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Spring is upon us - part 5 of 1 2 3 4 5 6

by Jon Ashton Published 01/06/2012

If the subject lends itself to it (say an emerging dragonfly) I would consider taking a small, second tripod to which I attach the Novoflec Klammer - this enables me to place the piece of reed or grass in optimal light and with a complimentary background.

Clothing

You don't have to wear camo gear but clothes in muted colours are much less likely to draw the attention of insects than brightly coloured ones, it is also a good idea to wear long sleeved garments and consider wearing dark gloves, though I generally do not find the latter essential. If you have a head like mine, however, I would suggest some head gear partly to shield yourself from UV light and partly not to dazzle the insects with reflected light!!

Maybe I shouldn't admit this but at this point I check the camera has a compact flash card in it, and the batteries are good and I also check it is set to Av mode. I make a preliminary decision over the light, ie is it an ISO 100, 200, 400 or 800 day and set the camera accordingly. I make these preliminary decisions so that I know that if I fail to optimise the camera before I start shooting then I know that the chances are I will at least have an acceptable image to start with. Incidentally if you have not done much macro photography I think you will be in for a pleasant surprise in regard to ISO settings. Obviously some cameras are better than others in terms of restricting noise at higher ISO, but if you compose in such a manner that there will always be minimal or no cropping and you 'expose to the right' you will generate less noise. By exposing to the right I mean risk having a few 'blinkies' showing when you look at your image preview.

Remember the image preview is a guide and it is a JPEG and not the RAW file - keep an eye on the histogram. I know you can't do this for every shot but having done it for one you will soon get to know if a butterfly is a plus or minus or neutral exposure when on a light or a dark flower.

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1st Published 01/06/2012
last update 18/07/2022 16:31:48

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