Answer to Bill's Question...

When I find a subject that I really like, I take A LOT of exposures. Specifically, I bracket composition and depth-of-field. If I am using flash, I will also bracket the intensity and direction of the lighting. Often, I won't choose my "favorite"until I see all the images on the monitor. With flash especially, I will move the flash head around to mimic natural light and avoid reflections as much as possible.
The LCD is your best friend when learning to use flash--be patient and take MANY shots. For the froggie image, I made at least 50 or 60 exposures.

This was a night image, so it required full flash--I increased the power adjustment on the R1C1 lamps to full strength and then dialed one back to half strength, to supply some modeling. I used f22 as my f-stop because I needed a lot of D-O-F to keep the mosquito and the frogs sharp.

Serendipity...or, "F8 and be there..."

Weegee extolled the value of being at the right place at the right time when he stated that the secret to a great image was "...f8 and be there...".
He was a photojournalist and his income depended upon "getting the shot".
We, as nature photographers, aren't quite under the same deadlines, but can still benefit from the need to
be aware of where we are and what is going on around us. This image is a pretty good example of how luck can trump preparation. Photographed during a night hike in Ecuador, these glass frogs were in flagrante delecto when a passing mosquito stopped for refreshment. Since this was a night shot, full flash was necessary, but I minimized the "black background effect" by filling the frame with leaf.

more mantis...

An interesting question concerning the mantis images:

"My question on these kinds of things is always "How on earth did you get all your settings AND small flashlight AND a reflector into place quickly enough to get the shot?"
Deborah Hosking

Not as complicated as it sounds, actually.
Exposure settings (depth-of-field, shutter speed, ISO) are pretty much set in advance. The reflector is propped up on a stick or held by a Plamp and the flashlight is held in the hand that is not on the remote shutter cord, which also focuses. And the mantis is an inflatable model.
No, only kidding. Mantids are really great subjects--they are really still until they strike and very tolerant. They are often quite territorial and will stay in the same area all summer if the food supply is abundant. Edwin Way Teale writes about a mantis that hung out with him well into autumn and ate hamburger from a toothpick.
ml

Leaf Mantis, Revisited

Just another look at the leaf mantis, this time from above.

Fill flash was used in natural light.

Leaf Mantis, Amazon Basin, Ecuador

This image of a Leaf Mantis required several different lighting techniques. The mantis was backlit, and I didn't want to totally wash out the silhouette effect of the backlighting. I therefore used a reflector instead of flash, so I could see the final result in the viewfinder and modify it accordingly. Fortunately, mantids are generally very patient subjects, and this one was no exception. A small flashlight was held above and to the left to add a bit of rimlight and separate the mantid from the rather bland and featureless background. It also served to accentuate the silhuette a bit.
The wind was still and the insect and leaf were part of the same plane, so I was able to use a very shallow
depth-of-field and preserve a non-distracting background.

Does it work?

Fill Flash--Bring your Own Sun! (Part One)

Assassin Bug, Peruvian Amazon

Photographing from below can increase the sense of drama, especially if the subject is a predator, such as this assassin bug. If done well, it gives the viewer the feeling of being prey.

One of the technical problems, however, may be that light still falls from above, and the lower parts of the subject may be in shadow.

Full flash will light the subject, certainly, but then you have a harsh light, with the potential for those horrible (opinionated!) black backgrounds. A reflector might work, if your subject is dead, sleeping, or very passive.

Solution: Fill flash! Fill flash, when adjusted properly, supplies just enough light to "fill" those areas of darkness just enough to show the detail you want, without being overpowering.

One of the things that I appreciate most about digital photography is the immediate feedback that I get by looking at the LCD immediately after shooting. I can tell right away whether my lighting is effective or not, and make the appropriate adjustments. In the next several blogs, I will share my own techniques for fill-flash.

Welcome Back!!!

Variable Clown Treefrog (Hyla triangulum) on water hyacinth


Well, I'm back (and so are you, if you're reading this...). I'm back from a wonderful week in that paradise for macro photographers, the Amazon Rainforest located along the portion of the Amazon river that runs through Peru.

Those of you who know me are aware that I have been down there many times in the past, but each trip is different, each trip reaps a harvest of varied experiences and photographs.

Over the next several weeks/months, I would like to share some of the things I learned and saw over that magical period. Equipment and ideas that worked, some that didn't. Images that I felt were successful, ones that disappointed...

If you click on the title line ("WELCOME BACK"), you will be transported to my archive from the trip. As usual, comments and questions are welcomed, and in fact, eagerly anticipated!

Islas Encantadas: The Enchanted Galapagos Islands

Yes, I know. It's not really a macro image.
But I really wanted to share some of these images.

ENJOY!!!

Click on the above title link or copy and paste it to travel to SCRIBD and the Enchanted Galapagos Islands:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/8426276/EnchantedGalapagos

Islas Encantadas:

FANTASY...

99% of the time, I work in Photoshop the way I used to work in the darkroom--I manipulate contrast and dynamic range with layer masks instead of paper grades. I do my dodging and burning on adjustment layers with a trackball (I must admit that I do miss waving my hands above the print as though I were performing ancient magics...). Every so often, however, I stray from the pure and unpolluted path and lose myself in the creative potential of the program.

This Morpho butterfly was photographed in bright noonday sunlight in Costa Rica. There must have been a 20 stop contrast range and I worked for hours, trying unsuccessfuly to create a reasonable image. Not even PhotoMatix (an HDR program) could salvage this one. So I said, "Let's ignore reality and just play".

And there you have it...