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Getting Good And Close To A Bee. Macro Photos

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 at 8:53 am

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After my last post, Getting Close Up With The Canon EOS 550D , where I showed you what the Canon EOS 550D Digital SLR was capable of when it came to getting nice and close to the subject. Naturally to get the results I was looking for I needed a decent macro lens so I just had to buy the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens. I was so happy with the way that photo came out I decided to take a few more macro shots.

I still used a flower as the subject, only this time it was a white rose but the rose also had a member of the insect world present. Yep, there was a bee working the flowers in it’s search for honey. This is when I discovered that photographing insects isn’t as easy as when photographing s a static flower because these little blighters are constantly moving around. What makes it even more difficult was that I discovered I was having troubles focusing on it because I couldn’t stop from swaying.

That was when I wished I had a Davis & Sanford Vista Trailblazer Monopod. Actually any monopod would have done but that one sure sounds nice. Still there’s always a solution to every problem so why not this one? The obvious solution was to use my Manfrotto Tripod. So I extended the legs to the right height but I did not open them so that it in essence became a monopod.

Now, usually I like to take a photo and then check the LCD image to make sure it was focused properly. I found this to be too damn time consuming so instead I just took a whole heap of photos changing the focus ever so slightly, yes I used manual focus as the bee was moving to much for the auto focus to latch onto it. In this manner I was able to take several shots which I was very happy with.

All of these photos were taken with an aperture of F2.8. You can see that each one focuses on a particular part of the bee/rose. This first one shows the frailty of the bees wings. It’s truly a wonder of nature that these delicate wings can carry the weight of this insect and it’s load.

This next one brought the flower into focus as well as the bee’s abdomen. Notice also the clarity of the honey or pollen it’s collecting on it’s leg.

This one gets a nice clear shot of the bee’s head.

And finally I get really good and close to the subject. I really like the way this photo turned out.

Another thing I learned about taking macro photos of bees is that you really need a lot of patience because these guys just don’t like sitting still for you. I’ve yet to take a photo of one in flight, but don’t worry I’ll be sure to show you guys when I do.

One other thing about macro photography is that it introduces you to a whole new world. Take this bee for example, I didn’t realize how fascinating a creature it really was until taking these macro shots. They’re really quite remarkable, but then so are all of God’s creatures.

Books you may find interesting.

Close-Up and Macro Photography

The Art of Photographing Nature

Digital Nature Photography: The Art and the Science

Understanding Close-up Photography: Creative Close Encounters with or without a Macro Lens

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Getting Close Up With The Canon EOS 550D

Saturday, November 6th, 2010 at 3:13 am

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A while back I purchased a brand new Canon EOS 550D Digital SLR and all I can say is I love it. The camera has everything I need; I can use it in full auto mode, full manual or almost everything in between.

Although you can do relatively good closeups I wasn’t entirely happy with them because I needed to get closer. After some research I decided the only way to do this was to invest in a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens.

You can only imagine my excitement when the lens came in, I was taking macro shots of almost everything. I did discover though that although the photos looked fine in the camera’s LCD display they weren’t as clear as I would have liked when viewed on the monitor.

Naturally I knew the lens wasn’t at fault, so it had to be something that I was doing that was the problem. As it turns out it all came down to I wasn’t holding the camera steady enough when taking the photos and I couldn’t get a fast enough shutter speed because of the low light level at the time to compensate for any camera movement. The answer of course was to use a tripod.

So, out comes the tripod and I managed a few more shots before I was called away. This is the best of those three.

One other think I noticed was the shallow depth of field which because of the depth of the flower I had to select which part I wanted to be in focus. As you can see you can even pick out the pollen that’s spread out over the petals.

Reckon I could still do better. Maybe what I need is to buy the Introduction to the Canon Rebel T2i / EOS 550D : Basic Controls Training DVD by Blue Crane Digital so that I can see how to get the best out of the camera.

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Experiment By Taking Photos From Different Angles

Friday, October 29th, 2010 at 11:13 pm

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I reckon one mistake that is common amongst many amateurs is that they don’t consider the angles of photography. Too many of us look at the subject and center it in the frame thinking that is the best shot, when in actual fact it may not be.

Let’s face it, centering the picture is pretty boring and this is accentuated by the fact that many people do it. Taking it from face on may not be the best angle either. Let’s look at some photos I took of a particular subject, in this instance The Sacred Hearts College Chapel which is found on Brighton Rd Somerton Park South Australia.

Rather than taking it from a distance I got closer to the subject giving the photo a different perspective.

I also tried taking it from a different angle giving me this shot.

I thought that the shadow of the palm tree spoiled the shot a little and other than coming back when the sun was in a different spot I walked back some getting the offending palm tree in the shot seeing if that improved the shot a little.

You could even focus on a particular part of a building to see if that would give you just the shot you are looking for.

The beauty about digital cameras, as I have mentioned on more than one occasion, is that it enables you to take a multitude of shots on any given subject, and seeing how this is the case it would be a waste not taking advantage of it. So, instead of just taking one shot of any given subject, take the time to experiment by taking it from different angles and you may be surprised on the outcome.

You may want to check out my Scenic Adelaide blog to see some other photos that I took of Sacred Heart College.

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Still Not Good Enough For DreamsTime

Sunday, August 29th, 2010 at 3:39 am

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After my last post, My Honest Evaluation Of Dreamstime, I’ve decidedto make it a regular feature, partly as a journal of my experience with them but mainly so that others can learn from my experience.

As you can see from that last post I haven’t had much luck getting my photos accepted by Dreamstime and this latest batch hasn’t fared any better. For this latest shoot I decided to go for a little drive to Gumeracha, a small town in South Australia, that is famous for it’s rocking horse. As you can see from the following photos it’s no ordinary rocking horse, it’s actually the largest rocking horse in the world.

OK, so let’s look at the first photo I submitted.

I lucked out with this one as it got rejected for the following reason.

– Lack of composition. Please visit the Stock Photo Utilities section of our site or the message boards for more information on how to produce stock-oriented images.
– Poor color: this image has a low color profile and needs improvement in order to increase its sales potential. You can process your image with color enhancement software, such as Photoshop, giving it the appeal it needs.
– Poor lighting setup, poor contrast or incorrect exposure.
White balance parameter was not correctly assigned.

OK, this white balance parameter has me mystified as it’s set to automatic so I’m not sure where they’re coming from there.

As for PhotoShop, seeing as how that keeps coming up I thought that perhaps I should get hold of a copy. So I went online and bought Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 & Adobe Premiere Elements 8 so that I would have a complete editing package. Now, seeing as I’m not one to spend too much time playing around with stuff I decided to go for the one click enhance feature, and this was the result.

Not too bad I thought, and it was so easily done too. I resubmitted the photo and I thought that this one would pass muster for sure. Nope, missed out again.

- Lack of composition. Please visit the Stock Photo Utilities section of our site or the message boards for more information on how to produce stock-oriented images.
Image subject is too specific or niche-oriented. The primary goal of a stock image is to be generic and match as many usage types as possible. Your image is not generic enough and will not generate significant sales. Please try to recreate/rephotograph the scene differently and/or use this info for more generic images in the future.

Lack of composition huh? Well I can’t really fix that without taking the photo again and if I do that I can’t use the resubmit feature, which is faster than submitting the photo from scratch.

I’m not sure bout the “specific or niche-oriented” aspect of it. Anyway, I figured I would upload a new photo that was already enhanced using PhotoShop.

Struck out AGAIN!

– The image contains elements that might be protected by copyright/trademark (logos, brands, specific buildings etc.), can identify a property/product (letters, numbers), or could raise usage problems, therefore it doesn’t qualify as a RF stock image. Analyze the photo closely and remove these elements if possible or try to obtain a property release. Read more: http://www.dreamstime.com/thread_148
– Poor lighting setup, poor contrast or incorrect exposure.

WTF! I would have thought that the guys who own the rocking horse, being a very popular tourist resort, would have loved the exposure and would therefore not complain if I used the photo. But then again I suppose their just covering themselves. I’m sure not about to obtain a property release. As for the poor lighting setup, it was an overcast day so there’s not much I could do about that, other than driving out again when the conditions would be more favorable.

I went and had a look at some of the rocking horses they had already accepted, and sure I may be somewhat biased, but I reckon mine was better than some a whole lot of those I found online.

So far I think that Dreamstime is a little lacking when it comes down to assessing member’s photos. They shouldn’t assume that all members are experts at what they do, and that perhaps some, such as myself, may need a little more help with their photos. Also if a photo just isn’t good enough I would rather they said that outright rather than waste my time trying to fix it.

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My Honest Evaluation Of Dreamstime

Saturday, August 14th, 2010 at 10:18 am

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I’ve been a member of Dreamstime for a little over a year now, a place where you can find free stock photos for your blog, website or whatever your need for photos may be. The one thing you must know is that whether you go for the free photo or paid photo they are of the highest quality.

Whilst I have purchased photos from them on more than one occasion this site is more than a multitude of the best photos you will find on the net, it is also a place for members to upload their photos and once accepted these very same photos may be purchased by others. So you see it’s also a place for photographers, professionals and amateurs alike, to make money form their photography.

Unfortunately, whilst I only had my point and shoot camera the quality of it’s photos were not of a high enough standard. That however is a thing of the past because I’ve just purchased my very own Canon EOS 550D Digital SLR. Alas, like I said earlier Dreamstime only accept photos of the highest standards, so while my Canon is capable of 18MP photos, it seems that my photographic ability is somewhat lacking, but I don’t mind because every time I get rejected it’s forcing me to improve the quality of my shots.

I’ve learned a few things along the way and I know for a fact there is a lot more to learn. Take this photo for example.

I uploaded a series of photos of Adelaide by night which I took from across the River Torrens. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do, as was explained in an email.

As for the submission of the entire series – it is highly recommended that you do the selection yourself and only upload the best image of a series, provided that they are so similar. In the case of your series none of the images is acceptable and this is why one was refused with a more detailed explanation and the rest – for similarity. Your other images suffer either from the same problems or have very prominent
noise. At this point, given the problems with the images, you cannot resubmit either of them.

OK, so I bummed out. The email also went to say that the photos were ‘over filtered’ which I don’t understand because there wasn’t any filtering or editing of any of the pictures. They did suggest though that I take the photos at an earlier time so that there would be more light and not so many black areas. Oh well, I still like the photo.

Another thing you have to remember is not to upload any photos that have trademarks of any kind as these would also be rejected.

One thing I don’t understand about this mob is that when a photo is rejected they tell you what’s wrong with the photo so that you can fix the errors and resubmit it. So I took the photo again paying attention to what was required only to find out that it was rejected because I didn’t upload the same photo with the errors fixed? WTF? If they tell me that the composition was wrong or that the photo was out of focus how can I fix those errors without taking another photo.

Another thing that has me mystified is that on several occasions they’ve told me that my ‘white balance’ was incorrect. I don’t see how they can tell when they don’t know the actual color of the subject. Besides I’ve always left the auto white balance on, so does that mean that I shouldn’t use the auto white balance feature?

While frustrating I’m still going to persevere with them because I see it as being only a matter of time before my photography improves and I finally start making a bit of money from my hobby.

If you think your photos are of a good standard then perhaps you should consider joining Dreamstime so that you can make a bit of extra cash on the side.

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