Bees and another hoverfly

spent a few hours yesterday shooting bugs in the garden (about 2gb of raw worth)
this is the best of what i shot
C+C welcome, please - tell me how to improve them

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Nice shots. Especially the one of the bee in flight.

All amazing shots... The first one took my breath away!

Excellent series- what camera/lens and EXIF ?
Wonderful hoverfly in flight shot.
Although the compositions work in all these cases try to remember not too have the subject slap bang in the middle of the pic by giving it more room in the direction it's facing (bit difficult for #1 though).

Brian V.

LordV wrote in post #2596452
Excellent series- what camera/lens and EXIF ?
Wonderful hoverfly in flight shot.
Although the compositions work in all these cases try to remember not too have the subject slap bang in the middle of the pic by giving it more room in the direction it's facing (bit difficult for #1 though).

Brian V.

all shot with mk2n, sigma 24-70 f2.8 with 2x TC (i cant afford a macro lens yet and this seems to work)
all use 580EX with stofen
the last three were using a 430EX triggered by the 580 as well (being hand held above the hood)
the hoverfly was /200 @f11 (INVALID EMAIL) 200 Iso
the bees were 1/100 and 1/125 - f11 and 200 Iso
the fly was /640 @f8 (INVALID EMAIL) 400 iso

have you ever tried holding a 1series, about 1kg of lens plus flash up with one hand ? - your wrist, arm and shoulder start hurting after about 45 seconds

ill try what you suggest regarding composition too

Sounds more like body building than photography
Did wonder about the lens- not quite the detail you can achieve with a dedicated macro lens but excellent pics none the less with the focus spot on.
Brian V.

LordV wrote in post #2596555
Sounds more like body building than photography
Did wonder about the lens- not quite the detail you can achieve with a dedicated macro lens but excellent pics none the less with the focus spot on.
Brian V.

thank you, i wound up sitting the lens through the elbow of my free arm and twisting my wrist over to hold the 2nd flash, it wasnt to comfortable either but better than trying to hold the whole lot in one hand

regarding the lens, it works fairly well for what it is. the sigma 24-70 is very sharp by itself, not quite so good with the TC
it wont AF with the TC on, it just hunts so i manually focus or just set it to minimum and rock back and forth till the subject appears to be the sharpest
the 1d although heavy works better than my 350d due to the better focusing screen, i can actually see when the subject is sharp.

i wont be getting a dedicated macro lens (or even ext tubes) for quite a while, i have a holiday and a wedding to save for at the moment, next on my list of things to get will be a off camera cord, just so i can try a few different things with the flash (think large softbox near hood on the lens)
i have found chasing bugs or sitting in the garden waiting for them to be a good way for me to relax, i enjoy doing it and will continue to try to improve my work by posting here and asking everyone to comment, i will try to comment on the work of others in a way that is helpful too but at the moment im still learning

#2 is my favourite even though the bee isn´t fully visible, great pics!

Echo63 wrote in post #2596662
regarding the lens, it works fairly well for what it is. the sigma 24-70 is very sharp by itself, not quite so good with the TC
it wont AF with the TC on, it just hunts so i manually focus or just set it to minimum and rock back and forth till the subject appears to be the sharpest
the 1d although heavy works better than my 350d due to the better focusing screen, i can actually see when the subject is sharp.

i wont be getting a dedicated macro lens (or even ext tubes) for quite a while, i have a holiday and a wedding to save for at the moment, next on my list of things to get will be a off camera cord, just so i can try a few different things with the flash (think large softbox near hood on the lens)
i have found chasing bugs or sitting in the garden waiting for them to be a good way for me to relax, i enjoy doing it and will continue to try to improve my work by posting here and asking everyone to comment, i will try to comment on the work of others in a way that is helpful too but at the moment im still learning

Most of us here use manual focus anyway, once you get the hang of it you get a higher number of keepers than with AF even if it is functioning.

Whatever you do as you say the main thing is to enjoy it

Brian V.

Echo63 wrote in post #2596530
have you ever tried holding a 1series, about 1kg of lens plus flash up with one hand ? - your wrist, arm and shoulder start hurting after about 45 seconds

This made me laugh. I use a 1D, Sigma 150mm, flash bracket, offshoe adaptor and flash, which is around 3.5kg all up. You get used to the weight, although I have quite strong forearms anyways.

Nice shots, you're definitely getting there, especially with the current setup. Love the hoverfly shot as well, they're hard to get.

Dave

WOW
Excellent shots there. #1 is breathtaking, well done. Excellent lighting techniqus as well.

Echo63 wrote in post #2596530
have you ever tried holding a 1series, about 1kg of lens plus flash up with one hand ? - your wrist, arm and shoulder start hurting after about 45 seconds

My rig is about 2 kG. Let me tell you, last summer I suffered arm and wrist problems that needed the whole winter (no bugs ) to recover.

Keep them coming

Regards

Echo63 wrote in post #2596530
have you ever tried holding a 1series, about 1kg of lens plus flash up with one hand ? - your wrist, arm and shoulder start hurting after about 45 seconds

ill try what you suggest regarding composition too

Verry nice shots!!! Realy like the 1st one!!

If you think that's heavy... you should realy try using my set up... 20D + extention tubes + sigma 150mm macro + bracket and remote cable + 2 flash.... so... that add's up to about 2.3Kg....

Kallousa, JPVaz and DPastern
i dont have any problems holding my camera up using both hands, when im holding it with one hand and using the other hand to hold a 430EX it gets difficult, especially to try and keep it still enough to get good shots
if i ever get another flash unit (the one i was using wasnt mine) i will get a good bracket, i shouldnt have any problems then

Lovely series

Great series.

Very impressed with the headon shot.
Think it might a hoverfly rather than a bee though.