In my own shooting, I find either a black or a white background look best, depending on a light or dark subject - you wouldn't want a dark subject with a dark background. I also find that spacing between the background and subject is important, so none of the background is even close to being in foc...

Very inspirational, and I like the one without the green background best. Have you thought about using a more neutral background? I'm afraid the textured green background adds nothing from my POV.

Very clever! Thank you for answering.

Love these pictures.

How did you hold the subjects?

Plants have their curiosities, too. This really becomes apparent when you close in on true macro. But yes, I agree that bug eyes have a kind of fascination! When the weather cools and stuff outside stops growing, I'll post a few of my favorites. I tend to use warmer weather as shooting weather, and ...

Lovely. Nature is so fascinating!

Is there a separate section for nature pictures of things other than insects? Plants have lots of interesting features, for example, especially at the macro level.

Just curious.

Nice work. Were you outside? What software did you use to stack? I have the same camera and have been experimenting with stacking in the field so to speak. Finding times with no wind is a challenge where I live, but Helicon does a great job of aligning when there's just slight breezes. I'll post som...

Is it still for sale? Where are you located?

I read a bit further after my post. Best answer is "it depends". Most of the slower lenses are symmetrical. Many of the faster ones, and the ones designed for wide field use, aren't. Interestingly, Nikon itself made or makes a reversing kit for the 50/2.8 since it finds use in process cameras among ...

Why reverse an enlarger lens? Aren't most a symmetrical design?

Edmunds Optics has quite a few telecentric lenses, none of them cheap, and with mounts that are not designed for our "normal" photography. That said, it's a good place to look around. Their print catalog is good, too.

Not sure I fully understand your problem, but here goes. You don't want to just screw something into a tripod socket. Keep in mind how we use tripod quick release plates - the threaded screw clamps the camera to the plate, so the plate can be mounted in any direction you want. It's important that th...

ChrisR, all true I'm sure, but I'm a long way from hitting those limitations! There's still much fun to be had in easier ways.

Thank you, Rik, for validating my combo. IIRC I got the idea for the 10Xon these boards some years back when Edmunds was selling the lens. And they still send me catalogs, even following me with a move. Haven't used it much since I got it, but I see the time is approaching, thanks to the great ideas...