macro 1

[Juan Russo]

canon 1Ds makII+105sigma+flash mr 14 ex
1/200

f-11
flash-1/3
iso800

[Chris Ober]

Nice catch. I would move the spider to the upper left instead of placing it direct center.

[Robert O'Toole]

The colorful subject really stands out on the dull BB. Nice pose and looks sharp but I would sharpen the eyes more.

Only big problem for me is the black BG makes the image look as if was taken at night. The Canon Macro flash systems are way too powerful and will totally over power the ambient light. I would set the flash in manual mode at 1/8 power and put diffusers on the flash heads. Anyway none of this matters if you like the midnight look and or the image was taken at night :)

Robert

[Mike Moats]

Hey Jaun, very cool spider, I wonder if you could have shot this guy without the flash. I think you did a great job on focus on the spider and the BG is interesting and works well. I agree with Robert about the black in the BG.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Juan,
Although i don't mind the blacks..........if you had taken this at 1/100th.......it would have added more ambient light......thus making the blacks maybe dark green. I would take off a bit on the left as this will put the spider more on a diagonal. Nicely seen and composed!

[Robert O'Toole]

Hi Juan,
Although i don't mind the blacks..........if you had taken this at 1/100th.......it would have added more ambient light......thus making the blacks maybe dark green. I would take off a bit on the left as this will put the spider more on a diagonal. Nicely seen and composed!

Only problem Roman, the extra stop of light would not have changed a thing if the image really was taken at night :) We could both be wrong you know :)

This thread brings up something I never been able to figure out.
If you shoot an Egret in nice soft warm evening or morning light and put your flash Ex Comp at +2/3 and set the camera to Manual at 1/250 at F16, you should get a properly exposed subject.

Problem is you will end up with an obvious flash lit Egret against a totally pitch black BG that doesnt represent the true scene at all.

Now if you put your flash at zero or -2/3 and set your camera for the correct ambient exposure (1/250 at F4 for ex) you will end up with an Egret against a true accurate soft pink BG.

So why in the world do people accept pitch black BG macro images but not pitch black BG bird images (birds in shade or creative lighting back lit images excluded of course) that look like they were photographed......at midnight? Its a double standard isnt it?

Just wondering out loud.

Robert

[Roman Kurywczak]

So why in the world do people accept pitch black BG macro images but not pitch black BG bird images (birds in shade or creative lighting back lit images excluded of course) that look like they were photographed......at midnight? Its a double standard isnt it?

Just wondering out loud.

Robert[/quote]

Hey Robert,
Personally speaking..........I don't mind black BG's with birds and for the life of me I don't know why people don't accept/like them! Here's a perfect example when I find it acceptable;

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=12007

Just like in macro they don't always work............they certainly aren't always going to work with birds! I might ask a very similar question with "high key" images..............they seem to be all the rage in the bird forums.........but if you posted a high key sky in lanscapes......I'd promptly point you to my signature :D......and tell you you need to fix it! I think this brings up an interesting point..........if you truly like the black/white BG.........shouldn't really matter what we say.........after all.........they are only suggestions to bring the image to the accepted "norm"..........which changes every so often!

I hope others chime in with thier opinions!

[Robert O'Toole]

Personally speaking..........I don't mind black BG's with birds and for the life of me I don't know why people don't accept/like them! Here's a perfect example when I find it acceptable;

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=12007

Uh oh, you missed my point. This example, which I like by the way, was taken at the Alligator Farm, I was there at the time, and was an example of a image with subject in the sun in front of the shade of a large tree and dark water. This isnt even a flash image.

I like Black or dark BGs just not BGs that appear to be black when they are not.

My question was in regards to images of birds with flash against a black BG that was not black when the picture was taken.



Just like in macro they don't always work............they certainly aren't always going to work with birds! I might ask a very similar question with "high key" images..............they seem to be all the rage in the bird forums......... but if you posted a high key sky in lanscapes......I'd promptly point you to my signature :D......and tell you you need to fix it!

Why, because the sky is missing and not true to life right? Then I should rephrase my origional question; why is it acceptable to most macro photographers to totally lose the BG when they use flash? With one of my high key macro images i posted a week or 2 ago, it was highkey because the flower was growing in white sand so the light BG was true to life. But when a photographer frames an insect against a green background that goes totally black in the capture process why doesnt he hit delete and properly expose the image to be true to life. I dont know if there will ever be answer to that.


I think this brings up an interesting point..........if you truly like the black/white BG.........shouldn't really matter what we say.........after all.........they are only suggestions to bring the image to the accepted "norm"..........which changes every so often! I hope others chime in with thier opinions!

Sorry to sound like a scratched CD but the issue I posed wasnt about Black or White it was about green, blue, white, orange, brown incorrectly recorded as black. Having a black or white BG isnt a problem at all and I agree with you, its up to the viewer and the photographer.

Hope some other people will give us their opinions also.

Robert

[adcolon]

I like it a lot. It is a crab spider. Araña Cangrejo.