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05-01-2016_11-28-23-Edit-2



behind the lens badge

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People's Choice in Only Spiders Photo Challenge
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Ulysees Vorster gman176 Ricardo_MGF davidjprosser PhotosByJEM jorgealbertopealozapealoza +94
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Mirnaea cezarmagalhes krnaik Svenergy72 mjbranscome Ribbi taurfoto +11
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CassieC CWphotos5

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Mirnaea

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3 Comments | Report
CWphotos5
 
CWphotos5 August 12, 2016
WOW! Talk about an in-your-face shot...excellent macro!!! Congratulations on winning people's choice in the challenge!
MelissaSueBall PRO+
 
MelissaSueBall August 12, 2016
wow now that's up close and personal to close for comfort lol ill pass lol great shot and congratulations on your win :)
Pixinthesix
 
Pixinthesix June 11, 2017
Love the close up
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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken at Medard Park in Hillsborough County FL

Time

The photo was taken a little before noon. I have found that late morning early afternoon works the best for finding spiders at this spot.

Lighting

The lighting on this was a Canon 270 EX II flash on a custom bracket that I made. On the flash I have a custom diffuser that is made out of a cheap (dollar store special) very thin stainless steel bowl. The bowl is covered with a piece of white nylon that works as a diffuser. The key to all of it is to get the flash as close as possible to the subject to reduce flash duration time as that becomes the shutter speed.

Equipment

On this shot I used a Canon 5D MKII a Canon 100mm Macro and the 270EX II flash as mentioned above.

Inspiration

I take photos of birds, bugs and landscapes just about every weekend. I mostly shoot bugs as it is not only the photographing of them that I find enjoyable, but also the search for them. I think it is sort of a "Great White Hunter" thing.

Editing

I do very little post processing. I make a couple of simple adjustments in LightRoom and I add some sharpening in Nik. For the most part I am not that good at processing as I get carried away and then end up with something that no longer looks real

In my camera bag

For what it is worth I don't usually use a camera bag. I have numerous ones and I have tried all kinds of styles from companies like Domke, Pelican Tamrac, LowePro etc. What I have ended up with is I store everything in an individual case. I have no particular favorite brand. I have lens cases from LowePro, Thinktank, and some Chinese ones as well. I put a tag on the lens case so I will know what is in it. I then put what I want to take in a Stanley Fatmax box. The Faxmax boxes are tool boxes with a weather proof seal. They are similar to a Pelican case only much lighter and 10 percent of the cost. They are not the quality of a Pelican case but I don't need a pressure relief valve etc. When I go out to photograph bugs I always bring a flash. Which model really depends upon the mood that I am in. I have a 270 EXII, a 580 EXII, a MT-24 and Canon's ring light. There are positives and negatives for each model. I always use a flash bracket to move the flash closer to the subject. I have numerous ones but what I like the best is a Magic Arm on a lens tripod collar. If the macro lens does not have one I use a Custom Brackets Mini CB-RC with a magic arm. For a camera I usually use a Canon 5D MK II. For lenses I always have a 100mm Macro and either a Canon MP-65 or an old Canon 28-80 (the 28-90 is better but mine broke) and a Novoflex reversing ring. I usually also have a 24-105 kit lens and a 100-400 lens as well. I don't lug any of this around. I go to the park take a quick look around to see what is available to shoot. I then pull out what I want from the trunk of my car.

Feedback

It took me years to figure out how to consistently get good shots like this. This was mainly because most of what you read on the internet about photographing bugs is not true. So I have written a manual and posted it on my website. The manual is free and it is called "Three days to Better Bug Shots". In a nutshell the manual I have written tells you what you most likely already know but have never proved to yourself. Like you really should read your camera manual and even the sheet that comes with your lens. Macro lenses lose light when used in a macro mode and most people don't know that that. They also don't know that if you really want to eliminate all camera movement when shooting at 1:1 you really need to be at 1/4 power or lower. Anyway, it is a free manual and it can be found at www.macroshooting.com.

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