Swallowtail Portrait III
I bought a kit so I could raise a few Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilio machaon) and this is the first one to emerge from a cocoon. I tried to get some shots of the second one I had, but it took off right away.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (4x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Clarity in that order. To get the depth that you see in this image I focused on the critter's proboscis and then twisted my wrist to lay the area of acceptable focus over as much of its eye as I could. So it's my technique that's making the difference and not the lens. The level of detail is also due to the quality and angle of my light.
Swallowtail Portrait III
I bought a kit so I could raise a few Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilio machaon) and this is the first one to emerge from a cocoon. I tried to get some shots of the second one I had, but it took off right away.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (4x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Clarity in that order. To get the depth that you see in this image I focused on the critter's proboscis and then twisted my wrist to lay the area of acceptable focus over as much of its eye as I could. So it's my technique that's making the difference and not the lens. The level of detail is also due to the quality and angle of my light.