'm also wanting to modify my lighting a little.

[ttusa]

The light is a bit shiny. That's a very cool action shot in #1!

[dlanter]

Thanks Therese, yes I need to do some work on my lighting too.

[dlanter]

More practicing this morning and this GF cat. was too busy with breakfast to care about me. With the lighting I tried a little (4 x 6 in.) softbox I had. Still got some highlights on this shiny fellow but on less reflective subjects it might work. First shot below I added 30mm of extension tube & tried again using the monopod for support. The other shots are handheld without the tube. All manual focused with lens set at 1:1

Better, worse or no difference?

ISO 100, f16, 1/250 sec, flash ETTL -1/3


ISO 100, f16, 1/250, flash ETTL 0


ISO 100, f11, 1/400, flash ETTL 0

[Kenj8246]

Yessiree bob, Dan!! Second set is really nicely exposed and your light looks better. Hard to not have some harsh speculars...these little guys can be very shiny.

I'm planning to put in a couple more passionflower vines next year. Just finished the additional trellis this weekend.

[dlanter]

Thanks Kenny.

[DigitalScape]

I agree with Kenny - the second set has better lighting. Nice work Dan.

[dlanter]

Thanks John

[gardener]

It's hard to get rid of ALL the highlights on anything this shiny but you might try different diffusing materials you have on hand, ie: paper towel, toilet paper, white hanky, coffee filter, white copy paper, etc. All give similar but slightly different results and are easy to come by.

Great photos Dan. Looks like you've got the macro bug on it's way to being conquered...

[dlanter]

Thanks Steve. I've had the macro addiction for quite a while. I've been using a Sigma 105 with a homemade lighting setup but just added this 180 for a little extra working distance and am trying to get used to the extra length & weight as well as develop a usable light rig.

[jfoureyes]

Good ones Dan! The focus looks fine to me...nice and sharp!! I've been trying to talk myself into getting the Nikkor 200/4 or 180 from Sigma or Tamron for a while now. I use a tripod anyway so that's not a problem and I'd love to have a few more inches of working distance than my 105 has...maybe Santa will put one in my stocking this year...

[dlanter]

Thanks Jim. My 105 will probably still be my main macro lens but this 180 will be nice for some of the skiddish little critters. With my flower shots I always shoot on tripod & mainly natural light, but for me anyway it is easier to shoot handheld with the bugs. As we have seen from Kenny's work, the bug shots can look pretty nice with flash once it is dialed in right.

[jfoureyes]

Originally Posted by dlanter

Thanks Jim. My 105 will probably still be my main macro lens but this 180 will be nice for some of the skiddish little critters. With my flower shots I always shoot on tripod & mainly natural light, but for me anyway it is easier to shoot handheld with the bugs. As we have seen from Kenny's work, the bug shots can look pretty nice with flash once it is dialed in right.

Maybe one of these days I'll get a flash unit too, but I sure love to work in natural light and I know I'm missing a lot of photos because I don't use a flash...I'm just old and set in my ways...