Experimenting with a macro lens over the last week or two has opened up a whole new world for me and my photography. Attaching a macro lens to your camera allows you to see the world as if you were looking through a microscope. I discovered features that I didn’t know existed, I also discovered that it’s not as easy as I thought it would be but here are a few pointers to assist in your attempts at capturing the finer details in life.
One of the weird and wonderful creatures seen in this new dimension, found by Simon Max Bannister and photographed at our Easter Breakfast this year. Canon 7D with an EF 100mm f2.8 Macro shot at 1/400 sec at f5.6, ISO 500 – Photographed by Kate Neill
One of the smallest praying mantises that I have ever seen, about the size of my pinky finger nail. I loved his stance in this picture. Canon 7D with an EF 100mm f2.8 Macro shot at 1/320 sec at f2.8, ISO 1600 – Photographed by Kate Neill
The withering winter grass in the first light of day. Nikon D800 105mm f2.8 Macro, ISO 800, f16, 1/160. Photographed by Simon Smit
The first thing I noticed was the incredibly shallow depth of field, the amount of your photograph that is actually in focus is, at times, only a few millimeters. This can be extremely effective, it can help concentrate all the attention on one particular part of the photograph and blur the rest but it also has a down side. When hand holding your camera the slightest movement can mean that slither of focus is now nowhere close to where you had intended it to be. I found using something as a dead rest helped to combat this, either a tripod or a bean bag.
The incredible eyes of a chameleon are emphasised by the prehistoric ridges that run above them. Nikon D800 105mm f2.8 Macro, ISO 640, f5, 1/400. Photographed by Simon Smit
A large mantid grooms itself long enough to get a few photographs. ISO 1600, f7.1, 1/160. Photographed by Simon Smit
When taking photographs at night be particularly vigilant in using a bean bag. Canon 7D with an EF 100mm f2.8 Macro shot at 1/2500 sec at f2.8, ISO 2000 – Photographed by Kate Neill
Just briefly going back to the depth of field, it is surprisingly shallow and all the way down at an aperture of 2.8 very little is actually in focus at all. The lowest aperture I used was f4 and I took a whole lot of photos to get the one I wanted with the chameleon looking into the lens and getting the focus in the right place. I mentioned this as something to look out for but not to avoid completely, a shallow depth of field can be powerful if everything comes together.
So much to look at in this image, textures, shapes and colours not seen all that often. Nikon D800 105mm f2.8 Macro, ISO 1600, f9, 1/80. Photographed by Simon Smit
Even at f/10 the depth of field is limited on this hairy caterpillar. 1/100, f/10, ISO 500 – Photographed by Kate Neill
The incredible texture of a chameleons scales can be seen in this image. Nikon D800 105mm f2.8 Macro, ISO 1250, f7.1, 1/200. Photographed by Simon Smit
This is same mantid. The meticulous way it groomed itself reminded me of a leopard in some strange way. Nikon D800 105mm f2.8 Macro, ISO 1600, f7.1, 1/160. Photographed By Simon Smit
The ability of a macro lens to focus at incredibly short distances allows you to get extremely close to your subject. In getting so close it can be difficult to auto focus using the points on the camera, the point of interest on your subject can be close to the outer edge of the frame making it difficult. Don’t let this force you to get further away from your subject and lose some of your photograph’s intended impact. Rather, put your lens on manual focus and set it to the minimum focal length and then move toward your subject until it is in focus and then fine tune your focus from there on.
A golden orb spider shows all her beauty in the morning light, using manual focus I managed to get the perfect detail on her body. Canon 7D with an EF 100mm f2.8 Macro shot at 1/1000 sec at f2.8, ISO 640 – Photographed by Kate Neill
Canon 7D with an EF 100mm f2.8 Macro shot at 1/1600 sec at f2.8, ISO 640 – Photographed by Kate Neill
One last thing before having to go into serious detail, be aware of your background. Even though it is usually too blurred to see anything, using a certain colour or positioning in a way that you could cut down on any distraction and make your subject pop out more is advised. I used a piece of paper in one of my shots and used a flash which I found very effective.
Capturing this chameleon at night allowed me to have a pitch black background, really emphasising his colour. Canon 7D with an EF 100mm f2.8 Macro shot at 1/2500 sec at f2.8, ISO 2000 – Photographed by Kate Neill
The longest hairy caterpillar I have ever seen, I was scared to move it around too much so I guided him onto some sand in order to get the natural colour in the background. 1/1000 sec, f/3.2 ISO 500 – Kate Neill
A leaf katydid on a sheet of paper, the white background focuses all of the attention onto the subject. Nikon D800 105mm f2.8 Macro, ISO 800, f6.3, 1/200, flash. Photographed by Simon Smit
Playing with some back lighting on this caterpillar – a fun technique to try. Canon 7D with an EF 100mm f2.8 Macro shot at 1/1250 sec at f4.0, ISO 500 – Photographed by Kate Neill
Enjoy this less explored part of photography and experiment with different ideas and settings. I found I had more time to adjust settings with the smaller subjects than one normally has with the bigger animals and this allowed me to get the results I was aiming for.
Tell us what you think of the amazing detail captured in the photographs by posting a comment below.
Written by: Simon Smit
Photographed by: Simon Smit and Kate Neill
Absolutely fantastic. As an underwater macro-photographer I really appreciate what you have to go through to get the perfect shot. And you did! Every one tells a wonderful, private story. Well done!
Oh yes! Steady hand indeed is needed for this. Thank you Kate & Simon for these stunning images of “creatures” not often highlighted, but also beautiful in that part of Heaven you can call “home”! Look forward to the next episode of Macro 🙂
Simon, Kate, well done on bringing to our attention the smaller creatures – the golden orb spider and the hairy caterpillar were my favourites!
Ah, you Londolozi folks amaze me more all the time. What talent. What knowledge. What skill. What imagination. What fun. What sharing. Thanks for all you do, and thanks for keeping informed those of us not fortunate enough to be in your shoes at Londolozi.
You did a great job. Those are awesome! Loved them1
Wow! You captured some really fascinating shots! Love the head-on chameleon!
Thank you all for the comments! We had a great time capturing these less often looked at subjects! It’s so good to see that something a little different was enjoyed…
Great pics I love the chameleons…
Great work to both of you! This blog took alot of time and planning so well done!!Mike