Ever looked at something close??. I mean really close?? Like really really close.??

The wonderful world of Macro is astonishingly beautiful and so detailed.

How can you capture it??

Let’s give it shot.

For those cameras who have creative zones (Point and Shoot as well as the SLR’s) there is the flower symbol. That icon represents macro.

With SLR’s if you have a lens of 65mm or more or a telephoto and its f2.8 or f4 or thereabouts, use it. It will do the job for you.

To push those of you who want to go to a semi manual setting flip the dial to AV (this is the aperture setting). This will have the camera do most of the thinking for you and all you need to worry about is your ‘depth of field’ (DOF) the smaller the f number, the smaller the depth of field. Meaning your focus. Again, you’ll need good bright light.

This is where reading the aperture post comes in handy here.

That’s pretty much all you need to do to be ready to go shoot your challenge. Oh and a good bright light day to do this.

With the f2.8 setting and as only a very small part of the image will be in focus, make sure its pin sharp on the important bit of the image. This is the focal point. This is where you want a person to first look when they view your image. With animals, bugs and people, it’s the eyes. With blooms, it’s where you make it. It could be a dew drop on a petal, a bug on a leaf, or the veins of a leaf backlit from by sun. If you want a bit more than just a spot of subject in focus, try using f5.6 or f8 or more if you like.


1/640 sec (shutter speed) f9 (aperture) ISO 400

For the SLR’s, just make sure your shutter speed (the number that is written like a fraction) is a bit more than the length of your lens. So for my 100mm macro lens I want a shutter speed of 1/100 or faster. The faster the shutter, the less light can get in onto your sensor, so you need bright light to start with. A good sunny day is perfect. A window sill with sunlight is perfect. Even a lamp over the subject will help. To up the shutter you can up the ISO. Have a go at ISO 100 and if the shutter is not fast enough or the image is dull, underexposed, up the ISO to 200. Stilldull? Go the next number up. Just remember the higher the number the more noise and grain you’ll get.

Macro is tricky as the focal point is so critical. If you are outside and its breezy, if you can bring in whatever the subject is (say a bloom) inside where there are no air currents, put it in a glass with sand, flour, whatever, to hold it in place, pop it in the window sill and have a go.

If you have a tripod, have a go using it. But it is also restricting too. I prefer to hand hold, have a higher ISO to get the faster shutter so I can use f4 or higher to get more of the subject in focus, but enough to blur out the background.

Be prepared to get down and dirty on your knees when bug chasing.


1/125 sec f4 ISO 200

Have fun with macro. The more you play with it, the better you’ll get. And the subject matter is limitless, even around the house!!!

When you have your shot, duplicate it in your image software and crop the pic so it makes it look larger in the image. To add extra interest to the shot, place the subject off center. Play around with it. Just make sure it’s a duplicate tho.


1/200 f2.8 ISO 200


***big tip*** to get wonderful shots of bugs, go out very early morning when they haven't warmed up with the sun. There aren't so quick to move out of your frame at this time of day. Esp dragonflies. and even more so..... dragonflies with dew drops on them.......

So this is your challenge people!! Get out there people, show me your macro images. Post your pic here in this thread, and if you ask, I can offer a critique for you if you like. You only need to ask and I'm more than willing to pop on my South Australian Country Camera Club Judge hat on. If you'd rather me not critiquing your shot, that is totally cool. That is up to you.

There will be a new 'how to' and challenge on the 27th May so get your shots in before the new challenge goes up.

tiff

Fantastic Challenge Tiff and thanks for the great tips - I have always been a little macro challenged but I love the fine detail photos you get with Macro. I know I am going to have my camera out and playing

Girls what Tiff did not mention was that this challenge is Prize eligible - $25 ST gift voucher Get you cameras snapping

Oh and last but by no means least - Tiff you photos MWAH - amazing - something to truly inspire towards

Fantastic challenge and your photos are beautiful.

Wow, thanks Tiff I will give this a try
It will be a challenge for me to take my camera off auto

I'm SOOOO inspired!! I'm chasing around in my garden this weekend!!! Oooh those pics!!!

Well... I'm not much of a photographer... my photography is usually just point and shoot trying to capture DD smiling and enjoying her lovely little life...
But... I was inspired by this challenge, so I ventured into my Mum's garden (mines not as pretty as hers!) and here's what I managed to come up with...
Not quite up to Tiff's prowess, but I had fun looking around at things a little differently and snapping images of things I'd usually overlook...













Thanks for the inspiration to try something a little different! I will continue to experiment with what I can come up with and am looking forward to improving my skills xx

Ohh nice photos, its the perfect day to take a photo like that here see if I can give it a shot

I have ventured out into the garden this morning, before the sun was too bright but it seems 13 degrees is to cold for insects in Cairns as I only found ants out and about. I have some photos here please critique these as you wish Tiff.
RE sizing shall reload

Ditto my last post

Am trying again to see if I can make this work

Fab pics LInda...
Trish is there anyway you can make your photos larger? It would really be nice to see them properly...cos they look great!

I've been running round the garden like a MAD thing --- we have a SUNSHINE day and just getting out of the car from work...saw BUTTERFLIES!!! God only knows what my neighbours think!

Wish the little buggers would stay still!

Okay... I've just CULLED the thousands of blurry pics I've managed on my trekking round the back yard...
this is what i've managed........SO FUN!

Mr Grasshopper (dont think he was feeling real well - he was a little lop-sided and didnt hop away)


Maybe the Ant was checking out 'dinner' but the Lady Bug had other ideas!


I had two pics of this butterfly done on two angles - this one captured dh's farm ute in the background and the other didnt - and to be honest - that bit of yellow in the background actually looks better!


A Cabbage Butterfly - this one had me leaping all round the yard! This is my favourite one- the colour is lovely and can you see it with its tongue out feeding!



YAY I did it!!!
Very lucky to get a pic of the few butterflies round at the moment cos its so cold!

wow great picutres everyone
was going to give this a try but seems little point

Gypsy, just do it for the fun of it. We would love to see your shots.

Here we go again I hope these are a better size I am not very good with re-sizing etc. Tiff if you find time please critique.
Thank you
1 of 3