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I am a professor (experimental psychology, not entomology). I had started scanning images back in 1989 for incorporating into my lectures that I projected in front of the classroom. For my first camera I bought a Canon G1 in November of 2000 for family photos and to document dog behavior. I enjoyed it because it makes it easy to learn about photography quickly.
Given my background, I tend to think of the camera as a scanner that you point. If you don't get the scan correct the first time, try again (and again). Compact flash is an endless roll of film. When I first got the camera, my (then) 5 year old son came into my office one day and suggested I photograph a bug that he had his eye on and we did. It was worse than terrible by my current standards, but it did allow us to see the bug in more detail than we could in real life. That is what got me started and what I enjoy so much about macros.
They let you see what you ordinarily cannot. In search of greater magnification, I began using diopters (or closeup lenses) and even reversing a 50mm lens. Refer to my articles for more details on the equipment and techniques. Most of my bugs are photographed in the natural environment. I don't chill them, spray them, glue them, or nail them down. I also like shooting the bug on a white building (and then overexpose the background).
My goal when photographing the bug is to present it in a positive light; to show it at it's best. I especially like intimate portraits, behavior shots, and full body shots with clean and smooth and sometimes colorful backgrounds. Two years and 25,000 clicks of the shutter later, I bought a Canon G3. It gave me more zoom and 4 megapixels instead of three. It was more responsive and handled exposure better.
Then, about 5 weeks ago, I purchased a 300D and various lenses including the Canon 100mm macro. It requires a different style and manner of shooting (for example, I am more likely to use a tripod nowadays).
Overall, it has advantages and disadvantages when compared to the prosumer digicams (see Digital Prosumer Point & Shoot (P&S) vs. the Digital SLR for Macro Photography), although, I love them both.
The greater the magnification, the less the depth of field. To get around that issue a little, I have developed a technique of compositing more than one image with different planes of focus. Remark: The first four photos were taken by the Canon G1, 5th to 8th photos were taken by the Canon G3 and the last four photos were taken by the Canon 300D digital SLR camera.
Well, I hope you have been inspired by my story, now go out and shoot some photos!
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