New to macro, need advice/help

[d.tek]

first off - happy holidays everyone!

for christmas i recieved a canon 100mm macro. its an amazing lens, samurai sword sharp, and acts as a great portrait lens. my question is, i see a lot of you guys capturing bugs with such vivid detail. it seems to me i have to get so close to anything to get a good 1:1 magnification. How are you guys tip-toeing around bugs like flies and such and not scaring them away? I have a tripod, but its so clunky and ameteurish that i feel like it would be more of a hassle than a help :(

any suggestions would be of so much help thanks guys!!

[LordV]

Congrats on the lens. Many of us handhold the lens for bug shots or use whatever support you can find around (often bits of yourself) - I often use a bean pole which I hold in my left hand and just grab whatever bit of camera I can. A lot of the shots you see in the macro section use flash (camera in manual 1/200th, iso100, F11) flash in ettl. This helps freeze any motion.
Some tips on not scaring off bugs here- http://www.flickr.com/groups/macroviewers/discuss/72057594073223102/

Brian V.

[metjbb]

Thank you for the link Brian. The tips will come in handy.

barbara

[John_B]

d.tek,
Congrats on your macro lens and welcome to the forum :)
How are you guys tip-toeing around bugs like flies and such and not scaring them away?
I try to get them unharmed in there natural environment which can be hard and I need to approach very slowly and quietly, and a lot of them get scared away ;)

[Tony-S]

Some tips on not scaring off bugs here- http://www.flickr.com/groups/macroviewers/discuss/72057594073223102/

Brian V.

Brian - Excellent listing. One other that I use for most non-predatory insects is coming at them straight on. While they all detect lateral movement very well, they detect head-on movement less so. Of course, the predators have very good vision for just about any kind of movement so this doesn't work so well from them. Nothing like looking at a praying mantis at 1:2, then having it turn and lock its eyes on you. It's like something from a 1950s SciFi horror movie...

[gasrocks]

Do not get too frustrated trying to do bugs with your 100mm, it is hard. You really need a longer lens to do bugs well. 150-300mm. Would give you a nice comfortable working distance.

[swimjax]

I, too, have a 100mm and am new to macro. I also just purchased a set of diopters (close up filters) from Hoya. It was about $100 for a set of 3 (+1, +1, +4) from Adorama.

[bokchoi]

For capturing bugs, I find the time of day and ambient temperature play a vital role in my success rate.

I find the best time to go bug-shooting in the summer is early morning, and in the autumn, early evening right before dusk or on cool days in general; the cooler temperatures calm down active bugs quite a bit and give you a chance to get in close. I've been able to easily get within 3 inches of flies, damselflies, dragonflies, and bumblebees on cooler days, but very rarely can I do this on the warmer ones.

I won't actually have owned a proper macro lens until next week; up to now, I've been using my Sigma 70-300 APO DG and a 50mm 1.4 with Kenko tubes. That said, I notice now that I use the Sigma more in the summer (almost 3 feet of working distance, 1:2 magnification) and my 50mm + tubes more in the late summer / fall (about 2 inches or less of working distance, but close to 2:1 magnification).

Other things you can do to avoid scaring away bugs is to keep your camera at eye level and to stay low while creeping; doing so reduces your profile a bit so it takes the bugs a little while longer to notice your approach. I also don't think I've ever made a good bug shot with a lens hood mounted; they seem to increase the profile of your camera to the bugs enough that they will almost always fly away before you can capture them.

If you're a bit crazy like me, spend a few days using the 50mm + tubes or any other very short-range macro setup, and you'll find yourself learning stealth and how to creep up to bugs very quickly :)