Dragon's Face

Awesome shot Ronnie. I would love to see some this "tame". I don't have but a few in my yard and they won't let you near them.
Nice image and very sharp.

Wow Ronnie this is amazing!Cant believe you could do this with natural light.This was a cooperative subject.great detail and I especially like the grid pattern of the wing in the near BG.

Fantastic detail and clarity, Ronnie! A question for you- how do you position the tripod? I have trouble at this high magnification with getting the tripod at the proper distance from the subject (too far away and I can't get high enough magnification, too close and the lens can't focus). Thanks.

Beautiful shot Ronnie. You know everytime I see one of your fantastic macros I tell myself I have to get disciplined and use my tripod. Maybe one day I will, and be able to get shots like this (I can hope).

Cheers,

Matt,

I use extension tubes on my 80-200mm. I know from experience the focusing range of each of the three tubes. When I want to get maximum magnification I use all three=68mm. The following is the focusing range with 68mm of extension as measured from the end of the lens= 2-1/2" to 20". That covers a pretty good range. This dragonflies head was about 3" from the end of the lens. So for this shot I just set up as close as I could without touching the outer wing. I kept the end of the lens about 1/4" from the wing tip. I could have gotten down to the 2-1/2" minimum, but would have had to be on an angle from the front of his head or head on.
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You know everytime I see one of your fantastic macros I tell myself I have to get disciplined and use my tripod.

Robert,
As you know I shoot 100% of my macros with a tripod. With ambient light photography, a tripod is a must. I will admit, that at times it becomes very frustrating. My percentage of missed shots is high. But if you are persistant and have lots of patience you can normally get a good shot. I also shoot early in the morning and late in the afternoon when most of my subjects are not as active.

Ronnie, normally your shots just make me jealous, but this one deserves a heartfelt "I hate you". This is an absolutely fabulous DF closeup.

Very helpful Ronnie, thanks. I work with a 105mm macro, often with the kenko extension set. I can see how the zoom gives you much more flexibility. I use strictly natural light for my work as well (mainly since I don't own a flash )

The clarity and sharpness is amazing, Ronnie! I think I'll get a set of the extension tubes also! VERY well done!

Incredible close-up! I love the green background and the details of the dragonfly. Great work!

WOW Ronnie - considering the DOF is probably measured in mm you have captured some great detail. I see you sacrificed a little bit in the eye and which is against the rules - but you know what they say about rules.

Amazing shot. Be good or you will come back as one of these in your next life.

seeing images like this reminds me again why I love macro photography.

To be able to see so much detail that you normally never get to see.

It's been overcast in the mornings here in the bay area, but I'm having a hard time getting myself up early in the mornings to go shoot.

jp

Ronnie...this is absolutely amazing!! The detail is incredible! Wonderful!!

<a href="http://www.photographybydolores.com/"><font color= "#718AC3">Photography by Dolores</font></a>

Hi Ronnie, really great shot. How do you manage to retain sharp focus while doing the mirror Lock up? Must admit, I haven't tried it on my D100 (he says as he reaches for the manual on how to lock mirror up) but at such close distances with so very little depth of field, when I tried it on my old film type Nikon I could never retain critical focus after pushing the sliding knob up to lock mirror. (Nikkormat FT2)

He's quite a looker, eh? I'm not sure how I feel about the blurred wing in the background - I cant decide if I like it or find it distracting.

Thanks for sharing, especially with all the tech details! Cheers!

Ronnie, you have a fantastic backyard. I like the scientific brightness of your portrait very much. - Digo.

Ronnie, That's not a skimmer; it's a creature from outer space putting on makeup and false eyelshes.

It's unreal.

Carol
http://hy-tec-training.com