Africa Wild

Very artistic Katja!!

I love the last one... in color and in precision

Wonderful pictures ....

tnx BluTuna for giving me the link to this Topic

I've just read this thread from start to finish, there are some seriously stunning pictures in here

I've been debating buying a macro lens for ages now and this has given me the final push to order one, it should arrive on Saturday

Can't wait to see some pics SammyA!

SammyA wrote:I've just read this thread from start to finish, there are some seriously stunning pictures in here

I've been debating buying a macro lens for ages now and this has given me the final push to order one, it should arrive on Saturday

Welcome to our nightmare

Which lens did you order?

Your woes have only just begun! The next thing you will need is a monopod or some other way of steadying the camera. If you are going to be shooting things that move - i.e. insects. a monopod allows me to easily move the camera to shoot different angles.

Then you'll need a flash because the depth of field you get when using natural light is about the thickness of a sheet of paper! You can use slower shutter speeds to get a smaller aperture but that leads to blurring and You can try bumping your ISO up but that leads to grainy shots.

I set my camera on manual and try to shoot at flash sync (1/200) and F22 or smaller. At these settings I use the flash at 1/16 intensity which allows me to make it brighter if I need more depth of field.

This is what my setup looks like :-



I have another flash (the infamous Nuclear Flash Gun - see my KTP trip report - BluTuna Goes West) which I can mount on the opposite side of the lens but this makes the whole getup very heavy and really unwieldy.

A twin light flash or ring flash would be first prize but they start at R5000.

Oh, and you'll probably want to get some extension tubes as well.

I have posted my more recent pictures on the Backyard Wildlife topic https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=243&t=3449

Have fun with your new lens - it will open up a whole new world of fascinating photography!

I ordered the Sigma 105mm f2.8, I'd of loved the Nikon version but the children said they wanted to be fed this month

Your set up looks really good I'll have to check out that other thread

I must admit I'm a complete novice when it comes to flash though - I don't own a proper one and my flash expertise stops at holding a business card to deflect the light from the flash on the camera

I hear that's a great lens!

I look forward to seeing your results

Some pics for the lovers of Macro Photography: http://magazine.africageographic.com/we ... 3cf4ca8e69

(Scroll down after the publicity)