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For all you guys out there with little cameras and big ideas, and for those with big cameras that remember those times with little cameras. I am currently hooked on insect photography, and this is the story of my "Scary.... or Scared" winning insect photo in January 2005.
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I purchased my first camera Oct 2004, and settled on a Canon Powershot A85. The main reason for this was that the Canon at the time had more manual functions than the Sonys and Nikons in the same price-range. For a month or so I only shot family photos, and then after reading the manual, discovered the macro function.
This opened a new world to me. And after taking a couple of shots of a mushroom I realized I had to get closer. At first I was stuck, as you can not change the lens, but then discovered that the folks at Canon manufacture a lens adapter for Powershots. This little piece of plastic makes it possible to use ordinary filters on the A85. So the next step in my quest to get closer was a +4 diopter. This is basically a magnifying lens that screws into the lens adapter of the Canon, and did the job well. But still not close enough. I wanted to see the expression in the insect's eyes!!!
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So back to the drawing board. On a Canon Powershot forum I found a reference to "reverse mounting a 50mm SLR lens" for extreme close-ups. Although a local camera retailer advised me it will not work on a compact, I duly went to search for a second-hand lens for experimentation purposes. $4 later I were the proud owner of an unknown brand, very old 50mm SLR lens. With no idea how to attach this to my adapter at the time, I used the common universal connector called "duct tape" to attach the lens, in reverse, onto the adapter. It only took a couple of shots to discover why this is not the preferred technique for real macro photographers. Auto-focus does not work well at all, and also very bad Vignetting. But it still worked, and for the amount of money it worked very well!
Finding solutions to the above limitations took me a while. The second problem is easily avoided by using full optical zoom, and if there is little dark corners it can be quickly fixed in Photoshop. A fixed focus distance is my solution to the auto-focus problem, with the optimal distance for my little Powershot 3-4cm.
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The only way to get the insect in focus is to move the camera back and forth until it is in focus, not very high-tech. The short focusing distance also limits my subjects to slow, stationary and tame insects. Sometime the size of the insect is also important, as I am not willing (ok, too scared) to get that close to a 10cm hairy spider!! But despite these limitations I could get close enough to see the tiniest hairs on any of the little beasts.
My latest addition to my equipment is a "macro" ring (more stable than duct tape). This is basically a male-to-male adapter for mounting the 50mm on its filter threads to the canon lens adapter. I've been told that these are commercially available in the rest of the world, but apparently not in sunny South Africa! So again back to the second hand store, getting two UV filters, removed the lenses, sanded down the female threads and superglue together to get a custom male-to-male adapter.
Here is a couple of lessons learned during the last 3 months, and is only based on my obviously very limited experience, so it might be completely of the mark for the general photographer on this site.
Do not be scared to experiment, and take as many shots your memory card allows. I have taken 60 shots of the spider, and there were literally only 2 that were useful, but those two made it worthwhile!
This one is insect specific. If you have the opportunity to choose the angle of the photo (does not often happen with the little beasts), aim for the eyes. This is what is important to me, but might not be important to the more experienced photographer.
Post your photos on a webpage like this, and look at the comments made on your own and other photos. For example, everyone knows that composition and background is very important, but common errors only became obvious to me after it was pointed out by other photographers with more experience. This is the only way to learn!
Don't take comments on your photos too serious. Most people are just speaking their minds based on what they can see in the photo, and were not aware that you were hanging upside down for 30 minutes in a tree with cramps in your arms and legs trying to get the shot. Naturally the photo will be a bit out of focus with limited composition under such circumstances!
Your camera is good enough! Although it would be nice to have one of the cutting-edge Digital SLR's with their massive lenses you can still take phenomenal pictures with whatever you have, even if it is a simple point-and-shoot.
To conclude, the 50mm SLR technique for macros works for me, but the limitations mentioned makes it clear that this is not for everyone. I know that there are better and more correct ways to do macro photography, but they are probably a year or two in my future. I truly hope that in 10 years time (ideally then equipped with the newest 100MP Digital SLR with an enormous macro lens) I will still remember the first time I saw the little spider’s big black eyes through my compact Canon and its reversed $4 lens!
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