Some great shots in there. I too enjoy shooting these sorts of subjects with
the *ist D and I have also be using ISO 400 and shooting in the wind hand held
with good results, it beats the hell out of working with film in dubious
conditions. I don't know if you recall but I posted a similar shoot some months
back at: http://www.home.aone.net.au/audiobias/wildflowers/
I must of missed you wildflower gallery - how long ago did you take those shots? With image numbers in the 300's you must of shot htose in the first few weeks of having your *ist-D! Nice shots - some pretty interesting plants as well.
> Everything was shot with the *ist-D and either an A* 200 f4 macro or Kiron 105
> f2.8 macro. No flash used but I did use both a POP diffuser and reflector in
> most shots.
Your images are all pretty low key (lots of detail in the highlights), was that
more a function of the reflector or of the prevalent ambient light?
A little bit of both. The auto exposure tended to over expose the lighter flowers when they were not in the center of the frame. So I set exposure comp to -0.5 and then bracketed at half a stop. My preference is to go for the exposure that is slightly under-exposed and adjust the levels when opening it, as opposed to dealing with any lost highlights. I try to get the exposure so that no highlights are lost.
Have you
tried working with shorter macro lenses using this technique? How do you shoot
and hold your reflector?
the 105mm has been fine so far. This particular locale has lots of breathing room, so shooting a meter or so back from the subject is not a problem (and helps with controlling the background.) I will probably use a 50mm (either the M 60 f4 or Sigma EX 50 f 2.8) in some other settings later this spring.
As for the diffuser / reflector - I just setup the translucent POP diffuser so that the subject is in it's shadow, With bright, direct light, that often is all I need - there is still enough directionality to the light to bring out details. If it is not so bright, I then set up the reflector and bounce some light onto the subject. I try to bounce the light in directly sidways - horizontal - to bring out the flower's surface textures etc. I also try to hold the reflector up a bit so that the background is not being lit as well (not always possible) - which helps get better isolation of the subject.
Have you seen the following kits, I'm thinking about purchasing one. http://www.naturephotographers.net/gs/gsmacrokit1.html
Looks like a nice setup, but I'm not sure the arms are long enough - I like to get further away from the subject. I was talking to a guy who had a video set up for interviews, and he used a microphone stand with a round diffusers mounted on it with a couple of clamps - looked like a nice system. Personally, I just grab a handy stick, jam it into the ground, and hook up the diffuser to it. Then I hold the reflector. Unless, of course, I can hold both adequately.
Later-
MCC -----
Mark Cassino Photography
Kalamazoo, MI
http://www.markcassino.com
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