Bracketing Those Shots

Round Bales in the Field

Lately, I have changed my photography process. It started when I discovered that Magic Lantern was available for my Canon 60D. For those wondering what that is, think of a firmware add-on which extends the capabilities of your camera. Near and dear to my heart, it is open source software that the camera reads from the memory card as it starts up, so no concerns about "bricking" my camera ! More importantly, it has added a host of options that I am really starting to enjoy using.

The default Canon firmware has a setting called "Auto Bracket", which allows the photographer to set up a three-shot bracket around the optimal exposure, and the photographer then sets the number of EV (in 1/3 stop increments) between captures. With Magic Lantern, the photographer has a lot more control - either choosing how many shots in the bracket manually, or letting the software determine what it needs in-camera.

On the back end, Lightroom CC has the ability to take the bracketed shots and merge them into one, creating an HDR-style photograph without all of the weird side-effects. There is also a nifty function called "anti-ghosting" which will attempt to eliminate any elements that occur in one of the frames but not all of them - like a truck or bird passing through the frame !

So all the way through, my choices have encouraged me to create bracketed photos, which bring out an added feeling of depth and warmth. These various functions, when properly mixed, have made complex techniques very straight-forward, allowing me to concentrate on the composition more. And that I where I know I need to focus more of my attention !

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Project365 - Almost Macro

Introduction

I must admit, I think macro photography is cool. For those unfamiliar with the term, it's the photographic method for taking pictures of very tiny objects. Imagine an 8X10 photograph of a bug's eye or a grain of rice. There are so many wondrous things around us, yet they are too small for the naked eye to see.

I had taken a few pictures (in this post) of Pat's tulips using an extension tube and my Canon 40mm f/2.8 prime lens. When I posted them, my new Facebook friend Dave asked me how I had captured them. When I explained about the extension tube(s), he inadvertantly gave me an idea - what if I used my Canon 70-200mm f/4 L telephoto lens ? I think an experiment is afoot !

The Setup

As I explained above, I mated my Canon 60D body with both a 25mm extension tube and my Canon 70-200mm f/4 L series telephoto lens. Then I mounted a Canon 430EX II on the body, and the body on my Manfrotto tripod. The whole rig is very front-heavy, as there is no additional stabilization on the lens itself. So I elected to use the shutter release cable as well - I didn't want any extra vibrations to ruin the shot !

The Photos

Pat "smuggled" a piece of coral back from Hawaii. It is wonderful and porous, although lacking in colour.

Here is a lantern, which pretty much fills the frame. The ideal for macro photography is to have a 1:1 ratio - between the sensor and the real size of the object. I think this is close...

Here's another view of the same lantern. I'm impressed by the minute detail in the metalwork.

Finally, a little perspective ! Look how tiny the lantern and coral are, when they're placed beside my iPhone on the mantle !

Lessons Learned

This was a fun little experiment. Strangely, because I was using a telephoto lens, I rather thought I would need to be much further away from the subject. Instead, I was barely 2 inches from the subject with the end of my lens ! Further, I learned to do a bit of "trial focus" work before deciding where to place the tripod.

 

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