Archive for February, 2009
How to Make a Macro Photography Art Studio
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Macro art studios come in all shapes and sizes. They range in complexity from the simple table top and hot lamp setup to the advanced fully functional studio with all the bells and whistles. My own is an example of the later. You will figure out your needs as you progress. For example, I started with a simple single-light setup on my tying bench but as time went on I developed an interest in creative lighting which required a much larger working space. I read a lot about studio setups and searched the internet for examples of professional photography studios. Out of this research came a few common themes like a sloped back wall for placing backgrounds, a broad working floor, a long front end, and plenty of places to hang props, lights, and modifiers. I played around with many different ideas until one day I got the idea for a PVC base. The rest is history. Seriously, making my own devoted studio was the foundation for advancing my fly art photography. You need a place to create.
Why PVC? Because it is sturdy, durable, portable and cheap. You can modify it to your spacial limitations and it is very easy to cut and shape. And my wife loves it because I can break it all down and store in the closet when not in use.
For most people, a basic light tent is about all you need to get fine shots of your macro subjects. The style like the one shown below is highly recommended. You can find these at any photography store or eBay. However, I require a much bigger and more functional setup because I generally don’t use hot lamps. Instead, I am exploring off camera flash and creative lighting.
Fly Photography: Getting Started with Point-and-Shoot
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Tutorial Finalist Photograph
This tutorial will teach you to master your point-and-shoot camera for fly tying pictures. It will serve as an introduction to what is possible with that little piece of equipment you thought was only good for taking grip-and-grin photos on the water. Oh the power of knowing your equipment. A lot of topics will be introduced here and in the future we will expand on each individual concept. For example, white balance, ISO, lighting, and backgrounds each deserve a full discussion. However, it is often fun to put it all together in story format to provide a more active experience.
Equipment:
Olympus Stylus 770SW waterproof point-and-shoot camera
Lightning Bug Nymph
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The lightning bug has become my favorite nymph attractor pattern. This is certainly a well recognized pattern and often found in the go-to fly box. However, not everyone knows how to tie it properly. Sounds like a good reason to do a tutorial.
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Hook: Scud hook or curved hook of choice, size 12
Tail: Pheasant tail fibers, about 6 total, three-fourths-hook-length
Photographing Flies Part Three: Shooting with an Entry-Level dSLR
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Fly Photography – Entry Level DSLR TutorialFeb 15th, 2009, 1:35am
How to take better fly tying photos with an entry level DSLR
The purpose of this post is to show how to get the most out of your basic DSLR when taking pictures of your flies. Sure, macro lenses and off camera flash come in handy but I want to show (with pictures) how powerful your entry level equipment can be. In order to accomplish this goal I pulled out my Nikon D50 and kit lens and purposely left all the other gear in the bag. By doing this I hope you will see that the pictures come from your brain and not the camera (per se). This is stripped down naked photography and most of you already have the equipment.
Photographing Flies Part Two: Shooting on a Budget
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HOW TO SHOOT FLIES ON A BUDGET
EQUIPMENT
For this tutorial I used my Olympus Stylus 770SW waterproof point-and-shoot.
The micro studio is the same as shown above.
No flash was used.
Gear: point-and-shoot camera, a Gorilla tripod (about $10 at Office Max), a halogen hot lamp, tissue paper wrapped around the hot lamp to create a light diffuser/soft-light, a second lamp focused on the white background, the background is white poster board ($2.99 at the craft store). That’s it.
Things you need to know: get out your camera manual and learn how to set macro mode and how many macro modes you have available (more later, they are not all the same), know if you can adjust ISO and white balance (most can), and know how to set the delay timer (very important – you need to use delay to negate camera shake). You won’t be using flash (most of time it is shut off in macro mode anyway). Go to the links above to learn more.
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Photographing Flies Part One: General Discussion
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Backgrounds and depth of field in relation to macro photography. You can change the background three ways, 1) move it closer or further away, 2)bring it into or out of focus by changing depth of field (wider aperture = background blurred, smaller aperture = background more in focus), and 3)change the physical background with flash, either on- or off-camera (focus flash on the subject = background goes black, focus flash on the background and it becomes visible).
Examples vis-a-vis fly tying.
Shot of a calcasiu pig boat with the tying bench in the background. Nothing special, nice quick shot after tying.
From the Macro Notebook
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Here are a few notes I’ve picked up on macro photography.
Preface: These are copied thoughts from my notebook. Below are “topics” that I believe are important to the process and I wanted to share with you how to approach the subject. It is important to understand each topic and spend time at least reading the basics. Early on I did not have a structured road-map to help focus my reading and therefore my reading was disjointed. Think about each topic and ask yourself, “how does this relate to my goals, my camera, my budget, etc.”
First, have a goal in mind of what you are trying to shoot (e.g. bugs on the water is a good start). Then you can hone in the necessary equipment and techniques needed for that subject. Once you master one you can apply the knowledge to another subject and so on. For nature macro photography you won’t need to break the bank to get started but for other techniques like medical macro or educational photography you will certainly need more advanced equipment. Like my example above, I “had” to start with a very specific subject matter but now I have grown to love macro photography and find myself developing my own style and aesthetic feel.
Book to read: IMHO the best book on nature macro photography is John Shaw’s Closeups in Nature (Practical Photography Books) (Paperback) http://www.amazon.com/Shaws-Closeups-Nature-Practical-Photography/dp/0817440526/…. This is an older book, copyright 1987, and the author employs film photography. However, it is a superb read and very detailed. I have read it at least 3 times and the pages are full of notes and earmarks. It is a perfect start for nature macro photography.
Neal’s 10 C’s of Photography
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A while back I made a checklist list for photography because I found myself needing a quick assessment for my pictures. When starting out you don’t always know what questions to ask yourself in order to make adjustments. Furthermore, we often see wonderful pictures posted on the internet and want to create similar images ourselves but don’t know how to go about breaking down a shot into parts for examination. Like fly fishing, there is a lot going on – By knowing the basics you can better look at a scene and have at least a starting point on what fly to choose and what leader to use, the rest of time we are adjusting on the water as the day progresses.
At first, it is common to shoot a bunch of pictures, load them on the computer and then stare aimlessly wondering if you like the result. However, if you have a checklist memorized, you can quickly hone in on what is wrong with a picture and either make adjustments or ask higher level questions of others to help you out. Instead of asking, “do you like this picture, what would you do differently?”, you can now say, “I am having trouble with the white balance in this picture and the composition seems wrong, I think I should have used f/10 instead of f/4, maybe a shorter focal length lens, what do you think?” By thinking in this way, you can produce better quality images in less time and become more efficient at post production (i.e. waste less of your valuable time).
Bubble Head Popper
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Hook, Freshwater (shown below): bass bug hook (e.g. Orvis 8810 size 1/0)
Hook, Saltwater: Owner Spinnerbait, or TMC 911S, size 1/0 or 3/0
Thread: 3/0 heavy thread
Tail: Wig hair (Kanekalon) shown below, or flash fiber or Super Hair or Kinky Fiber, etc.
Flash: Flashabou (bluegill flash used below)
Body: Closed cell craft foam (non-adhesive back shown below but the traditional crease fly uses adhesive back foam with mylar sheets; I glued on thin wing material instead)
Eyes: Mylar stick on eyes or rounded eyes
Adhesive: Super glue
Tube for the bubble head: Thin drinking straw. Here I used IV tubing; you can get it at any specialty pharmacy store
Sealant: Tuffleye
Instructions
Start a thread base the length of the shank
Braided Worms
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Tying braided worms is easy, inexpensive and a lot of fun. These flies are effective on lakes or streams. You can fish them lots of ways but it is most effectively fished on a sinking line and retrieved with short pulse-style quick strips. On rivers, I consider these to be the “poor-man’s” sex dungeon because they have a similar life-like action. The advantage is that you tie up many of these to fill a box in all sizes and colors. If you add a foam triangle at the tail you have a Gulley Worm (do a Google search on John Gulley from Arkansas who invented this pattern).
Basics: braided worms only require one material – chenille. However, the kind you choose is very important. There are many kinds including standard or sparkle but what you want is the pre-braided ice chenille or pearl chenille or Estaz. My personal favorite is the “Tri Lobal Fiber” chenille with either crystal or holographic blended at 1 1/4″ – this is also known as Crystal Tri-lobal Hackle or pseudo hackle. You can get this stuff at any fly shop or online – it’s not rocket science. If you use these sparkle/Estaz chenille’s the advantage is you fly will turn out weightless and they shed water immediately upon picking up the fly for the back cast. Thus, you can create a big profile while being able to manageably cast the fly with a 5-6 wt rod. However, nothing beats an 8-wt rod for the bigger worms on sinking lines.
Here are some examples of chenille variants (I typically use the kinds shown on the right).
