Snowflakes

[Jody Melanson]

These were captured from my bedroom window during a snowfall. I used the Canon 1D Mark II N to the body was attached 3 extension tubes, then a Sigma 150 Macro lens attached to the tubes, then a Canon 50/1.8 reversed on the front of the Sigma.

All are Handheld. Mostly full frame.

 

[Shane Carter]

Nice work!!!

 

[nicolas claris]

Amazing!
can you post a picture of your "pipeline" that would be ineteresting!

 

[Jody Melanson]

Amazing!
can you post a picture of your "pipeline" that would be ineteresting!

Ask and ye shall receive. Here I am using this rig to photo a teeny spider...

 

[nicolas claris]

Thanks, that's impressive!

And in the same time you can make call for your business… that's neat ;-)

 

[Marcus Peddle]

Impressive photographs and an impressive setup. Any chance of seeing a photo of that spider?

 

[Clayton Lofgren]

Am curious as to what depth of field you get with this setup compared to an ordinary macro lens. I think I could try until I was buried in the snow and still not get pictures like that.

 

[Jody Melanson]

Impressive photographs and an impressive setup. Any chance of seeing a photo of that spider?

Here you go. The flash bracket is from Kirk Photo.

http://www.kirkphoto.com/brackets.html#flashbracket

I use an FB9. The reversing rings and step down rings came from:

http://www.macrorings.com

Both companies delivered the proper goods quickly with no fuss.

The flash diffuser is a Gary Fong Lightsphere. It is a little cumbersome and sometimes falls off. I have since started using just some tissues held on with an elastic.

 

[Jody Melanson]

Am curious as to what depth of field you get with this setup compared to an ordinary macro lens. I think I could try until I was buried in the snow and still not get pictures like that.

I get around 1-2mm DOF. You have to hold your breath and then shoot between heartbeats as your heartbeat will change your focus. The spider I posted is about 2mm long including legs.

 

[Marcus Peddle]

A great photograph but I almost regret asking. A scary looking creature. It's a good thing I'm 180cm tall and not 1mm tall.

 

[Rocky Cookus]

Very impressive! Nice details with the snowflakes, and I like the gradient bg. Wow what a macro setup you've assembled--at least a 3:1 macro not counting what additional magnification from the extension tubes. I'm guessing 5:1?

 

[Sven Bernert]

Killer stuff Jody! Love the smoothness of the snowflake images above.

Q.: Your flash rig is all RRS, right?

Thanks and best,
Sven

 

[Sean DeMerchant]

Diffusion

The flash diffuser is a Gary Fong Lightsphere. It is a little cumbersome and sometimes falls off. I have since started using just some tissues held on with an elastic.

You might take a look at the Lumiquest Softbox which is an actual softbox. It is inexpensive and it leaks a little light, but it is both light and very portable. I mostly use mine with the 580-EX and the 100/2.8 Macro as it makes the light source both larger and closer to the subject. It does a nice job of diffusing direct flash on the specular portions of insects.

Light Quality Example w/ Lumiquest Softbox
Standard Technique of 1/200 @ f/14 w/ Daylight Fill
​

Things like the Omnibounce and Lightsphere are intended for indoor use where the stray light they emit in directions away from the lens axis is expected to get reflected back and soften the lighting. In open spaces this simply wastes light and reduces the effective power of your flash. With E-TTL this means you are getting longer flash durations to achieve the same exposure which increases motion blur problems. This is especially true with macros due to the light lost to bellows extension (which pays back with a little bit of zoom).

some thoughts,

Sean

 

[Michael Brown]

Jody, ..... it is wonderful to watch a master and the techniques involved.
The images speak for themselves!!