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The iPhone 7 Plus has a very capable camera system when it comes to certain types of macro and closeup photography. The small size and placement of the dual lenses close to one corner make it possible to get photographs from a perspective that would be almost impossible from any other camera.
For the past week or so, I have supplemented the native camera system with the Kamerar / Ztylus lens systems. These lenses slide up over the dual native lenses, giving me additional tele-photo, fisheye and macro options. Suffice would be that I have enjoyed making photographs with my iPhone more in this past week than I have for a very long time. The quality is good, and the lenses are very easy to use.
For this image, I added a x10 macro lens to the x2 native lens. This brought the subject very close to the iPhone, and produced a very shallow depth of field. I set the focus on the front portion of the antennae. This left the remainder of the moth with a soft look that I found to be calming and satisfying.
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Links for background information ...
kamerar.com/products/kamerar-zoom-lens-kit-for-iphone-7-plus
ztylus.com/products/kamerar-zoom-lens-kit-for-iphone-7-plus
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[ Location - Barton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia ]
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Photography notes ...
The photograph was taken using the following hardware ...
- iPhone 7 Plus.
- 56mm* (x2) lens [* 35mm equivalent value of the actual focal length of 3.99mm].
- Gizmon TLR Bluetooth Remote Shutter.
- Gray Card made by ProCamera.
I acquired the photograph (4032 x 3024 pixels) with an ISO of 20, exposure time of 1/950 seconds, and an aperture of f/1.8. The iPhone flash was used. A x10 Kamerar/Ztylus macro lens was used in combination with the x2 native lens.
Post-processing ...
- I downloaded the photographs from my iPhone 7 Plus to the MacBook Air 11" using a lightning/USB cable and the iExplorer app (Macroplant).
- Sometimes I do this over WiFi using PhotoSync (touchbyte GmbH). Notably, I have found that iExplorer does not handle properly the images that have been edited using the native Apple iPhone "Photos" app (i.e., it will only transfer the original image, not the edited image).
- I viewed and sorted the photographs that were taken using XnViewMP (Pierre-e-Gougelet) and Lightroom (Adobe Systems Incorporated). Saved the images that had some chance of being posted online.
Lightroom - Applied minor basic lighting and color adjustments.
PhotoSync - Copied the JPEG file to my iPad Mini for final processing, review, enjoyment, and posting to social media.
@MomentsForZen #MomentsForZen #MFZ #iPhone7Plus #iPhone #iExplorer #Lightroom #XnViewMP #PhotoSync #Kamerar #Ztylus #Macro #Closeup #Moth #Antennae
The warm summer weather has brought out many moths and other nocturnal insects. At the same time, the Kamerar company has released a pair of lens attachments to supplement the "native" capabilities of the dual lenses of the iPhone 7 Plus (see link below). These events have allowed me to try out the macro lens attachment on some of my favorite subjects - moths.
This is a simple but rather plain more-or-less overhead shot of a moth that I saw one morning. I wouldn't normally post a photograph that presented this basic composition, but in this instance, it makes it easier to appreciate the features and colors that are present in other photographs of this moth that I shall be posting. The use of the macro lens attachment when taking the other photographs allowed me to highlight different parts of the moth. However, in some instances (and for some people), the extreme and unusual perspectives could make it more difficult to understand the relationships between different physical features and the colors of these features.
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Links for background information ...
kamerar.com/products/kamerar-zoom-lens-kit-for-iphone-7-plus
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[ Location - Barton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia ]
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Photography notes ...
The photograph was taken using the following hardware ...
- iPhone 7 Plus.
- 56mm* (x2) lens [* 35mm equivalent value of the focal length].
- Gizmon TLR Bluetooth Remote Shutter.
- Gray Card made by ProCamera.
I acquired the photograph (4032 x 3024 pixels) with an ISO of 20, exposure time of 1/710 seconds, and an aperture of f/1.8. The iPhone flash was used.
Post-processing ...
- I downloaded the photographs from my iPhone 7 Plus to the MacBook Air 11" using a lightning/USB cable and the iExplorer app (Macroplant).
- Sometimes I do this over WiFi using PhotoSync (touchbyte GmbH). Notably, I have found that iExplorer does not handle properly the images that have been edited using the native Apple iPhone "Photos" app (i.e., it will only transfer the original image, not the edited image).
- I viewed and sorted the photographs that were taken using XnViewMP (Pierre-e-Gougelet) and Lightroom (Adobe Systems Incorporated). Saved the images that had some chance of being posted online.
PhotoSync - Copied the JPEG file to my iPad Mini for further processing, review, enjoyment, and posting to social media.
Handy Photo - Made various basic lighting and color adjustments to the image.
Handy Photo - Used the Retouch tool to "repair" a few spots on the wings.
FrontView - Applied a trapezoidal crop and modified the aspect ratio to change the apparent perspective.
Photoshop Express - Cropped the image to 4:3 aspect ratio (2647 x 1985 pixels).
Photoshop Express - Applied final lighting adjustments.
Pixlr - Added dark "Uneven" vignettes to the top corners.
Exif Editor - Copied the EXIF data from the original photograph to the final image.
@MomentsForZen #MiniMomentsForZen #MMFZ #MomentsForZen #MFZ #iPhone7Plus #iPhone #iExplorer #PhotoSync #XnViewMP #Lightroom #HandyPhoto #FrontView #PhotoshopExpress #Pixlr #ExifEditor #Moth #Antennae
This perfectly proportioned tiny yellow flower turned up in our entry walkway plantings this morning. Nice to find the plush colors of spring back.
This star trail image was a long time coming - perhaps a month or so in the planning. Was it worth the wait? I think so! It is one of the cleaner set of trails that I have captured with an iPhone, and I find the composition to be pleasing with the symmetry and centering of the South Celestial Pole midway across the image.
I have been scouting out suitable locations around our apartment complex to do a long exposure image of the southern sky, taking in the South Celestial Pole. I have been looking for locations that have a clear view of the sky (!), something of interest in the foreground, an absence of light pollution from the garden and building lights, and somewhere quiet and secure to set up (and leave my iPhone for some of the time). This was the pick of the spots.
Once I had that sorted out, there was a full Moon, which lit up the night sky and obscured the majority of the stars. And then there was a run of cloudy nights. Finally ...
The brightest trails (centre to centre-right) are from the Pointers and the Southern Cross. I'm not at all sure what caused the bright spots. I think that the broken, straight, trail segments on the left are reflections of Sunlight off a one of the many satellites. I was surprised that the sky was completely devoid of aircraft light trails. For an exposure of 2 hours, this is most unusual in and around Canberra.
Barton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
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[ Following are some notes about the equipment, shooting procedures, and processing sequence to remind me how I got this result. I hope that I can use this information to improve the results in the future ... And I also hope that others may get some benefit from them, too. ]
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Camera accessories ...
MeFOTO "Backpacker" tripod
www.mefoto.com/products/backpacker.aspx
MeFOTO "SideKick360 Plus" mount
www.mefoto.com/products/sidekick360plus.aspx
MeFOTO PMU50 Arca Swiss Quick Release plate - 37 x 50mm
(For BackPacker and RoadTrip Tripod Kits)
www.mefoto.com/uk/products/quick-release-plates
Miniature Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) bluetooth wireless remote shutter trigger.
gizmon.com/tlr-camera-bluetooth-shutter/
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iPhone 6s Plus camera ...
- f2.2 (fixed), 4.2mm focal length, 29mm equivalent focal length in 35mm format, 12MP (4032 x 3024 pixels).
N.B., For my iPhone 6s Plus ...
- Fully charged, connected to an external battery if required (i.e., when doing an exposure of more than 3 hours).
- Bluetooth remote shutter paired.
- Set the device to Aeroplane Mode if there is a chance of text messages or calls interrupting the long exposure.
- N.B., This will disable the GPS and hence location information will not be available..
- Turn off all alarms, calendar reminders, etc.
- Mount on a tripod.
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iPhone 6s Plus photography sequence ...
- Open the NightCap Pro iOS app ...
- Once the composition has been finalized ...
- Double check that the iPhone is very securely mounted on the tripod ...
- Avoid any chance of the iPhone changing orientation over the very extended period of time that passes when making a star trail image.
- Enter Long Exposure mode in NightCap Pro ...
- Focus at infinite, ISO 2500, f2.2, exposure 1/3s, manual white balance around 3400K.
- 2 x 30 second exposures - Images that will possibly be used as a backdrop when blended with the star trails.
- Change to Light Trail mode in NightCap Pro ...
- Focus at infinite, ISO 1000, f2.2, exposure 1/3s, manual white balance around 3400K.
- 2 x 60 second dark frame exposures.
- 2 x 30 second exposures - Images that will possibly be used as a backdrop when blended with the star trails.
- Star trail image - 6863.62s exposure (114 minutes 23.62 seconds, 1 hour 54 minutes 23.62 seconds, 1hr 54min 23.64s).
- Once the star trail image is initiated, ensure that the iPhone is not paired to any Bluetooth devices - they can terminate the long exposure if I walk out of range.
- 2 x 30 second exposures - Images that will possibly be used as a backdrop when blended with the star trails.
- Change to Long Exposure mode in NightCap Pro ...
- Focus at infinite, ISO 3200, f2.2, exposure 1/3s, manual white balance around 3400K.
- 2 x 30 second exposures - Images that will possibly be used as a backdrop when blended with the star trails.
- 1 x ?? second exposures - Just to keep the iPhone from shutting down whilst I waited for the light level to increase as Blue Hour begian.
- 4 x 30 second exposures - Images that will possibly be used as a backdrop when blended with the star trails - Different exposures (ISO 500, 320, 125, and 62).
- Close the NightCap Pro iOS app.
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Noise reduction ...
iExplorer - Used the iExplorer Mac OS-X app (by Macroplant) to transfer the various images from my iPhone 6s Plus via Lightning-USB cable to my MacBook Air 11".
photoFXlab - I used this Mac OS-X app to access the Topaz Simplify and DeNoise plugins. These plugins significantly outperform my "go-to" apps for noise reduction on iOS devices (e.g., Noiseware, Photogene, Photoshop Express). The noise in this case is high ISO speckle luminance and chroma noise.
Topaz Simplify 4 - Detail Removal and Enhancement - "Dust Removal I" preset.
Topaz DeNoise 5 - Used the "JPEG - Light" preset with various custom settings (Clean Color 1.0) (N.B., I have often added grain to the image, but knowing that I would be doing further post-processing on my iPad in this case, I refrained from doing so.)
PhotoSync - Transferred the images to my iPad Mini (with retina) to continue the post-processing and posting activities.
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Post-processing ...
- N.B., Dark frame subtraction needs to be done carefully and prior to any other processing takes place. I have yet to find a simple way to do this satisfactorily in OS X on my MacBook Air]
- N.B., I have found that the noise reduction carried out on my iPhone 6s Plus long exposures using the Topaz plugins is sufficiently good that I don't miss not using dark frame subtraction as part of my workflow. This would be different if I had higher resolution, higher fidelity image files from a different camera. I would need to re-evaluate the situation if this was the case.
Snapseed - Applied various overall lighting adjustments to the star trail image (i.e., Highlights, Saturation, Contrast, Warmth). Also applied some of the Structure and Sharpening filters.
ExifEditor - Transferred the EXIF data from the original star trail photograph to the final image.
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Other ...
pUniverse (Pocket Universe) - I used this iOS app to identify various celestial features in the image.
I came across this small (6 to 8 mm) but colorful spider in a clump of Agapanthus plants outside our apartment block. It is a Six-spined Spider, also known as a Jewel or Christmas Spider. This view of the underside shows the anatomy of these spiders very nicely.
Only 4 of the 6 spines are visible on the rear of the abdomen in this photograph, the other 2 being obscured by the legs. A thread of silk is being fed out with the help of the spinnerets on the underneath of the abdomen, and is guided into place by 2 of the legs. The 8 legs are attached to the front or cephalothorax body part. In front of the sternum, we can see the two chelicera flanked by the two pedipalps.
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Links for background information ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austracantha
www.mov.vic.gov.au/spiders/detail.aspx?pid=16
arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1869
www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_weavers/JewelledSpiders.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_spider_terms
www.dpreview.com/reviews/kamerar-lens-zoom-kit-for-iphone...
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[ Location - Barton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia ]
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Photography notes ...
The photograph was taken using the following hardware and software ...
- iPhone 7 Plus.
- Standard rear camera 3.99 mm focal length (28 mm equivalent for a 35 mm full frame sensor).
- x10 Kamerar/Ztylus macro lens.
- Gizmon TLR Bluetooth Remote Shutter.
- Gray Card made by ProCamera.
- Standard Apple Camera iOS 11 app.
I acquired the photograph (4032 x 3024 pixels) with an ISO of 20, exposure time of 1/440 seconds, and an aperture of f/1.8.
Post-processing ...
iExplorer - Downloaded the photographs from my iPhone 7 Plus to a MacBook Air 11” using a lightning/USB cable and the iExplorer app (Macroplant).
Lightroom - Viewed and culled the photographs that were taken using Lightroom (Adobe Systems Incorporated). Only saved the images that had some chance of being posted online.
Lightroom - Made various lighting and color adjustments to the image.
Lightroom - Applied a square (1:1 aspect ratio) crop.
Lightroom - Output the image as a JPEG image using the “Maximum” quality option (1672 x 1672 pixels).
PhotoSync - Copied the JPEG file to my iPad Mini for any final processing, review, enjoyment, and posting to social media.
@MomentsForZen #MomentsForZen #MFZ #iPhone7Plus #iPhone #iExplorer #Lightroom #PhotoSync #Kamerar #Ztylus #Macro #Closeup #Spider #SixSpinedSpider #JewelSpider #ChristmasSpider #Spinnerets #Silk #Abdomen #Legs #Pedipalps #Chelicera #Sternum #Cephalothorax