One plant, one camera

[bdosserman]

This is a project I've been toying with for the last year or two, but seeing the "One garden,
one camera" article motivated me to actually post some of the shots.

I've been taking macro shots of a native lavender in our garden which blooms most of the year,
and is teeming with insects (and the occasional spider) during this period. This is the first project
I've done that I'd really like to do something with, although I haven't yet settled on exactly what.
So far I've gotten about 15 different species in shots of acceptable (to me) quality.

Here's four of them; comments appreciated!

Thanks,

Brian

[wmchauncey]

Macro photography is a difficult specialty...you need to get close but you're hampered by a narrow DOF.
Most folks either resort to an extreme f/stop, requiring more light, or...a process call photo-stacking.

[David Eckels]

My favorite is the spider, second the bee. Backgrounds in the others (and even the bee) to some extent, are a bit too busy for my taste.

[bdosserman]

Thanks for your comments.

Depth of field is definitely a huge challenge on these shots (although I thought I had it pretty good on all of the
above except maybe the mantis). Until I started shooting macro I had never really played with images where
depth of field was such an issue, and how to make it look good is something I'm still working on. There's usually
a lot of light, so I'll play with narrowing the aperture even further next time I get a chance to work on this
(presumably in the spring). I think most of these were shot around f/11.

Of course, I have to balance it against keeping the backgrounds sufficiently OoF, or they'll get even busier!
Other than that, I don't think I can control the backgrounds so much while I'm shooting, but I will try to
pay more attention to them as I'm sorting through which images are 'keepers'.

Brian

[David Eckels]

Just an FYI, have you heard of "CamRanger"? Allows you to control your camera with an iPad of phone and do automatic focus stacking. One thought might be to hang a white or black cloth behind, if possible of course. Have fun!

[bdosserman]

Just an FYI, have you heard of "CamRanger"? Allows you to control your camera with an iPad of phone and do automatic focus stacking. One thought might be to hang a white or black cloth behind, if possible of course. Have fun!

Thanks, I hadn't heard of that. How static does the subject need to be for that to work? I'd think a mantis is static enough (at least, if there's no wind), but don't know about any of the others. Presumably automated focus stacking can be done more quickly?

Brian

[Riaan van Wyk]

Hello Brian. Your project has a lot going for it, the experience of getting to know the wildlife that visits your flowers will help with the photography of them- you get to know thier mannerisms, how long they take to feed, how they perch etc. That I think is more important than anything else.

The first pic of the mason wasp is very good, focus is spot on and background seems to add to the overall effectiveness.

Your depth of field is fine in these Brian, the smaller subjects like the spider could be composed closer to negate some of the out of focus areas.

I would love to see someone remotely/ tethered shooting an insect like a wasp perched on a flower swaying in the breeze with "auto focus stacking." It will work for a dead one on the table in your study, but in the field? Nope.

[bdosserman]

Hi Riaan,
   Thanks for your comments!
   What do you mean by composing the spider closer? Empirically I seem to have narrower depth of field the closer I get.
   Here are a few more from the series.

Brian

[David Eckels]

No, focus stacking won't work on a moving subject of course as Riann points out, but it could be great for a "remote control" approach. I like the more recent series very much. Good luck with your project.

[Riaan van Wyk]

Hi Brian, I meant that the spider could fill the frame a bit more as the background competes too much with the subject.

[bdosserman]

Hi Brian, I meant that the spider could fill the frame a bit more as the background competes too much with the subject.

Oh, I see. Thanks!

Brian