Thanks Tiff will have another go at it on the weekend.

Alrighty, I had a go this morning. Didn't get up bright and early and settled for some 9am shots instead. There are no creepy crawlies in our backyard - just a lot of noisy birds flying around. I hate insects but I'll keep trying until I get some!

I took about 35 photos but I've only put my favs in here. I'm using a point-and-shoot camera, but my boyfriend and I are considering buying a "fancy" camera some time soon

Tried narrowing it... ended up with 13 that I was semi happy with. Quite keen for some critiquing please Tiff! Some of these are probably more "close ups" than "true macro" but I shall keep practicing!

Plant:


Feather:


Leaf:


Mesh on Staghorn Fern:


Cactus:


Dandeloin Type Plant (no idea what it is!):


Dew on Leaves:


Dried Tomato:


Spiderweb on Tomatoes #1:


Spiderweb on Tomatoes #2:


Flower:


Spiderweb on Lights #1:


Spiderweb on Lights #2:


I would really love to know how you get such great photos of spiderwebs! Thanks

Lani-kate. you're right in the fact that these are mostly 'close up' and not macro. The closest you've got is the flower. Can you see how the shadow falls over the centre of the bloom and the full impact of the yellow is lost. It would be tricky to direct light into the centre as the petals are so upright, praps middle of the day. And make your focus point on the greenish centre if you can as it looks like an eye and that's where people will first look.

If you dont have a dewy spiderweb, grabs a squirty water bottle and mist it alot to resemble dew. slightly heavier spray for droplets on the web. Find a spot on the web where the light is reflected in the drops (where they shine like jewels) and with a plain dark background if at all possible. Darker the better as it will highlight the catch lights on the droplets. Focus on one droplet that is dominant on the web. use a small f number.

good luck.

tiff

Well I'm gonna take a lllllllllllllooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnngggggggggg time to master this macro me thinks. After about 50+ blurred shots I ended up with these 2 that are actually presentable, although still more of a "close up" rather than "macro". My cat was NOT impressed at me waking her but I was so over trying to deal with the wind outside, I had to try something inside. Her fur looks very grainy and hard in this so I think I'm doing something not right as irl she has really soft fur.


and this cactus stood still for me.

Am I getting there, Tiff.???????????????????????????????

Wow Lani-Kate!! awesome!!

And Deb...ooooooooooh your pussycat!!! that is just plain DELIGHT!!!
and would love to see you scrap that!

yes please scrap the cat, so cute

hey Deb. I'm suspecting that you may have shot the cat with dull light, so the shutter slowed down and that is why the camera shake is an issue. The cat is not moving (love him btw) so the camera is moving. If you're shooting with AV or Macro then the camera sets the shutter speed for you. And in this case the light was dull, so the shutter was slower in an effort to capture enough light on the sensor. With the shutter open longer, it picks up any movement and blurs the shot. Hand shake, your hearbeat, someone walking past on wooden floorboard will do it too.

So if you cant turn on extra lights, open the curtains, or add extra lights, use the flash as a last resort. You might even like to place a tissuse over it just to diffuse the harshness of it a bit. (I bet the cat wont appreciate the flash going off in its face tho)

Cactus. You need to get in much closer if you can. Try just getting a handful of needles in the frame rather than the whole cactus.

keep going girl. you'll get there.

Thanks Tiff. I might be brave and try some manual settings and see how I go.....never know, I might get a goodie out of the next 50

you go girlfriend!!!

took a few more not getting any better just more frustated

oooh that skeleton leaf... amazing!

Loving all the photos ladies!! And Tiff, you're photos are stunning!

It's about time I did a challenge around here, and since I'm still learning my way around my SLR I think I better give this a go on the weekend!

rippa Mindy.

remember people, there is a prize at the end of the month for this challenge.

I think Lee-Anne is emailing everyone tomorrow night and putting up a post about where to put your one macro entry. Regard all your shots so far as practise. Don't stop till you crack a hero shot. Try not to get frustrated if its not happening. Let me know what camera you've got, what setting you're using, what lens is on the camera, and we'll work it out together.

You've still got another 10 days worth of Macro mayhem. Go get em!!

something else you can do is once you've got a good macro shot, pull it up on your photo software and crop the image. Remove the excess, unwanted distractions or space. The subject will then become larger within the frame of the shot.

Try not to crop too closely to the subject to give it room to 'breathe' in the shot, or conversaley, IF your shot is pin sharp, crop right into it to bring a portion of the subject really close, like those spider shots. Believe me I wasn't quite that close in real life.

just a tip for ya!!

I'm having issues with this. The best be lenses ( 18-55 and 55-200) s f5.6 and I can't seem to focus yet get the thing (I was using a feather to practise) close enough??? Any tips. I'm using a Nikon D60.