That is Mr. Muffet to You

Little Miss Muffett doesn't have a thing on me peeps! This beautiful mother and about 100 of her little ones patiently posed for this portrait yesterday. One doesn't have to travel far to find amazing subject matter!

(Become A) Versatility Virtuoso

You may have heard some photographers stressing the importance of 'making photos' rather than 'taking photos.' In order to make it as a professional (nature) photographer, one has to be able to adapt to the situation that you're faced with and come home with good, salable images. Otherwise, it is highly likely that your client will not call on you again.
Although I love the serendipity of hiking along a mountain trail and coming upon an amazing subject to photograph, more and more, I find myself shooting with an agenda in mind. This morning was no exception: I needed to make photos of trout lilies for Meet Your Neighbours, for my catalog of wide angle macro photographs for an upcoming project and for my general stock collection to boot. To make things more tricky, each direction required a different style and approach.
With a little creativity and good planning a single location can yield a wide variety of completely different images that can be delivered to different customers and markets without conflict. All of the images included in this post were photographed in a single morning.

Wide-Angle Macro: The Nuts & Bolts.

Many of you may remember several posts that I wrote this past summer on Wide-Angle Macro Photography. Well, for those interested in really learning the nuts and bolts of this technique, I would highly recommend that you follow this series of articles by my friend Paul Harcourt Davies. Paul –a master of wide-angle macro– will be going through how to create these amazing images in great depth. Do check it out if you want to learn more.

In-Your-Face Macro Photography

With a new wide-angle lens (Nikkor 18-35mm zoom), and a couple of new flashes (Nikon SB-900 and SB-600), I’ve been having a great time refining my wide-angle macro photography technique. Until now, I had been relying on ambient light and very long exposures to make wide-angle shots in this ein. Although there are a few pioneering macro photographers who have used this technique very well –Mark Moffett, Piotr Naskrecki, for example– the implementation takes some time to refine and the settings really vary based on what gear you choose to use. There are a few different ways to make this style of macro work and personal preferences vary.

Although it is common to use a ring-flash for macro-photography, I prefer to use the more flexible Nikon speedlights (just about any variable setting off-camera flashes will do) because they allow me to be more creative in terms of how I light each scene. I have also found that, because of the reflective nature of some species, it is nice to be able to pull the light source further back to reduce highlights. One of the downsides to using the larger ‘strobes’ is that they can be heavy. Because I hand hold the camera gear, this weight can make it somewhat difficult to remain steady and keep within the very limited area of sharp focus that is inherent in macro-photography. However, this isn’t that big of a deal because the flash is firing at such a rapid rate (and set at rear-curtain) that the image usually comes out sharp. The question is: Which part of the subject is sharp? Sharp grasshopper eyes are usually preferred to sharp grasshopper knees!

The minimal working distance can be threatening to more timid species so field-craft and an understanding of animal behavior is really required. Some species feel more comfortable if approached slowly, while others are best approached in a rapid fashion followed up with sudden stillness. This is where experimentation and research come into play. Once you get close to subject, you then have to throw composition into the whole juggling act. I don’t believe that the image above is exactly an amazing photograph but I like the direction that it is going in. This theatrical, in your face, and well-lit approach to macro photography is really appealing to me in a storybook kind of way and I’m having a great time exploring the possibilities.

Froggy Went'a Courtin'

I've really been having a lot of fun experimenting with wide-angle macro photography this spring. Although I'm still striving to get more depth-of-field in my backgrounds, I like the direction that this series is going in. These two photos are of one of the many spring peepers (Hyla crucifer) that have been singing for weeks around the pond behind our place. These very diminutive tree frogs are a perfect subject for my current set-up because they are so very small (max. 1.5" snout to vent) and therefore are able to fall completely within the sharp area of the image.

One of my friends recently commented that these images look fake, or almost like they were made on a set or with post-processing. I must admit that I know what he is alluding to. However to me, this strange juxtaposition of the foreground and background is what makes this technique appealing. I should say that I am, in fact, doing all of this in-camera just in case any of you were wondering as well. The addition of off-camera fill-flash on the subject certainly adds to the surreal quality or 'museum display' feel of the photograph.
I like this approach to macro-photography because it allows the viewer to see some of the subject's environment, which is an important element for natural history photography and certainly something that is quite often lacking in macro imagery.