Yay or nay, D. Fishing Spider?

[gregpphoto]

I know what I think, I just wanna see what the public feels about this one. Made using the backwards 50mm macro trick.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3006/2916999571_a4c9d3318b_o.jpg

[marjnap]

I like it, reminds me of "The Mist" for some weird reason.

[Picture North Carolina]

To me upon first glance, it was a little disorienting. For a second or two I was not sure which way was up. The background bokeh looks real, but the blurring at bottom and especially the leg at lower left looks sorta fake. Was that PP'ed?

[gregpphoto]

No pp for the blur. The backwards 50 macro trick gives you such an incredibly shallow DOF that to get this gal's eyes in focus, it took at least 40 or 50 shots. Theres no "focus" you just move the camera back and forth till something is in focus!

[Bill Boehme]

From the perspective of a technical challenge, I would say that you triumphed, but from a composition perspective it might not have quite been worth the great effort primarily because of the very small amount of the image that is in relatively good focus.

[gregpphoto]

Yea, that was my thought exactly, at first. Then I let the image wash over me, or rather, consume me!, and I think it's as scary as a photo can be. I want people to look at it and be immediately drawn to the eyes and face, how they seem to pop out of the blurriness.

[Preita]

I love it, the blur and the sharpness adds such a striking contrast. What I'm having a problem with is the composition. I tilt my head to really look at it the way I want. Have you tried rotating it?

[gregpphoto]

Haha yea I have. This was the way it was shot, and often I will rotate photos, but I liked how this was one. I wanted it to look like it was coming down on you, like the beast is gaining on you!

[Preita]

I feel ya. I still really like it. I think it's quite a great shot & the DOF is to die for :)

[chris1965]

Nice! did you use a lens baby?

[aram535]

I sort of like it, but I think you needed a bigger depth of view by a few more millimeters. Also, the drop off from IN to OOF is just too harsh of an edge right now right in the middle of the animal that is distracting.

Not sure how you would increase your DOF in combination of a backwards lens but I'm sure someone has a post on it somewhere.

[DigitalSpecialist]

Nice to see a photographer using the tricks of OLD. I love the shot, good work. Greg, Thank you for reminding me of the good old days!

[gregpphoto]

Thanks, digital spec! I loved the idea of having a rudimentary macro when I first heard about it. When I finally remembered to try it out I was floored by the bokeh.

Once off the camera, the lens is at it's max aperture (you could hold down the DOF preview button while releasing the lens and it will have the aperture it was set to but when I tried it it had no effect on the outcome of the photo). I don't know for sure what power the backwards 50mm will magnify at, but I'm pretty sure it's in the ballpark of 2-3x. From what I've read, magnification determines the max DOF you can have.

http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/tutorials/macro_lenses.html

1x - DOF @ f2.8 = +/- 0.1mm
1x - DOF @ f8.0 = +/- 0.3mm
1x - DOF@ f16 = +/- 0.6mm
0.5x - DOF @ f2.8 = +/- 0.3mm
0.5x - DOF @ f8.0 = +/- 0.9mm
0.5x - DOF @ f16 = +/- 1.8mm