Macro Photography of "Bugs from Work" Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 มิ.ย. 2022
- Occasionally, I see exciting insects while I'm at work, so I decided to start capturing them and making macro photographs of them at home after work. In this video, you'll see me using the Canon EOS R6 and the RF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens along with the Meike MK-320 flash to make these photos. All of the subjects were released unharmed.
Now that some time has passed and this video is finally about to go live I know there are serval mistakes that I made while making this video. The biggest is leaving my camera in its fastest drive mode. That made it difficult for my flash to regenerate before the next shot so my exposure was all over the place. I now have 4 more of these videos completed and my skills improve throughout the series. I've also started using a better diffuser made by Crafty Bells. I still have much to learn so any tips you have are appreciated.
If you would like to make a much-appreciated donation to help keep this channel going, send it to miataphil@gmail.com on Paypal or @phil-Thach on Venmo.
Now that some time has passed and this video has finally gone live I know there are serval mistakes that I made while making this video. The biggest is leaving my camera in its fastest drive mode. That made it difficult for my flash to regenerate before the next shot so my exposure was all over the place. I now have 4 more of these videos completed and my skills improve throughout the series. I've also started using a better diffuser made by Crafty Bells. I still have much to learn so any tips you have are appreciated.
Wow. Wonderful detail on Philadelphia! Keep still… last famous words for these tiny critters. Fun macro shots. Love those little colorful spots on that beatle too.
Great work Phil! I have always found macro photography to be very interesting, keep the vids coming!
Thank you, Ethan! If you find macro interesting you will be happy because over the next month or two I have at least five more macro videos coming. 🤓
Nice video Phil! The images were all very nice. I wondered about the drive mode. Looking forward to the next video.
Thank you, Bob! I set my camera up completely different for macro photography versus basically all other forms of photography. When I switch back to Macro, drive mode is what I forget the most so you will see some fast drive mode and later videos. Lol It’s a lot of fun working on these, thanks for watching!
Excellent!!!!
Thank you!
Good Job! Thanks
Thank you!
I'm always amazed at macro photography. Awesome shots of all the bugs and spiders! I enjoy seeing the process of getting the shot. That spider running all over the box looked hard to capture.
Macro is both fun and difficult. I've attempted to get good at it off and on for a few years. My efforts this summer have probably been my best so far.
Great video mate, lovely photos. I've only been lucky enough to find one jumping spider ever so far! Ive just ordered this lens which is how I found your video, can't wait to get it, macro is just the best 😁
Thank you! I hope you enjoy you new lens!
@@PhilThach thank you ☺
Nice macro images Phil! Looked like fun and work! Nice set up with the box.
Thank you, Bill! I made that box studio a long time ago for still life and product photography. I had no idea at the time that it would eventually be my bug studio! LOL
Wow. The details on Philadelphia are incredible! Keep still…. Last famous words for these tiny critters. Love the colorful speckled spots on the second to last beetle too. What fun.
Thank you and thanks for watching. I have a bunch of macro stuff on the way so I'm really glad you enjoyed it. It's macro season right now.
Great video Phil and loved the shots. Amazing how close you can get. Was a good idea putting them on white so you could see the details better. Thanks for sharing the video 👍🙏
Thank you, Adrian! It wasn't intentional but these images ended up looking a lot like the great Joel Sartore's work with the wild animals photographed in an all white area.
Those pictures were pretty cool! Loved the eyes on the Jumping Spider!
Thank you, Patricia!
Very nice!
Thank you, Greg!
Great video ! I think the first jumping spider is Phidippus clarus, ground beetle is Calosoma sayi (which isn't really common), and second spider is Metacyrba taeniola :)
Thank you!
We call them Ladybirds in UK ....yours is covered with butterfly wing scales. Great video :)
Thank you!
Hey Phil, excellent photos...great patience with photos and releasing the bugs. You and I are Disney World fans, so this reminds me of A Bugs Life at Animal Kingdom!!!
Thank you, Cesar! We love that show. I think it's called "It's tough to be a bug". It scared my daughter when she was very little but she likes it now.
That was great Phil, loved those little jumping spiders and the other species too:) The 2nd jumping spider looks like a Metacyrba taeinola. 😀
Thank you, Peter! It's funny looking back at this one because I have 5 of these done now. I've certainly improved between this one and the more recent ones. I think my RF 100 looks best at around f/11, some of the shots in this video are at f/16 and don't look as good. I'm really enjoying my spring and summer of "macro a little closer". LOL
Very nice shots! The R6 and R5 will also do a focus bracket of images that can be stacked in photoshop or another program. If you set the bracket at 8 to 12 shots or so spaced close together It'll give you a variety of differently focused images to pick from even if you just choose one image. I believe it may put a strain on the flash refresh rate but a lower power on the Flash might take care of that. Lower power on the Flash also greatly greatly decreases the amount of time that Flash is lit down to around 1/20,000th of a second. That freezes motion and increases details even at slower shutter speeds.
Thank you, Forrest! In the time since I made this, I've switched to using 1/4 and sometimes even 1/8 power on the flash which really helps. That is interesting about lower flash power having a shorter duration. I never thought of that. I'm looking forward to shooting a little further back when my R7 comes in which will give me more depth of field as we discussed recently.
Nice job. You have a steady hand. It also helps to use hi fps. Great shots.
Thank you, Donald!
Good job. I thought the lady bug would have flown away! I thought about Toy Story when the spider kept coming toward you....Go to the light!
Thanks, Mike! I didn't realize this video was a comedy until I showed it to my daughter and she couldn't stop laughing during the beetle shoot portion. Stay tuned to future episodes for bug flying off problems. LOL
Those photos are amazing, it would be great to get them on a leaf of some fine soil to make the background look more natural
Thank you! I’m going for more of a Joel Sartore look.
Interesting video. I have that lens and have never thought of extension tubes. I worry sometimes my subject is going to end up inside the lens hood.
Thank you! I virtually never use the lens hood during macro work. It gets in the way of the light from the flash.
Love taking pictures of the jumping spiders. I find them all the time on our backyard fence, actually took a couple of pictures of one this morning. Ours out here in Arizona are almost a tan color but I did see one that was pretty big for a jumping spider and very dark. Of course I didn't have my camera for that one 🤬🤬
They are very photogenic! Thanks for watching, Martin!
You should get a cygnustech diffuser 👍 best for macro
I have started using a "Crafty Bells" diffuser that is better than what I used in this and many other videos. I've never heard of the Cygnustech, I'll look into it. Thank you!
Hi Phil! I am really interested in macro photography and your videos are fascinating although looking at bugs really creeps me out. You can do macro and other things as well! I noticed in your other video you used a diffuser called a bonnet and this video you use the different one do you see a difference and do you recommend one over the other as opposed to not using a diffuser at all? If you are shooting in a studio scenario you can set up an off camera light with a softbox and don’t have to worry about the on camera flash correct? If you’re out in the woods chasing bugs I would expect you would need this set up. Also do you see a difference in quality and depth of field with the extension tubes versus no extension tubes? I’m curious what you recommend.
I recommend the "Crafty Bells" bonnet diffuser from the other video. That's what I'm using now. I have several videos coming where I use the diffuser from this video but the Crafty Bells is better. It's a little thicker, stays on the end of the lens better and the light it lets through is prettier for lack of a better word. I love other types of macro but I really love insect photography and right now that is what I'm concentrating on improving. I do have a couple of macro flower videos coming with fewer bugs. Extension tubes allow you to get closer to the subject, so if the subject is smaller than usual, the extension tubes help. However, like with other types of photography, the closer you are to the subject, the less depth of field there is so the extension tubes are a trade-off. You only need to diffuse the light on your subject so this diffuser works well. Photograph a car, get a huge softbox, photograph a bug, use something smaller. The bugs move so on-camera flash is probably the best for them, even in the studio. Thanks, Karen!
@@PhilThach I am so impressed that you are so talented and knowledgeable in so many genres. Bugs just creep me out! Hard to watch. Using extension tubes vs that lens you put on the front… is there a quality difference? Do you have a preference and comparison photos? Do you think you need a diffuser for flowers or just bugs?
@@KarenVaisman1 I think the quality is about the same between the Renox DCR 250 and the extension tubes, the extension tubes magnify a little bit less so they are easier to work with but really I prefer to work with just the lens by itself if I can. Heather finds some of the insect really cute and other ones she can’t stand to look at so I completely understand.
If you photograph bugs in the morning they are slow due to the cold. I wonder if you could cool/slow the bugs down a bit by putting them a while in fridge … Haven’t tried it. Don’t want living bugs in my home :)
I think you managed to take really good photos even though the bugs were running all over the place :)
I think the refrigeration idea is a good one, in fact, three viewers have suggested it. I'll try it at some point. Thank you!I already have 4 more of these videos completed so it may be a while before I try it. Thank you!
Your preference of not having living bugs in your home is wise! Spoiler alert, in some later episodes of “bugs from work“ I lose some bugs and never recapture them! Yikes! LOL 😂
Creepy and fascinating.
Have you ever considered refrigerating the models before their photo shoot?
Thank you, Leon! That is an interesting idea. I worry that the creatures will look unnatural if they are refrigerated but it might be worth a try on some of the more active ones!
that sounds a lot like animal cruelty. i hate spiders tbh but im pretty weirded out but that idea ngl
Why kind of extension pieces are you using?
Meike
Nah. You don't need to be getting a mortgage to take good macro photographs!
I appreciate that photography is a hobby (as it is for me) but sometimes throwing hundreds of $ at something isn't the answer. Sure it's nice to have good kit but honestly? Think outside the box...
You're a more mature gentleman like myself. You'll remember the early days of digital photography? Some of those cameras are still to be found and you'll be well aware that there are collectors of them. Collecting because old and interesting? Not always!
Take a look at the specs for those old original/early digital cameras and you'll be surprised. Yes the mp count is low but they can sometimes have great qualities to the glass. Some have focal points in the mm range. Yes - macro cameras. No DIY adjustments needed. Just get them set correctly and fire away.
$20 can land you an awesome macro camera from the early digital days. Sometimes the hardest part is finding a suitable memory card as many are discontinued!
I use my early macro camera for mineral specimens. The quality is good enough to win photography competitions - I've done that.
Interesting video but save your hard earned cash for better things.
A few minutes in the fridge is a very good way to slow down fast moving insects and spiders.
Great idea, thank you!
Hint: Put your bugs in the fridge. Chill 'em.
Thank you! I really do need to try that!