that's Dave Tufty on the left, and The Fat One on the right (he's not really fat, just fatter than the other one that could have been bought ..."so you want the fat one?")
So you guys and this forum FORCED me to go buy a camera hahha just kiding. But seriously all these sweet photos made me want to go out and shoot some. So here is a shoot of a Studebaker that i chased down in a local park and waited for the owner to walk away so i could grab some sweet shoots. Oh and the camera i got was a Nikon d3000 and was shot with the default 18-55mm lens.
My hunt started, so get your finger paints ready.
(shot with that spacer i build some time ago, with a .. f5.8 and a shutter of 125 you can get pretty stable pictures, though the focus is just by eye, moving closer and away from the object, can be a bitch if its a bit windy)
here is todays shot, quite bad, too much blur on the f5.8, or i might have used 4 by mistake
end up throwing 99% away because of the focus being slightly off, its being a little bitch.
Rens these are great, i'm always sort of amazed by shots of bugs and such because i can never seem to get close enough to really get that sort of detail, not to mention the whole flying away thing, bugs are such dicks.
Depending on the type of bug really.
Those that hold on to grasses mostly hang around, some just go there way and climb onto the camera, and some are collecting nectar, wich means they are less focused on what is happening around them, so you can actualy hit them with your lens and they will still be there. (love bees for that reason)
But flies go from flower to flower real fast, so you should move quite fast to get within range and then ease in at the last bit. < window to shoot is 1 to 5 seconds mostly>
Here i take quite a burst of shots, and delete those that failed quite soon after to make room again. end up shooting 10 to 30 photos of the same object to make sure i atleast have one that "might" be good.
It ends up being 1 at a 100 pics that i keep.
Other bugs take a real dance, move to a spot they gather, and just keep moving rather slowly.
I mostly move quite slow anyway, scanning the area for little changes and move in for a shot.
With birds and animals, they get all nervous and shit when you actualy stop moving, so you need to keep it a flow and gradualy slow down.
For the mice photo i took, i sat or stook still for 30 min up to an hour. Getting one or two chances and that window is open from a 5 seconds to a minute or so.
These few are shot with the 50mm and the home build spacer, nothing special
I still want to look into a good macro lens, but those are 500 bucks or so... no.
You should go outside and give it a try, lots of bugs now, and most of them can be picked up quite easely. And if one flies away, you just move to the next one. see wich stay and wich move around, some practice and a fast trigger finger will give you some good resolds.
(high shutter is really important, i mostly use 125 but thats the bottom, around 200 would be nice, above even better.
I sometimes just turn up the iso to 200 to get that little boost for the f value, as you see, going too low ends up in half made photos)
I've got a Sears 135mm m42 lens, and you can get some m42 macro rings for cheap(less than $10), and you should be able to find a converter to m42, to work with my canon i found one for $7 shipped from china i think... You can also find really cheap 50mm m42 lens, so if you're doing manual focus anyway, you would probably appreciate a lens that is designed for it and a proper set of macro tubes. I think lens+tubes+adaptor will run you less than $50.
I like the narrowness of the 135, and you can get a bit closer without.... Getting as close! I find its easier to get precise focus with than a 50mm or 28mm too. That cheap sears lens has about a near 360 degree focus ring, all of my modern AF lenses have like 55 degree focus rings.
you really should, it was by far the coolest place I've ever been. The first day was stressful though because it was raining a lot, not heavy but all the time and all I had was an umbrella so I was trying to use trash bags and junk to shield my body. My d80 ended up with a bit of water on it but I think I dodged a bullet.
It's really open, you have to rent a car though, which is a good thing because the place is freaking huge and you can drive to the general area then get out and hike on the paths and stuff. There's "backcountry" areas and if you're going there you have to let the rangers know your plan because its more dangerous. The only areas you arent allowed to go are on thermal areas without walkways because it's really dangerous and near wolves/bears.
@paul,
Man you got impressive shots, but im just going to say it
I have a big dislike towards the editing.
The softer contrast is awesome,
but the colors you keep going with, the deep purle is just.. it fits some shots, some crazy editing and experimenting with styles is needed, but every time again,
i enjoy the blueish left corner, and the yellowish tint is real nice, try and keep those in, maybe go for a more one color wash, or just dont pull the colors that much and let it be.
Replies
Drama cat is dramatic.
that's Dave Tufty on the left, and The Fat One on the right (he's not really fat, just fatter than the other one that could have been bought ..."so you want the fat one?")
50mm 1.4
somehow - and i've no idea how - i managed to handheld this one. IS is pretty good sometimes
Recently recovered a box of toys from my childhood!
verr nice.
Ps: totes aware this a postaniceimagethread, but seeing as this is shot with my 7d while tinkering with my 7D video mode, im posting anyway. FACT.
{EDIT: watch it with more Ps. 720 of them.}
[ame]
new desktop danr, thanks
Looks like your lenses could use a bit of a cleaning though :P
Yeah :P
Cleaned them when after I came back from that trip xD
PHOTOS! keep em going!
My hunt started, so get your finger paints ready.
(shot with that spacer i build some time ago, with a .. f5.8 and a shutter of 125 you can get pretty stable pictures, though the focus is just by eye, moving closer and away from the object, can be a bitch if its a bit windy)
another fun shot
Oh wait..damn you just told them you took it! >.<
here is todays shot, quite bad, too much blur on the f5.8, or i might have used 4 by mistake
end up throwing 99% away because of the focus being slightly off, its being a little bitch.
Any tips, what sort of lens are you using, etc?
Depending on the type of bug really.
Those that hold on to grasses mostly hang around, some just go there way and climb onto the camera, and some are collecting nectar, wich means they are less focused on what is happening around them, so you can actualy hit them with your lens and they will still be there. (love bees for that reason)
But flies go from flower to flower real fast, so you should move quite fast to get within range and then ease in at the last bit. < window to shoot is 1 to 5 seconds mostly>
Here i take quite a burst of shots, and delete those that failed quite soon after to make room again. end up shooting 10 to 30 photos of the same object to make sure i atleast have one that "might" be good.
It ends up being 1 at a 100 pics that i keep.
Other bugs take a real dance, move to a spot they gather, and just keep moving rather slowly.
I mostly move quite slow anyway, scanning the area for little changes and move in for a shot.
With birds and animals, they get all nervous and shit when you actualy stop moving, so you need to keep it a flow and gradualy slow down.
For the mice photo i took, i sat or stook still for 30 min up to an hour. Getting one or two chances and that window is open from a 5 seconds to a minute or so.
These few are shot with the 50mm and the home build spacer, nothing special
I still want to look into a good macro lens, but those are 500 bucks or so... no.
You should go outside and give it a try, lots of bugs now, and most of them can be picked up quite easely. And if one flies away, you just move to the next one. see wich stay and wich move around, some practice and a fast trigger finger will give you some good resolds.
(high shutter is really important, i mostly use 125 but thats the bottom, around 200 would be nice, above even better.
I sometimes just turn up the iso to 200 to get that little boost for the f value, as you see, going too low ends up in half made photos)
cheap ass lens:
http://cgi.ebay.com/m42-Sears-Auto-135mm-1-2-8-Mamiya-Fast-Telephoto-135-/280509132513?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item414fa5aee1#ht_500wt_1154
I like the narrowness of the 135, and you can get a bit closer without.... Getting as close! I find its easier to get precise focus with than a 50mm or 28mm too. That cheap sears lens has about a near 360 degree focus ring, all of my modern AF lenses have like 55 degree focus rings.
going for a more serious run now, see what happens
From a visit to Prague.
i always dream about packing a bag and lots of film/photo equipment and just go crazy there.
Can you wonder around or are you guided by paths?
Nice photos here,
dan, wild life \o/!
nice style rick
and i .. i need to buy a real lens sometime
(too lazy to really edit it atm)
Ren, I need to start chasing around bugs. I'm surprised you're able to get so many shots without them flying off.
Man you got impressive shots, but im just going to say it
I have a big dislike towards the editing.
The softer contrast is awesome,
but the colors you keep going with, the deep purle is just.. it fits some shots, some crazy editing and experimenting with styles is needed, but every time again,
i enjoy the blueish left corner, and the yellowish tint is real nice, try and keep those in, maybe go for a more one color wash, or just dont pull the colors that much and let it be.
Would be cool to see a variation on this.
--
Nice composition going there rick