Oh wow!! Everyone's work looks FABULOUS! I might have to try and get up early tomorrow to capture some early morning shots in the backyard! Love using macro but don't do it enough! Thanks for the challenge Tiff!

Well I had a little play this afternoon with my camera, not many bugs that I could find in my garden so I took a couple of pictures of my Big Bug DS's eyes Also of the one and only rose left in my garden and an ungly looking lemon on the lemon tree

Heres the lemon!

Great pics guys.

Here are my attempts.

Spider.



Flower.



Critic please Missy T.

now this is a true Macro shot. Up REALLY close and personal. just about reach out and push that grasshopper over. good one Mandy. Even on bugs and animals, its the eyes you must focus on for the big impact.

for the lady bug, was there any chance of turning the leaf around so the sun was along the side of the lady bug that had the ant on it. There's alot of detail lost in the shade. good colour.

The moth. Goodness me. Feels like he's about to strafe me as he swoops in off the screen. That yellow vehicle is best left out of it. I see the eyes of the moth, then my eye went straight to the yellow in the background, so the impact of the moth is lost.

Cabbage Butterfly.... the focus is soft. Its sharpest on the bloom in front of the of the tongue, but great shot of it feeding. They live on raspberry cordial I think.

Well done Mandy. You've got the gist of Macro, not just shots of Close Up.

(sorry but I cant seem to get your pic here)

My dear girl. You are getting it!!!! You've put thought into this before you pressed the shutter button. You considered the light, you considered placing the bloom off centre for added interest, you thought about the colour impact when you chose the background. In other words you've PRE-VISUALIZED. A important learning process.

Lots of brownie points to you girl. Now if you're camera can manage it, zoom in or move yourself closer and aim for just the centre of the bloom or the end of one of the 'petals' where the fuzzy bits are. Try different angles and watch for shadows. Then you truly have a macro moment!! .

Hiya Julie!!!! great to see you giving it a go.

Spider.....I know they can be scary, but you need to get in much closer to achieve Macro. like close enough to see all the eyes. Watch out for the distracting background.

Flower. Again, this is a close up, not a Macro. If you framed the camera on just one of those yellow throats on a petal, or down between the purple petals that would have more impact.

Basically you need to eyeball the subject as close as you possible can to capture that important point of interest. And that point of interest is usually very small.

give it another shot Julie and see if that spider winks at you.

think I should have given up after yesterday seem to have just gotten worse today

QUOTE:now this is a true Macro shot. Up REALLY close and personal. just about reach out and push that grasshopper over. good one Mandy. Even on bugs and animals, its the eyes you must focus on for the big impact.

Thanks heaps .......I think I was lucky with the eye (I confess) but will make sure I do this in future!

for the lady bug, was there any chance of turning the leaf around so the sun was along the side of the lady bug that had the ant on it. There's alot of detail lost in the shade. good colour.

I can see that now!!! I'll think of that next time for sure. It would have been a much better shot had I'd done that.... another important lesson!

The moth. Goodness me. Feels like he's about to strafe me as he swoops in off the screen. That yellow vehicle is best left out of it. I see the eyes of the moth, then my eye went straight to the yellow in the background, so the impact of the moth is lost.

oooh and I loved the yellow!!! But i think that is the 'scrapper' in me.... the papers I could use and the colour i could involve! Another important lesson...let go of the 'scrapper' and be the photographer! Hmmn.. thats really thought provoking - can i do that??????? hmnnnn!

Cabbage Butterfly.... the focus is soft. Its sharpest on the bloom in front of the of the tongue, but great shot of it feeding. They live on raspberry cordial I think.

LOL - I had NO time - I just was clicking after this one - it was sooo quick and just flit from one place to another with only seconds in between!!!! This was a 'lucky' shot! (tongue out) but I see what you mean about where the focus is and the softness of it.


Well done Mandy. You've got the gist of Macro, not just shots of Close Up.

Thanks soo much Tiff, I have learned so much in this excercise...not just about my subjects but also am learning about myself!

hi Macro snappers.

I thought I'd show you an example of 'macro' so you can see the difference from being 'close up'

This is a spider's spinneret glands.



And this is the under carriage and the mouth of a spider.




Notice the difference in the focal points. The primary focus is where I want to direct your eye, the rest of the image is of secondary importance but is still required to complete the story.

I'm hoping that this visuale, while creepy as spiders are not my thing, helps you see what macro is. Its the minute details of an object, not just the object itself.

mwah and keep on snapping.

tiff

Oh lordy lordy!!!



Eeeks aside....

how clear are those shots!

Tripod baby!!!

okey dokey...

here's the image i didnt use (cos I liked the yellow in the other one LOL )



He was easy to photograph cos he was missing half an antenae and a front leg - so he didnt move much! Poor little thing...i got right up in his face!

better. natural environment. I've only noticed his antennae and leg in this shot too. The other shot that had the yellow ute, took away my eye so I didn't even notice the missing things. Poor little fella, must in been a bit of a brawl.

yEAH... that's just it... i didnt notice until I had it on my computer screen and it made me wonder what could have happened to him.... and do they feel pain?
Opens up a whole new world hey