|
|
Ann Van Breemen
{K:13399} 6/28/2005
|
This is a very nice photo as it is, Laurie. However, the eye could still be a little sharper. Sometimes using the sharpening tool in Photoshop makes a big difference. Otherwise I like the way he seems to ooze out of the background. Well done. One of my favourites. Congrats for your S.C. Good feeling, yes? Cheers, Ann.
|
|
|
|
Linda Imagefree
{K:72276} 6/20/2005
|
Congrats my dear friend and of course it's well deserved, this is a wonderful image and a wonderful thread to read and learn by, thank you so much for that...:):)Linda
|
|
|
|
Roberto Arcari Farinetti
{K:209486} 6/20/2005
|
marvellous my dear laurie, and i SEE ALSO A PERFECT sTAFF cHOICE!
is a perfect award.. for a magical portrrait of this lizard!
is so clear so perfect so dettailed!
also the macro100 is so good!
kisses & hugs
roby
|
|
|
|
|
Ehdae (Abullha AL Hazza)
{K:4725} 6/20/2005
|
Exellent!! I love it
|
|
|
|
Paul's Photos
{K:35235} 6/14/2005
|
excellent capture... nice work, love the colors.. good cropping...great work
|
|
|
|
|
Tiger Lily
{K:10966} 6/13/2005
|
I actually like part of his body softly disappearing into the background. Excellent dof, sharp focus.
I love your green frames (butterfly had a similar frame) but in this case I wonder if another color would be better since the subject is also mostly green. Just a nitpicking suggestion Laurie - the image & its presentation are perfect as is.
Best wishes,
Lily.
|
|
|
|
|
arwa abdullah
{K:34415} 6/13/2005
|
Maybe you are getting too close?
Try stepping back while shooting with maximum size and best resolution have the future crop in mind before pressing the shutter, I don?t know much about lizards but you could use a tripod if they don?t move a lot
But I don?t see why would you bother with all this the image is fantastic! The shallow DOF actually focuses the viewers attention on the most sharp point, the eyes! An image to be proud of!
Well done
P.S.
Im not so sure about the frame its too big, maybe a darker slim frame would work this way you?ll be able to show the image in bigger size instead of using the big frame
|
|
|
|
|
Alastair Bell
{K:29571} 6/12/2005
|
Hi Laurie,
I've been trying to get this link to post for ages...
look at
www photo net / learn / optics / dofdigital /
It seems UF won't let me post a url so replace the first two spaces with . and then remove all the other spaces.... Its a cracking description of DOF and how to calculate it.
Alastair
|
|
|
|
|
Laurie Gould
{K:11942} 6/12/2005
|
Thanks Alastair! I'll be looking at reviews on this lens to see which f stop is best. Your suggestions have been very helpful!
I almost feel like I'm starting over with photography. I guess I got spoiled and used to my other equipment. I could take 100 pictures and get quite a few usable ones. Now I take a 100 pictures and end up with maybe one that is passable. But, I am determined to get the hang of this!! :)
|
|
|
|
|
Roberto Okamura
{K:22851} 6/12/2005
|
Excellent macro Laurie!!
Very beautiful capture and seletive dof!
Congrats!
Roberto.
|
|
|
|
|
Peter Houtmeyers
{K:3519} 6/12/2005
|
Good colors and focus right on the eye! I have a few suggestions for the dof. If you can get a high enough shutterspeed( at least 1/125 when handheld) go for a higher aperture. If there's no light enough to use a higher aperture just double the distance between the front of your camera and the lizzard. I know you will loose magnification......but if your intend is to send it to USEFILM ( max file 800x800pixels) you can always crop the photo. The lens you are using is one of the sharpest around so after a bit of trying you will get a very good photo!
|
|
|
|
|
Alastair Bell
{K:29571} 6/12/2005
|
Focus distance is also a factor for DOF. The closer the focus the smaller the DOF... If you want to see a really good (but very technical) description of DOF look at
www.photo.net/learn/optics/dofdigital/ .
|
|
|
|
|
Zannoni Matteo
{K:12211} 6/12/2005
|
straordinari dettagli,
Pace e salute, M.
|
|
|
|
Petal Wijnen
{K:50989} 6/12/2005
|
And you did very well!!! Great colors (love the white on the underside and the green on top of the lizard and the background as well), good DOF (I kind of like the shallowness of it) and composition.... well captured and keep on trying (as in the song: Things can only get better.... ;-D)!!!!
|
|
|
|
|
Alastair Bell
{K:29571} 6/12/2005
|
And again a bit was too big (or so I guess!)
And still this bit was missed out!
As far as DOF is concerned the area in focus is inversely proportional to the lens length - for example on my Sigma 24-135 f/2.8 I have a larger DOF at 24mm f/2.8 than I do at 135mm f/5.6 - in fact I have to go to about f/11 at 135 to get the same DOF when focused to minimum focus distance.
|
|
|
|
|
Alastair Bell
{K:29571} 6/12/2005
|
And still this bit was missed out!
As far as DOF is concerned the area in focus is inversely proportional to the lens length - for example on my Sigma 24-135 f/2.8 I have a larger DOF at 24mm f/2.8 than I do at 135mm f/5.6 - in fact I have to go to about f/11 at 135 to get the same DOF when focused to minimum focus distance. Focus distance is also a factor for DOF. The closer the focus the smaller the DOF... If you want to see a really good (but very technical) description of DOF look at www.photo.net/learn/optics/dofdigital/ - heavy on the math in places but very informative.
|
|
|
|
|
Alastair Bell
{K:29571} 6/12/2005
|
(...cont'd)
Basically you have a number of options - a shorter lens, stand further back and stop down. Generally its best to use the lens at its sharpest f/stop. Every lens has a 'sweet spot' where the edge sharpness is at its maximium. Try to find out what f/stop that is (from testing or from reviews) and use the lens at that f/stop when using as a macro lens.
But as stated earlier, this shot is great. Aside from the focus which I already commented on the colours are superb (again) and the compoition works very well too.
Very well done!
(had to send this in chunks as UF wouldn't take it as one post)
|
|
|
|
|
Alastair Bell
{K:29571} 6/12/2005
|
I just posted a huge long reply, hit 'Add Comment' and it vanished!
So here goes again....
This is much much better Laurie! The eye is pin sharp and you've still retained the detail on the head as well.
(cont'd)
|
|
|
|
Pawel Kwasnicki
{K:9651} 6/12/2005
|
Lovely macro! The eye is a great point of interest out of greens; best regards, Pawel
|
|
|
|
Shane Finnigan
{K:1990} 6/12/2005
|
Hi Laurie,
Personally I like the way his body fades off into unfocusness. Great choice of colours, but as Joggie posted, if you want to make the colours more dramatic choose more contrast. For this subject black would probably work really well. Also, since macros mean REALLY short DOF's go for the greatest (high F stop) you can get. That is unless you want the shorter DOF. Both work depending on what you want as your final result. Great shot!!! Love the subject too  )
|
|
|
|
|
Alastair Bell
{K:29571} 6/12/2005
|
Much much better Laurie!!!This is a cracking shot - good eye detail and the head is pin sharp!
The big thing about DOF is that it inversely proportional to the focal length of the lens. An 18mm lens will for a given aperture have a much greater DOF than a 180mm lens - in fact on my Sigma 24-135 f/2.8 I've noticed that 24mm f/2.8 has much more DOF than the same lens at 135mm f/4.5 at the same focal length. The other factor to take into account is the distance from the subject. As the distance decreases so does the DOF, so with a 100mm lens focusing at 1ft you will have a significantly smaller DOF than if you were focusing at for example 10ft. If you want to see an excellent (but very technical document) about DOF see http://www.photo.net/learn/optics/dofdigital/ - there's a lot of math in it but the text is very well written to explain the concepts.
So basically you have 2 options for DOF... Use a shorter focal length lens or move back a bit... and of course the f/stop will make a difference. If possible find out from reviews or testing where the lens is at it's sharpest at the edges and try to use it at that f/stop. Also try using 'hyperfocal' techniques...
But as I said before I started waffling, this is a great shot Laurie. Aside form the focus the colour is bang on and so is the composition. Well done!
|
|
|
|
|
Margaret Sturgess
{K:49403} 6/12/2005
|
Another excellent capture
Margaret
|
|
|
|
Joggie van Staden
{K:41700} 6/12/2005
|
A great picture Laurie. What an interesting subject! I would like to make 2 sugeestions (have not look at the previous shot with the associated suggestions though - please bear with me if I repeat). Firstly I would use a darker foreground to give the colours and textures of the lizard preference in the composition and secondly I would use a flash together with the smallest F Stop possible (F32 if you can). The built-in flash of my own Nikon D70 works very well. The flash wil bring out the colours very well - look out for reflective surfaces though and remember to keep the background in mind since you will have a much larger DoF and potentially a busy background. I have used this with success for most of my macro shots posted on Usefilm (even in full sunlight which will help to fill in shadows often casted by branches etc.) - feel free to have a look. Kind regards.
Joggie
|
|
|
|
Onur Özbakan
{K:16763} 6/12/2005
|
excellent work, green is magnificent!! very well done Laurie!! :)
|
|
|
|
|
Carolyn Wiesbrock
{K:14051} 6/12/2005
|
Absolutely stunning..excellent!
|
|
|
|
|
Alan Orr
{K:9671} 6/12/2005
|
Beautiful Laurie, I like the focus on the face and the rest a little blurry, just as you have it.
I dont know the aperature you used. maybe the lens is too macro for your wish, in which case something like a 50mm f 16 or so cropped.
I think this is a great shot as is though.
|
|
|
|
Len Webster
{K:25714} 6/12/2005
|
Great picture, beautifully framed. The narrow colour range helps to make the whole thing so successful.
|
|
|
|
Jose Ignacio (Nacho) Garcia Barcia
{K:96391} 6/12/2005
|
wonderful tones.
|
|
0 
