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Jay Bernstein
10-29-2010, 05:51 PM
I got a new Tamron 180mm Macro lens today and this was my first attempt to use it . Just went outback behind the house and started shooting any flower I could find. The lens is great but i think manual focus and on a tripod may prove to be better, as it was really windy. I used PSE and blurred out another flower in the bottom left and I cropped at about 40%.
Tamron 180mm Macro
ISO 100
F 4.5
1/800 sec.

Your comments/critiques are more than welcomed!
Jay Bernstein:cool:

WIlliam Maroldo
10-29-2010, 10:45 PM
Hi Jay! I haven't had a macro lens for long either, but the same principles apply as in any photography; the closer you are to a subject, the smaller the depth of field (DOF) any F stop will give you. Here you have used F4 which creates much too shallow a DOF, I'd guess a fraction of an inch, and much of your bee is OOF.You probably need F/16 or so, which in turn would require increasing of the amount of light (with a flash), increasing the ISO and/or decreasing the shutter-speed. regards~Bill

Steve Maxson
10-30-2010, 10:15 AM
Hi Jay. Welcome to the world of macro! It's always fun to get out and try the new gear. Bill has made some good points above. The shallow DOF is one of the main issues here - it looks like the sharpest focus is on the thorax, leaving the head/eye soft. As with birds, if the eye isn't sharp, the image isn't likely to work. Shooting at a higher f-stop would help with that. In terms of comp, I like the diagonal of the flower, but the image could use a little more canvas on both the top and bottom. Also, watch out for blown (or very bright) highlights on the flower as well as the bee. These can be reduced with some careful cloning, but use of a flash with diffuser can also help soften the light. These are a few things to keep in mind the next time you are out. Keep working at it - and send us more of your images. :)

Ken Childs
10-30-2010, 03:46 PM
Hey Jay, this isn't bad at all for the first day with a new lens. Steve and Bill covered the critique extremely well so I'll mention that a tripod can help in certain circumstances but it's best to figure out how to get the best results HH. Bugs like this rarely hold still while you setup your tripod. :)

Jerry van Dijk
10-30-2010, 03:59 PM
Hi Jay, you already caught a lot of detail, even with the low DOF. Looks promising for this lens! Great advice already given. Be careful not to cut off your subjects, like you did now with the flower (lower petal) and the wing of the bee.

Andrew McLachlan
10-30-2010, 07:32 PM
Hi Jay, agree with the previously mentioned comments. I have always found it best to work with a small flash in such situations. As Ken already said bugs don't usually sit still for long enough for us to set-up our tripods.

Mike Moats
10-31-2010, 06:49 AM
Hey Jay, you do have some areas that are nice and sharp, but just need to get you focus point on the eyes/head. I know it's hard working with moving subjects and tripod, so I shoot at daybreak during the cold part of the day when these critters are not as active and will sit still while you set your tripod.