Saffron Winged Meadowhawk Dragonfly
Although I really like my 100-400 IS ii zoom with it's close focusing capability and versatility, for shooting dragonflies, flowers and other fairly small subjects, it's magnification tops out around 1:3 so fine detail in something like a dragonfly will only be so good, and can not compete with a true macro lens that can get a true macro ratio of 1:1 where a full frame sensor or 35mm film camera can record actual size, where something that is say 0.5" by 0.5" in real life is recorded at that same size on the sensor or film.
For this shot I was going for detail in the dragonflies head. I used flash to add some light so I could keep the ISO down yet still use a small aperture, while taming the background. Add too much flash and the background is jet black, don't add enough and the background becomes glaring and distracting in this instance. I knew the entire subject would not be in sharp focus as range of focus is shallow shooting this close, but that was fine.
I really do enjoy shooting Macro, or close to the 1:1 magnification. It is very challenging and rewarding unlocking detail unseen by the naked eye, opening up an invisible world.
Although I would like to have a longer focal length macro lens such as a 180mm to keep possible magnification around 1:1 while allowing more distance to skittish subjects, a lens like that brings other challenges, in that you need faster shutter speeds if hand holding. and of course those lenses are larger and heavier.
Photography in general is full of decisions and compromises all of which can change the balance of exposure, field of view and range of sharpness, ultimately changing the resulting image as captured. To me, it is always a challenge and always enjoyable.
Saffron Winged Meadowhawk Dragonfly
Although I really like my 100-400 IS ii zoom with it's close focusing capability and versatility, for shooting dragonflies, flowers and other fairly small subjects, it's magnification tops out around 1:3 so fine detail in something like a dragonfly will only be so good, and can not compete with a true macro lens that can get a true macro ratio of 1:1 where a full frame sensor or 35mm film camera can record actual size, where something that is say 0.5" by 0.5" in real life is recorded at that same size on the sensor or film.
For this shot I was going for detail in the dragonflies head. I used flash to add some light so I could keep the ISO down yet still use a small aperture, while taming the background. Add too much flash and the background is jet black, don't add enough and the background becomes glaring and distracting in this instance. I knew the entire subject would not be in sharp focus as range of focus is shallow shooting this close, but that was fine.
I really do enjoy shooting Macro, or close to the 1:1 magnification. It is very challenging and rewarding unlocking detail unseen by the naked eye, opening up an invisible world.
Although I would like to have a longer focal length macro lens such as a 180mm to keep possible magnification around 1:1 while allowing more distance to skittish subjects, a lens like that brings other challenges, in that you need faster shutter speeds if hand holding. and of course those lenses are larger and heavier.
Photography in general is full of decisions and compromises all of which can change the balance of exposure, field of view and range of sharpness, ultimately changing the resulting image as captured. To me, it is always a challenge and always enjoyable.