Clovis' Nikon Nuggets

Clovishound

Clovishound

Senior Member
Don't look Ethel!

I had to brave a light rain to get these. The camera and lens are supposed to be weather sealed. The flash, not so much. I went out to check on things and discovered this pile up. Initially there was a fourth individual that looked like he wanted to join in. By the time I got back out with the camera, he was gone.


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Clovishound

Clovishound

Senior Member
After hurricane Debby moves on through, I'll have to try some off camera flash macro work. If nothing else, I can try some wildflowers. Occasionally, I get a bug that sits still for quite a while. I do like it when they are still enough that I can set up a tripod. Even though the flash stops motion very well, It's so much easier to compose and focus using a tripod.
 
Blue439

Blue439

New member
Also keep the monopod in mind, I have often found that it can be an option in no-time-for-a-tripod situations... For the off-camera flash, something very simple and light, like the Manfrotto Nano stand, your cobra flash (you don’t need the battery pack like the one I use, unless you intend to shoot in rapid bursts or take a lot of photos), and of course a good softbox, which is the key as it will shape the light just as you want it. I use the “Joe McNally Ezybox Speed-Lite 2 Plus” (what a mouthful!) from Lastolite. Joe is a friend and sent me one when the product launched a few years ago and, friendship aside, I found it so much better and sturdier (and that is important, as the Manfrotto Nano will occasionally keel over!) than the other models I had tried that I bought a second one. They give me just the light I need, as soft or hard as I need it, and from where I want it. I’d post one or two examples if I weren’t reluctant to hijack your thread... ;)

Stay safe!
 
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Blue439

Blue439

New member
OK, thanks, so here are a couple to try and illustrate what I mean by soft, directed light... Of course, the macros are not as good as yours, it’s just to give you an idea! :giggle:

Both photos with Z7 and 105 Nikkor macro lens.


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Blue439

Blue439

New member
Yes, exactly. The top one with the light at about 90 degrees to camera left, the bottom one with the light also to the left but oriented slightly backlit. There is always, of course, a good dose of sheer luck in the way things happen, as with all wild animals...
 
Clovishound

Clovishound

Senior Member
And one to add to the really strange critters. This is a squash bug nymph. I have a lot of the adults in the yard, but this is the first nymph I've seen. Had to do some research to find out what it was. For some reason it doesn't really photograph that well. I guess it's too busy to clearly delineate structures.

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And here's someone else looking for a meal. The tree frogs always seem to have that sad eyed look.


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Clovishound

Clovishound

Senior Member
Managed to get a better shot, IMO, of this guy today. I would have liked to have done a focus stack on this, but it was an awkward position making it extremely difficult to take a series. I thought about getting my tripod from the house and try and put it in position, which would have destroyed some of the plants, but he jumped off the leaf while I was thinking about it. Still, I feel lucky getting this shot. I feel it suffers, somewhat, by the narrow DOF, but the composition and look on the frog's face make it a decent image. Yes, I thought about a smaller aperture, but I was already at F19, so another stop or two wouldn't have made much difference. I also try to avoid apertures over F22, coupled with the fact that I was using a stack of extension tubes, and already had my flash set to 1/2 power, so I didn't have much left to increase aperture, outside of raising the ISO, which I normally don't do for macro. It's all academic, as by the time I would have made the changes to the flash and ISO, he would have been gone anyway.


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Beauty and the beast.

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Clovishound

Clovishound

Senior Member
Thanks for the kind words. This time of year, macro is the most accessible for wildlife photography. The heat and humidity here can be rather oppressive for other types of outings, especially at my age. When I was in my early 20s, I could mow the lawn in 90+ degree heat and barely be damp under the armpits, and heat exhaustion was not an option. At least with macro, I can do it in my back yard, where it is easy to choose the time of day or weather and I can always duck back in the house when I start to get too sweaty. There always seems to be something new in the small world. I got the "bug" for it last year, and have been trying my best to grow at it. I feel like my work is slowly getting better. When the weather cools down, I'll have to switch to something else, which helps to keep things from getting stale.
 
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