Photography.. snap snap!!

[dovespaniel]

Woah. They look gorgeous! Are you using macro lens?

I'm not sure about having butterflies as in-flight meal though. Hee.

Btw, my new cam is Sony NEX 5N.

[Rorschach]

Thanks dovespaniel!

Yup, was using a 100mm macro lens with Raynox 250 for those super close up shots. LOL, doubt I'd want butterflies for my in-flight meal too!

Icic, how's the cam? Enjoying it?

[dovespaniel]

I'm loving it so far!
Should be going out later for a walkabout and playtime with it

Btw, I think you mentioned you didn't use tripod for the macro shots. Must have very steady hands? I'm not knowledgable on macro at all.

[dovespaniel]

Heard about the deserted Dover Road so headed there earlier today. I only know how to take simple shots

[dovespaniel]

~ post deleted; duplicate. thanks to the bongus posting in this forum ~

[Rorschach]

I'm loving it so far!
Should be going out later for a walkabout and playtime with it

Btw, I think you mentioned you didn't use tripod for the macro shots. Must have very steady hands? I'm not knowledgable on macro at all.

Good to hear that! I especially like this shot you took:



LOL, I try to "play cheat" with the handheld shots, use flash to freeze the subject and set shutter speed to at least 1/200 sec if possible. However, I usually use Aperture priority, so don't really get to control the shutter unless I pick a fast aperture between f/2.8 to f/5.6.

For macro, I often find myself shooting at f/8 especially when going up very close, if not, the depth of field (DOF) will be too shallow to show much of the insect.

If shooting from a reasonable distance, I can still get away with f/2.8 and maintain enough DOF to have the whole insect in focus, while blurring out the background like the shot below:



As for the closeup shot below, I rested my left palm on the tree trunk and used my left arm as a rail (of sorts) to rest the camera on it while attempting to get proper focus.

[dovespaniel]

Those are such valuable tips to know on macro shots! Guess I will try that out after I'm out of simple shots =)

[magicdust]

Rorschach: love your shots!! able to share your pp tips? the colors all look so brillant!
such close-up photos of the insects will need macro lens? can a zoom lens + raynox do? guess no right..

[Rorschach]

Thanks dovespaniel and magicdust!

dovespaniel: Simple shots are good too!

magicdust: I usually shoot in RAW, then open the files with Adobe Bridge in Photoshop. Bridge allows me to adjust things like Fill Light, Vibrance and Clarity.

For these series, I adjusted +15 to both Vibrance and Clarity. You can play around with the sliders to see what effects they give. However, usually for photos of flowers, babies and people, Clarity will be adjusted to a negative figure to soften things up. For those, I will adjust anywhere from -5 to -20 Clarity. After that, I adjust the contrast curve (Ctrl+M) to get a more desirable look.

A zoom lens + raynox can work too, just note that when focusing, you'll have to move the camera back and forth as well.

Hope this helps!

P.S. Can check out my photo page here too: TDR Photography | Facebook Comments and critique most welcome!

[Rorschach]

To add on, to find Adobe Bridge in Photoshop: File -> Browse in Bridge, or press Alt+Ctrl+O

[Rorschach]

Some more shots from the butterfly series:

20) The Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus) at the buffet spread.


21) The Plain Tiger resting on a reed.


22) The Plain Tiger pouncing on its prey.


23) One of my NG shots, but thought I'd share this since the Leopard Lacewing in the background decided to swoop into the frame to perform a photobomb.

[Rorschach]

24) Another Leopard Lacewing (Cethosia Cyane) that looks different from the more colourful ones in earlier posts.


25) A Cruiser (Vindula dejone erotella) getting friendly with me.


26) A Cruiser (Vindula dejone erotella) resting on a leaf and basking in the sun.

[Rorschach]

27) A Tiger and its prey.

[Rorschach]

Woke up to the heavenly scent of my mum's freshly baked crumbelicious banana walnut cake!

[magicdust]

some noob questions that frustrated me during my holiday in taiwan recently.
how to ensure your photos are sharp when reviewing on the LCD? how much do you enlarge, 4X or 8X?
i do not usually print my photos, so do what extent is considered ok?

many times i upload my photos then realized its not as sharp as when i reviewed on the LCD. this is very irritating as im cant reshoot then!

also, what are the settings used to capture the waves without over-exposing the photos? as it is daylight, any slower speed will over-exposed the photos (even with -3 exposure set).

hee, will share some photos for comments and critiques when they are ready!