Reverse Lens Macro: Close Up Photography Lesson

This is the third in a series of four lessons on close-up and macro photography by Andrew S Gibson, author of Up Close: A Guide to Macro & Close Up Photography.

In my previous articles I looked at two easy techniques for getting closer to your subject – using close-up lenses and extension tubes (you can catch up on them here and here).
In this lesson I’m going to take a look at a technique you can use to get even closer – reverse lens macro.
If you already own a 50mm prime or standard kit lens (around 18-55mm focal length range) then reverse lens macro is also the least expensive way there is to get up close.
The reverse lens technique involves turning the lens around so that the rear element points outwards, and the front element faces the camera body. You can buy special adapters to attach the reversed lens to either your camera body or another lens.

If you haven’t seen this in action before, it may seem like bit of a strange thing to do. But it works. The above diagram shows why. In normal use, a 50mm lens focuses light from far away so that the image is much smaller and can be recorded by a digital sensor or on film.
Reverse the lens and the opposite occurs. The 50mm lens magnifies what it sees, giving near life-size reproduction.
There are two ways you can use the reverse lens technique:

1. Single lens reverse macro

Use a reversing ring (illustrated above) to attach your reversed lens to your camera. You can buy these adapters inexpensively from Amazon or eBay. One side screws into the end of your lens like a filter, the other attaches to your camera’s lens mount.

The photo above shows how it works.
This technique works well if you have a lens with a manual aperture ring. Depth-of-field decreases as you get closer to your subject, and at the high magnifications obtained by reversing a 50mm lens, you need to stop down to increase the zone of sharpness.
If your reversed lens doesn’t have a manual aperture ring, you can’t stop down and are forced to work at the maximum aperture of your lens. However, don’t let this stop you trying out this technique – take a look at the work of Roni, who uses a reversed 50mm lens at its widest aperture, to take some beautiful photos.

2. Twin lens reverse macro< ?h3>
Use a coupling ring (shown above) to attach your reversed lens to another lens. The reversed lens acts like a powerful close-up filter (I covered close-up filters in more depth here).
A reversed 50mm lens has a strength of +20 diopters. A reversed 24mm lens has a strength of +41.6 diopter. Considering the most powerful close-up lens I know of has a strength of +10 diopter, you can see how powerful this technique is.

The above photo shows how I use this technique. I attach a reversed 50mm lens to my 85mm prime lens. In this set-up, the 85mm lens is called the primary lens and the reversed lens the secondary lens.
You can try this with any lens as the primary lens. The longer the focal length, the more magnification you’ll achieve. The important thing is that the filter thread sizes match, or are close to each other, so you buy a coupling ring that will join them together. You have the option of using a coupling ring combined with a stepping ring if you need to.
The advantage of twin lens reverse macro is that you can leave the reversed lens open at its widest aperture. You stop down the primary lens instead to increase depth-of-field.
Depending on the lens that you attach the reversed lens to, you can achieve up to 3x life-size reproduction. That’s three times as close as most macro lenses.
Caring for the reversed lens
The reversed lens technique does leave the rear element of your reversed lens open to the elements. You should always take care with the reversed lens to avoid scratching the exposed element.

If you have an extension tube, you can attach it to the reversed lens (see photo above). This helps protect the rear element and also acts as a lens hood.
Image sharpness
The reversed lens technique gets you so close to the subject that it’s virtually impossible to hand-hold the camera. For best results, use a tripod to keep the camera steady, and a cable release to fire the shutter.
I find it best to use this set-up indoors, especially for delicate subjects like flowers. If you try it outside, the slightest breeze will move the flower and spoil the photo.
For best results (in terms of image sharpness) stop down the primary lens to at least f4. This increases the depth-of-field and also avoids softening of the image that can happen when you use the twin lens reverse macro technique with the primary lens at it’s widest aperture settings.
Lighting

You can use natural light to illuminate your subject, as long as you don’t mind using a tripod and long shutter speeds to obtain the required exposure.

You can also use flash. You don’t need a specialised macro flash – I use a Canon Speedlite with a small softbox. That’s all I used to take the above photo. The diagram shows the set-up.
Kit lenses

I’ve used a 50mm prime lens to illustrate this article, but don’t forget you can try this out with just about any lens, although 50mm seems to be the ideal focal length. Kit lenses like the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS II pictured above work great.

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Source : http://digital-photography-school.com

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7 Tips for Improving Your Wildlife Photography

Ever since digital SLR technology has become more readily available, more and more people have become photography enthusiasts, and more and more photography enthusiasts have started venturing into a genre previously reserved for only a select few…Wildlife Photography. It seems that this field, in conjunction with Landscape Photography, has really seen a huge growth spurt in these last few years…at least as it pertains to the amount of people practicing them as serious hobbyists or budding professionals. This is especially true in my native country of South Africa, where it’s long been many a family’s tradition to visit legendary self-drive safari locations such as the Kruger National Park. Having neighbouring countries like Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe also doesn’t affect this trend negatively!
Yet, spend some time on your favourite online photography forum (at least those that allow the posting of photos) or on other sites like Facebook, Google+ or Flickr where photo-sharing is common…and you might notice that not every photo taken of a wild animal really speaks to you. I’m not sure whether many folks just snap away and hope the image comes out half-decent, or whether many just think that they’re doing their subjects justice when the truth cannot be further from it. Let me say outright that no offence is intended and I also take photos that fall into these categories – in fact I do it on every photographic trip that I undertake. Yet, it’s stepping beyond that and getting that rare image that ticks all the right boxes that we all need to strive for, and to be prepared when the opportunity comes along to capture it.

In today’s article, I will attempt to provide you with some easy-to-apply tips or advice for improving your Wildlife Photography. Some of them might seem like common sense, and you’ve probably read a similar list of “how-to’s” elsewhere, but remember that common sense is not so common at all these days and that everyone has their own take on things, however similar they may be. I do think I will cover a few points that are not just based on pure technical skill – photography is after all an art-form, and sometimes we need to be freed up to put down the vision we have in our mind’s eye rather than stick to conventions and norms.
Here is a quick overview of the points I will cover in this post:

1. Know your gear
2. Know your subject
3. Know the “rules” | Break the “rules”
4. Work the light
5. Shoot wider | Shoot Closer
6. The More, the Merrier
7. How low can you go???
8. The Content-Technicals Dichotomy
9. Patience isn’t a virtue…it’s a necessity
10. BE THERE & ENJOY IT!

These are the points I try to cover when leading a photographic safari or presenting a workshop as well. Take note that I include the genre of Bird Photography in my definition of Wildlife Photography.
Let’s get cracking, shall we?

1. KNOW YOUR GEAR

This sounds like the biggest cliche?…but you know it’s true. The really great action-packed moments in wildlife photography last on average (based on my experience) between 5 and 20 seconds. If you are not intrinsically familiar with the settings of your camera or the abilities of your chosen lens, you WILL either miss it or blow the images you do manage to capture.

• Know what the minimum shutter speed is at which you can obtain a sharp image with your camera/lens combo;
• Know the added margins that the in-camera or in-lens stabilisation gives you;
• Know how to quickly toggle between focus points or focus modes;
• Know how high you can push your camera’s ISO setting and still achieve acceptable results…

In general, I like to say you need to be able to make most, if not all, of the necessary adjustments to your exposure/focus settings without lifting your eye from the viewfinder. The action you see between the cheetahs in the following image lasted all of 10 seconds, even though we sat with them for more than an hour.

2. KNOW YOUR SUBJECT

Goes without saying, right? Since much of wildlife photography is based upon capturing fleeting moments of natural history (read: interesting poses or behaviour), it pays to be able to somewhat predict your subject’s behaviour beforehand. Given, not every species is as predictable as the next, but there are patterns of behaviour ingrained into every animal species. Knowing your subject can make the difference between being ready and prepared for capturing that “golden moment” and watching it fly by you in agony. There is only one way to get to know wildlife…spend time with them. Don’t just hang around for a few minutes and seek out the next subject if the one you are observing or photographing isn’t delivering the goods. Sit with them. Watch them. Wait. This also ties into patience, which I will discuss in more detail later. The image below was captured by knowing what the Lilac-Breasted Roller was going to do to its grasshopper-lunch, and being ready for it.

3. KNOW THE “RULES” | BREAK THE “RULES”

There are certain unwritten rules that form the foundation of good photography – regardless of genre. And of course then there are certain “rules” that find their application mostly in the genre of Wildlife Photography. Understanding proper exposure and the use of the histogram, for example…and proper composition using a guideline like the “rule of thirds” are all important aspects to ingrain in your subconscious and to incorporate in your ability to instantly capture that fleeting moment properly.
In this genre, much is made about eye contact with the subject, as this gives “life” to the image. In the case of Avian Photography (Birds), this gets taken a step further in the sense that the “head angle” in relation to the camera’s imaging sensor needs to be at least perpendicular to it, but ideally turned a few degrees towards the sensor (and obviously thus turned towards the viewer who ultimately gets to view the image captured by the sensor).
The image below, for example, follows strong “rule-of-thirds” compositional guidelines.

Once you know the “rules” and the guidelines, and once you know when and how to apply them, it’s time to start breaking out from them. Test the boundaries a bit, you know? You don’t want your photos to always look like stock-standard images that every second photographer is getting. Take a look at the image below. I mentioned the “need” for eye contact. Yet sometimes it can work to shoot an image in which the subject is not giving the photographer eye contact, as this often means the animal is busy with something else, too busy to turn its attention to you.

4. WORK THE LIGHT

The first piece of advice I got from a professional wildlife photographer when I started shooting, is to stick to the hours of golden light. This means getting up early in the morning and being in the field before sunrise, and going out in the afternoon to make the most of the last hours of sunlight. The light over midday (mostly between 11h00 and 16h00, at least where I live) is generally harsh and robs images of that spunk that it needs. The exception is an overcast day, when the clouds act like a massive soft-box to filter out the light evenly. On days like that I shoot all day as long as there are willing subjects!
Since photography is all about painting with light, you need to know how to use the light to your best advantage in wildlife photography as well. Often we will find ourselves in a position where the light isn’t ideal, or, heaven forbid, the light is sweet but from the wrong direction…and we also aren’t always in a position to move around to a better spot. The good news is that light from the wrong direction can add lots of mood to an image. Shooting into the light is tricky to pull off, but if you adhere to tip #1 (Know your Gear) you can get some pretty interesting images from a less-than-ideal light position. The image below is one such a photo.

5. SHOOT WIDER | SHOOT CLOSER

Too many wildlife photographers get fixated on what I call the “focal-length debacle”, where it becomes an obsession to have the longest/biggest lens possible. Now I know this is location-dependant as you might need more than 600mm just to get any shot at all in certain wide-open spaces, but the issue I want to tackle is more related to our obsession to get as close as possible to the animals and isolate them totally from their environment. The result is often an image that looks like it could be taken of a captive subject in a controlled location, with a perfect smooth background and no idea of the real environment in which it finds itself.
Challenge yourself to shoot at a wider angle to give the viewer a better idea of where you took the image and where your subject has to carve out a living in the wild. This is applicable to any species you photograph – from the squirrel to the deer to the elephant. The elephant below was photographed with a wide-angle lens and a polarising filter to give you a sense of the environment as well as to make the most of the clouds and sky.

The flip side to shooting wider is – you guessed it – shooting closer…and I mean REALLY CLOSER. Get in-your-face close (by moving your position or by changing effective focal length by using a longer lens with optional teleconverter) to create different and interesting studies of the animals/birds you photograph. This will also help you think in terms of more abstract compositional arrangements. Have a look at this photo of a Cape Buffalo for example.

6. THE MORE, THE MERRIER

No real intricate explanation needed on this one. In wildlife photography – one is company, and two is often a crowd, especially when there’s food or shelter involved. If you have a good view of more than one member of a species – stay a while! Look at the images below. First up – a solitary African Spoonbill, minding its own business on a perch, happy as can be. Throw another Spoonbill into the mix, and you have a recipe for good interaction.

7. HOW LOW CAN YOU GO???

This is not a trick question, nor is it a call to be “Jack-be-nimble-Jack-be-quick” and do the limbo. The point-of-view of a wildlife photograph is just about everything. How you portray your subject can make all the difference in the world. In short – try to get an eye-level perspective (even lower if you can). This brings the viewer of your image right into the scene and confronts them with the view of the world from your subject’s perspective. Obviously “eye level” is relative (you will pretty much always be at a lower perspective than for example a giraffe), but you get the idea. Always bear in mind the constraints of your environment. In most reserves in South Africa you are not allowed to get out of your vehicle in the field. This restricts you to a certain perspective.
Look at these images for illustration. The first African Painted Dog was photographed from an open game viewer. The result is a somewhat bland shot – nothing special in my eyes. The second one, however, was taken lying flat on my stomach in a sandy riverbed not 20 meters from the pack of canines, and the Alpha Male was checking me out…this perspective makes the image come alive.

Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/10-tips-for-improving-your-wildlife-photography#ixzz20wtEgRBi

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Using HDR instead of Fill Flash to Deal with High Dynamic Range

HDR has made a very negative name for itself but in some situations it can be a life saver. One instance where I have started to use it recently is in situations where I would have previously used fill flash if I wanted a more even exposure.
To experiment with this method I set up a deliberately problematic scene. A gloomy garage with window light reflecting on a metal surface. Dark shadows and extreme highlights on the subject – a car. Fill flash can also be used to reduce the contrast in a scene by artificially lightening the shadows. With window lit scenes or shiny subjects you can get an annoying flash reflection or odd shadows so I decided not to use flash and try the HDR route.
I set up an initial shot with just basic settings. Normal exposure with a small amount of negative exposure compensation to reduce highlight burn. A low iso to maximise available dynamic range. On checking the histogram and the blinkies in image review it was obvious it was going to need something extra. The result was the car1 image.

I tried the 4EV in the HDR menu as a starting point. That was better but still not adequate. Judging by the histogram only the maximum 6EV setting would be enough. There was still a little amount of highlight burn but as that was mainly a window reflection on metal it was fine. It is also worth experimenting further with positive and negative exposure compensation and checking the histogram and blinkies to see which combination of HDR, low iso and exposure compensation gives you the most pleasing results. Change one value at a time and review the image each time to see whether your changes are an improvement. The final result was car2.jpg.

Without knowing it was an HDR you’d probably have no idea as it is not the sort of scene you generally associate with it. As can be seen from the original car1 image the shadows are dark and there is a burnt out highlight on the bodywork. In the HDR car2 image you have some background detail, detail in the shadows and the highlight is also more controlled. The difference is quite subtle but it looks more of a balanced exposure and natural scene.
To create an HDR without an in built mode on your camera you need to use the bracketing function and bracket over the same distance eg 4 ev so -2, 0 & +2 with 3 exposures. Generally 3 or 5 images are sufficient. You can then use software to combine them. The most common of which is photomatix. It will probably need some more tweaking as generally photomatix seems to err on the side of garish.
Other situations scream HDR loudly so I no longer bother even trying with normal exposure.

The church sceneis one such situation. As soon as I walked in I knew. 5EV seemed to be about right to retain some mystery. 6EV seemed to over emphasize the green reflection from the window which I didn’t want. It’s quite common for churches not to want flash photography so this was ideal. I’m also a tripod hater so having a method which generally allows hand holding is also high up on my list.
Using HDR in these situations has proved to me that it has a real use in photography.

Source :  http://digital-photography-school.com

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Review Nikon Coolpix P510 Digital Camera - Red + Case and 8GB Memory Card (16.1MP, 42x Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD

 

Technical Details

• Highly sensitive, back-illuminated 16.1MP CMOS sensor and EXPEED C2 processor - means even clearer shots in low light situations
• Record-breaking NIKKOR 42x wide-angle optical zoom lens (24-1000mm equivalent) - go further with powerful wide-angle to super telephoto coverage. From group shots to close-ups, this lens offers superb precision and sharp resolution
• Advanced Lens Shift Vibration Reduction (VR) - Nikon's second-generation vibration reduction system reduces the effect of camera shake in real time and lets you use slower shutter speeds.offers superb precision and sharp resolution.
• Full 1080p HD movie recording with stereo sound and still image capture,Built-in GPS with logging function
• Nikon Coolpix P510 + Case and 8GB Memory Card

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Nikon Coolpix P510 Digital Camera - Red + Case and 8GB Memory Card (16.1MP, 42x Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD

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BEST PICTURE ON DAY

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Review Nikon Coolpix P510 Digital Camera - Red (16MP, 42x Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD

Well worth the wait!
I'm so pleased I hung on for the release of this camera having nearly bought a different one a couple of months ago. It is my first Nikon, having had Fujifilm cameras before which I did really like but the lure of having an obscene 42 x optical zoom was just too tempting! Even at full zoom you get nice clear shots and the whole camera just seems to be much more user...

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Nikon Coolpix P510 Digital Camera - Red (16MP, 42x Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD

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