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Carel v/d Sanden
03-05-2012, 07:09 AM
After a long winter without insects yesterday the first photographed in 2012.
It's a Hairy red forest ant.
50% crop

Camera Model Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Date/Time 4-3-2012 9:45:05
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/200
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
ISO Speed 200
Lens EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM en 36mm extension tube
Flash 430EXII
Flash On
Flash Type External E-TTL
E-TTL II flash metering Evaluative flash metering
Shutter curtain sync 1st-curtain sync
White Balance Mode Flash
109713

bhavya joshi
03-06-2012, 08:07 AM
Well macro.. Like the diagonal one. some parts of ants look soft to me. I think you need to take narrow aperture.
I am also trying this ants macro in this weekend, but canon 100mm 2.8 canon does not for it. Did you try ant ants shot with this lens..?? I take couple of shot with 100mm 2.8, but image comes with white spot and 0 details. Any idea??

Steve Maxson
03-07-2012, 02:31 PM
Hi Carl. Good to see you back here again. The ant gave you a good pose and I like the diagonal comp and the clean background. Good sharpness within your DOF - though I would wish for a little more depth. To my eye, the image has a "flashed" look (always an issue with shiny-bodied macro subjects) and you might consider carefully cloning some of the flash-generated spectral highlights. Using an effective diffuser would greatly help to soften the light from the bare flash. :S3: I hope to see more of your work now that spring is arriving!

jack williamson
03-07-2012, 06:08 PM
I like the perch, BG, comp, and the ant is sharp. Nice shot of a small subject.

Jack

Carel v/d Sanden
03-07-2012, 06:29 PM
Hi Steve
The life of the insect comes back slowly.
Now we wait for better weather, it's raining and blowing hard now.
But the beginning is made​​.

What a dufuser you mean?

Steve Maxson
03-07-2012, 09:22 PM
Hi Steve


What a dufuser you mean?

Carel - I was thinking of something like the Westcott Micro Apollo softbox that attaches to the front of your flash. A number of companies make a similar product. The key is to get the flash & diffuser as close to your subject as possible and vary the power of the flash until you get a "natural-looking" lighting. I hope this helps. :S3:

Carel v/d Sanden
03-08-2012, 03:11 AM
Steve
Thank you for your reply.
this was the first time I used a flash.
I am going to take practice, especially for small insects.

Ken Childs
03-08-2012, 10:11 AM
Hi Carel, it's great to see you posting again! I really like the shot but I agree with Steve that it does have a flashed look to it. Steve has some great suggestions of what to try when shooting but there are a few things that might help this shot in PP. Try using a selective color adjustment and add some black to the whites, then adjust the highlights in shadows/highlights. I would also consider cropping a little from the left.