Bees and Things

Rob Pauza · April 15, 2013

Hello folks. I just tried my hand at some macro bugs tonight and thought I'd show the results. I had a few Speed light issues I was fighting with, but I was somewhat surprised when I looked at them later. I definitely see room for improvement. I guess practice makes perfect. Comments and critiques welcome. Thanks for looking.

Sigma EX 150mm 1:1 Macro

-Rob

And a few dandelions while I was outside:

Lord Vetinari · April 16, 2013

Lovely series , you did well. Macro of live bugs does take a bit of practice getting familiar with the camera settings, then trying to get the focus right and finally looking at the composition a bit more.
Brian v.

Rob Pauza · April 16, 2013

Thanks for the reply Brian. My macro work to this point has been in a very controlled studio setting. Shooting moving subjects is definitely a challenge. For the next round, I'll soften my Speed light more and work on the focus and composition.

If I may ask, what settings are a good place to start (in a typical daytime, overcast lighting scenario)?

I was trying to keep shutter speed at least 1/200, f16 or so, 1250 ISO. My speed light display was doing a weird blinking thing so I'm not totally sure what it was firing at. (I was too lazy to go get my other one) My guess is that it was about 1/4 power.

Thanks again,

-Rob

Lord Vetinari · April 17, 2013

Rob,
For natural light shooting I tend to use shutter priority mode, with at least 1/200th and adjust ISO to get the aperture- say F8 to F11. This is for handheld .
I more normally shoot full flash with camera in manual, flash in ETTL, 1/200th, ISO100/200,F11.
Brian v.

Rob Pauza · April 17, 2013

Thank you sir. I really appreciate your help. I'll give it another go. Something tells me the focus is going to take a lot of practice. Maybe I should find some slower bugs to practice on.

jeroenverspuij · April 18, 2013

Osmia bees movie
Dear colleagues,

I am looking for an HD movie with close up of the Osmia Rufa or other Osmia bees which crawl in or out of their nest in a wooden / bamboo stick. Youtube videos are not suitable.
Who can help me?

Sincerely,

Jeroen Verspuij

basflt · April 18, 2013

Rob Pauza wrote: »

Maybe I should find some slower bugs to practice on.

try to find them early morning
when they are not fully warmed up by the sun , they often stay still , because they CANNOT move
insects are cold-blooded ; they need warmth from external source ( sun ) to be able to move

little side-note on this
just shoot them , but further leave them alone
if you scare them too much they might die of exhaustion , because they may panic