Flies with Rodenstock Magnagon 5.6/75

Images taken in a controlled environment or with a posed subject. All subject types.

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iangreenhalgh
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2020 3:35 pm
Location: UK

Flies with Rodenstock Magnagon 5.6/75

Post by iangreenhalgh »

Hi folks

Here's some stacked images of a Hoverfly and a Bluebottle shot using a Rodenstock Magnagon 5.6/75 and EOS 650D. I use Raw Therapee, Photogimp and Zerenestacker. I'm a beginner at this macro lark so all creative criticism and tips most welcome.
2020-10-13-02.38.03 ZS PMax-WEB.jpg
2020-10-14-12.51.03 ZS PMax-WEB.jpg
2020-10-14-12.48.40 ZS PMax-WEB.jpg
2020-10-14-04.39.17 ZS PMax-WEB.jpg
2020-10-14-04.27.24 ZS PMax-WEB.jpg
2020-10-13-02.38.03 ZS PMax-WEB.jpg
2020-10-14-04.27.24 ZS PMax B-WEB.jpg

patta
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Re: Flies with Rodenstock Magnagon 5.6/75

Post by patta »

Clean your specimens! It will make a lot of difference.

rjlittlefield
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Re: Flies with Rodenstock Magnagon 5.6/75

Post by rjlittlefield »

iangreenhalgh wrote:
Sat Oct 17, 2020 1:08 pm
Here's some stacked images of a Hoverfly and a Bluebottle shot using a Rodenstock Magnagon 5.6/75 and EOS 650D. I use Raw Therapee, Photogimp and Zerenestacker. I'm a beginner at this macro lark so all creative criticism and tips most welcome.
Ian, welcome to macro. Sorry I missed greeting you on first post!

It looks like you have the basic techniques well in hand. Images are properly sharp and specular reflections are well controlled. The brightest reflections are blowing out a little bit, so perhaps more diffusion would be an improvement, but that's a matter for experimentation.

Your subjects here are obviously dead flies, perhaps salvaged from a window sill or some similar graveyard. Such subjects are excellent for testing and developing technique, but do not appeal to most people's sense of beauty. Cleaning would definitely help. Choice of background can also be a factor. I notice that a couple of your backgrounds consist of blurred straight lines. In my setups, that would come from the grain of a balsa mounting board and would suggest that I should do something more deliberate. Perhaps it means something else in yours, in which case it would be nice to know what.

Posing is always an issue. Straight-on shots like your #5 and #7 are generally less interesting than oblique shots like your others. The straight-on shots convey an impression of scientific documentation, rather than artistic intent.

--Rik

Lou Jost
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Re: Flies with Rodenstock Magnagon 5.6/75

Post by Lou Jost »

Welcome! Your colors seem off, I think you have not correctly white-balanced the camera.

Olympusman
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Re: Flies with Rodenstock Magnagon 5.6/75

Post by Olympusman »

RE- Cleaning specimens.
You can swirl the specimens in acetone to clear off the dust. If you use alcohol, it will compromise the pigments. Example - if you use alcohol it will turn the yellow pigments in wasps black, whereas acetone will preserve the pigments. Plus, it dries faster.

Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

leanderborg220
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Re: Flies with Rodenstock Magnagon 5.6/75

Post by leanderborg220 »

Olympusman wrote:
Tue Dec 01, 2020 12:30 pm
RE- Cleaning specimens.
You can swirl the specimens in acetone to clear off the dust. If you use alcohol, it will compromise the pigments. Example - if you use alcohol it will turn the yellow pigments in wasps black, whereas acetone will preserve the pigments. Plus, it dries faster.

Mike
Thanks for sharing that

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