Some very close macro shots.

[Luv_Jeeps]

I took these using my Nikon D200 and my newly acquired Kenko extension tubes.
I also built a 'light box' on Friday night to try some different things.
Critique is always welcome....only way I am going to get better. :beer:

http://ju.nrfg.com/Tag1-1.jpg

I should take better care of my stuff....look at those hacks on the crystal. :eek:
http://ju.nrfg.com/Divers1-1.jpg

Converted to B&W...just for fun.
http://ju.nrfg.com/Eco1-1.jpg

Couple of flower shots from the backyard:


Dwarf Apple Tree.
Flower is about 1/2" in size.
Got Pollen?
http://ju.nrfg.com/Flower1-1.jpg


Can't remember this species..... 'something' Coffee Tree.
This one is about 3/4" in size.
http://ju.nrfg.com/Flower3-11.jpg

[Hayes]

I like the watch pics, my only suggestion is to not cut off some of the face of the watch.

Brandon

[Luv_Jeeps]

I like the watch pics, my only suggestion is to not cut off some of the face of the watch.

Brandon

Thanks!
If you were looking at a pic....would you prefer to see the entire face only, or the face with the outer ring, and possibly the band too?

[Hayes]

I think it would be okay to show the whole face and cut off portions of the outter ring.

[TrailTJ]

Cool shots! I am liking your idea for composition on the watches. When shooting watches(for ads and such) it is good to position the hands at 10 and 2, it adds symetry and balance to the shot. I also think the watches could use a little more contrast, not much but just a little to really make them POP. Also, I would color correct them as well. The flowers are really cool, I like the depth of field. It is cool to see things like that with such detail, I bet the full size images are REALLY cool. Overall, these are nice pics.


What white balance are you shooting at with these shots BTW?

[Jocko]

The watches look good, maybe a little more punch form hue/sat.

The flowers have lighting issues (unless this is the look you were going for). The light looks too hard. Try using a softer light source. There are over-exposed areas and under-exposed areas in both pics. The sharpness seems to be of too. That could be from down-sizing for web though.

[Luv_Jeeps]

White balance was 0 and set to incandescent.
Not much I can do with the flower shots when it comes to sharpness.....
These were shot in manual mode at f/16, ISO 100 and 1/25th.
To give you an idea of how close I was to the subject:
http://ju.nrfg.com/ruler.JPG
I was using all 3 of the Kenko extension tubes and a 50mm 1.8 Nikkor lens.
If I moved the camera even a half inch, you couldn't focus on it.
I think it took me about 15 minutes of fiddling with the tripod to finally get where I could take the shot.
I am going to try and reshoot some of these and step the aperature down some more.....maybe f/20 or f/22 and see what happens.

Thanks for all the feedback. :beer:

[MReetz]

Have you tried using a telephoto lense with your tubes....you'll be surprised!!

[TrailTJ]

Are you shooting RAW? I always shoot raw, the adjustability in camera raw in cs2 is very nice when it comes to your exposure being a little off and blowing out highlights or loosing detail in the shadows. You can really fine tune your image without hurting your histogram. It also has adjustments for color balance, contrast, brightness, sharpness, tons of others. Try it out, if you aren't already shooting raw.

[Luv_Jeeps]

Are you shooting RAW? I always shoot raw, the adjustability in camera raw in cs2 is very nice when it comes to your exposure being a little off and blowing out highlights or loosing detail in the shadows. You can really fine tune your image without hurting your histogram. It also has adjustments for color balance, contrast, brightness, sharpness, tons of others. Try it out, if you aren't already shooting raw.

I shoot pretty much everything in RAW+JPG.
Eats up the 4GB CF cards quick, but no big deal.
I am just getting started with using CS, and at the moment am using Nikon Capture NX as a test.

[TrailTJ]

Very cool. Once you have all the tricks figured out to take advantage of shooting raw you will be set. Just watch your histograms.

[Luv_Jeeps]

Very cool. Once you have all the tricks figured out to take advantage of shooting raw you will be set. Just watch your histograms.

I look at the histograms a lot.
I like that since upgrading one of my D70's to a D200, I now get full color histograms in camera. :D
There is a bunch of other features in the D200 that I haven't even messed with yet......like in-camera multiple image overlay, etc.

[thenimirra]

taking some macro shots is part of my homework assignment for this week! Where did you purchase your extensions?

[Luv_Jeeps]

You need to order them online...I called Mikes in Boulder and all the others in town and stopped by Wolf, and they don't carry them in store either.
I got mine from Adorama.....169 bucks for all 3.

[thenimirra]

is that cheaper than buying a macro lense?

[Luv_Jeeps]

is that cheaper than buying a macro lense?

WAY cheaper. :D

[ColoradoSkier]

Nice pics. Our flowers are starting to bloom, so I should be able to get some soon. Wish I'd had waders in FL yesterday, could have gotten a good macro of a Lily Pad flower (don't know what they are called). Instead this was the best I could get.

http://static.flickr.com/199/465150874_0e6129184f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bullockfam/465150874/)

[thenimirra]

I've been trying some macro shots

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/thenimirra/IMG_2931.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/thenimirra/IMG_2887.jpg

[ColoradoSkier]

Is that first one a columbine? I am thinking not since the colors would be off...

http://static.flickr.com/173/371197449_3025081389.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bullockfam/371197449/)

Seems my brother recently purchased an actual macro lens. Here are a few shots with it.

http://static.flickr.com/201/513523929_d281bb1c75.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/snwbeast/513523929/)

http://static.flickr.com/198/513924402_1f265aa63a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/snwbeast/513924402/)

[thenimirra]

That first one looks like a columbine, I suppose. The colors were as I photographed them...I really liked the contrast between the burgundy in the petals and the yellow pollen. I took those pics up in Manitou Springs with my new 70 to 300 mm telephoto lens.

[ColoradoSkier]

http://static.flickr.com/1013/527811074_cf52eb2f79.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bullockfam/527811074/)

http://static.flickr.com/223/527895589_7d17dca702.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bullockfam/527895589/)

http://static.flickr.com/1241/527798134_d147f0d2fb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bullockfam/527798134/)

[thenimirra]

Flowers seem to be the first kind of macro shots people aim for. They are beautiful and do seem to be the perfect subject. But does anybody have any other unconventional type of subjects they've taken for macro shots? I liked the idea of the watch face.

[ColoradoSkier]

Lemonheads (not my pic)

http://static.flickr.com/129/374239990_606951fc20.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggies/374239990/)