# Fly, Fly Away!



## cgipson1 (Sep 14, 2011)

decided to take the macro lens out today... was testing a new diffusion setup for macro use.

 Fleshfly (family Sarcophagidae)


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## wornways (Sep 14, 2011)

What kind of lens? I have a very powerful 200mm lens, and I can never get a shot that clear now matter what I do.


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## cgipson1 (Sep 14, 2011)

wornways said:


> What kind of lens? I have a very powerful 200mm lens, and I can never get a shot that clear now matter what I do.



I am familiar with the lens you are using... and it is a great lens. But it is not a good lens to learn on, as the DOF is even more narrow than most macro lenses. It requires a precision that only comes with time. Tripod is almost mandatory with the 200mm Nikkor Micro (and a good focusing rail helps a lot also). 

I took the shots above handheld.. but braced against the rail the fly was sitting on. The Box Elder bug shots that you also commented on were taken unbraced... and what a pain!   It takes a lot of practice. I doubt that I could do it with the 200mm... it is just too tight on DOF.


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## Forkie (Sep 14, 2011)

These are great.  I love macro shots of flies - their faces are just fascinating.  Congrats on these!


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## cgipson1 (Sep 14, 2011)

Forkie said:


> These are great.  I love macro shots of flies - their faces are just fascinating.  Congrats on these!



Thanks Forkie! Now if I could just get that close to a Magpie! lol!


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## sniperbob13 (Sep 14, 2011)

Great shots, she almost looks kinda cute that close up...
What lens do you use?


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## pathoulihan1 (Sep 14, 2011)

Awesome shots! Were these taken with the same Tokina lens (100mm, 2.8) as the Box Elder bug? How close do you have to get to your subject for shots like these (through whatever lens you used).


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## cgipson1 (Sep 14, 2011)

sniperbob13 said:


> Great shots, she almost looks kinda cute that close up...
> What lens do you use?



thanks! Tokina 100mm 2.8 macro. Love the lens. As I get more into Macro Photography, I am discovering that the type of flash diffusion I am using matters more than the lens...  fun stuff!


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## cgipson1 (Sep 14, 2011)

pathoulihan1 said:


> Awesome shots! Were these taken with the same Tokina lens (100mm, 2.8) as the Box Elder bug? How close do you have to get to your subject for shots like these (through whatever lens you used).



Yes. my tokina 100. I was at closest focus distance on the fly....11.8" from the sensor plane.. about 4" from the end of the lens. Then a good sized crop! I wish I had taken my extension tubes with me.


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## edddial (Sep 14, 2011)

Very nice macro shots!


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## jrice12 (Sep 14, 2011)

The Tokina is not bad.  The diffusion is just about right.  Good shadowing without any harshness.


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## jwbryson1 (Sep 14, 2011)

Cgipson1, I own that Tokina but this is the closest I've been able to get hand-held.  I'm blown away that you could get so close that you can see the details in its eyes.  Did you use extension tubes?  I didn't think the Tokina had that kind of reach.  How close physically were you to the fly?  Love these shots by the way.


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## cgipson1 (Sep 14, 2011)

jrice12 said:


> The Tokina is not bad.  The diffusion is just about right.  Good shadowing without any harshness.



Thanks... I am diffusing my diffusers now! lol!


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## cgipson1 (Sep 14, 2011)

jwbryson1 said:


> Cgipson1, I own that Tokina but this is the closest I've been able to get hand-held.  I'm blown away that you could get so close that you can see the details in its eyes.  Did you use extension tubes?  I didn't think the Tokina had that kind of reach.  How close physically were you to the fly?  Love these shots by the way.



Thanks! Just takes practice. Try this... go to max focus on the lens... extend it all the way out. Then use your body movement to focus it on a subject... just slowly move back and forth until the subject is sharp.. and shoot!! I actually mentioned the distance that just a few posts up!    lol!  http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/macro-photography/256666-fly-fly-away.html#post2344113


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