macro photography

It's "Hey Rick! What's Your F-stop?" Wednesday #2

It's "Hey Rick! What's Your F-Stop?" Wednesday. This series was prompted by the question I get asked most on my workshops.

My response to the question is, of course, "What is your creative vision? That will help you determine your camera settings."

After we discuss that all-important topic, I share my settings.

Hey Rick #2

Photograph: Cabbage white butterfly.

Location: Croton on Hudson, NY.

Camera: Canon 1Ds. (I now use the Canon 5D Mark III).

Lens: Canon 100mm Marco.

Exposure: ISO 100. f/18 @ 1/80th second - with Canon MR 14-EX Ringlight. (If you are into close-up photography, a ringlight is a must.)

Reasoning: Butterflies move very fast, so focus changes fast. Shooting at a small aperture gives you (and me) a much better chance of getting a "flying flower" in focus.

Use a shutter speed enough to blur the action, and use a speedlite to freeze the action . . . in the same photograph.

Concept: Use a combination of daylight and the light from a speedlite to add motion to a still photograph.

Processing: I used Topaz Clarity to add detail to my image. You can get a discount on all Topaz plug-ins on my Play & Save on Plug-ins page.

Like flying flowers? My Flying Flowers wallpaper app is free. See My Apps page for info.

This wallpaper app is filled with my favorite photographs of butterflies – often called flying flowers. They are yours to enjoy on your iPad or iPhone.

Some of the butterflies were photographed in and around my home in Croton–on-Hudson, New York. Others were photographed at Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, Florida.

I hope to see you on one of my workshops. We will be photographing butterflies and birds (and more) on my Digital Delray workshop in January.

Scroll down to find other "Hey Rick!" posts.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. My forthcoming Focal Press book, Creative Visualization for Photographers, has an entire "Hey Rick!" chapter – with different photographs.

For Close-ups, Go Macro and Wide-angle

rick sammon 1.jpg

Here's a quick tip: When shooting a subject close up, shoot it both ways: use a macro lens (or the close-up setting on your zoom lens), and then photograph the subject with a wide-angle lens.

Basically, you are taking a portrait and an environmental portrait - which is a good people photography tip, too. 

That's I did when photographing this moon moth at Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, Florida – one of the stops on my Florida Photo Caravan and Digital Delray Workshops (info on my 2014 Workshops page).

I took the opening image for this post with my Canon 15mm lens (which has been replaced with the Canon 8-15mm lens). I took the picture below with my Canon 50mm Marco Lens, which has been replaced with the Canon 60mm Marco Lens

rick Sammpon 2.jpg

The wide-angle shot is a natural light shot. For the macro shot, I used my Canon MR 14-EX Ringlight, which is an invaluable accessory for macro lens shooters. 

If you like butterflies, I have two iPad apps for you! Flying Flowers is a wallpaper app that's free, and Butterfly Wonders, which includes close-up photography tips, only cost $0.99. Info on My Apps page

Explore the light,
Rick