Macro Photography tips for Point and Shoot cameras IV

Hi! 

Hope you are all good today, and did you enjoy my yesterdays post?

Let us continue the tutorial in macro photography, we have discussed 3 points so far, now the next point of importance is STURDINESS OF HANDS OR TRIPODS.

Using tripod is a very important step to achieve those wonderful macros, tripods allow us to achieve the details of the subject very well because the lens is stable and the chance of moving is eliminated, which results in blur free images. The usage of tripod becomes inevitable especially while shooting insects outdoors. The insects are either very fast moving like dragon flies, bees etc or the branch or flower on which the insect is sitting or feeding might be swaying in the breeze, remember not only high velocity wind effects the picture quality but even a little breeze can do much harm, and the lens when set in macro mode is vulnerable to even these slightest changes in the air, so If you want a better macro photograph, consider getting a tripod very soon just like me or you will end up getting such blurry images .

I will very soon get a tripod and will post it's details very soon.Very good tripods are available even for a lesser price. Check out this link from Flipkart for a variety of tripods in an affordable range. 

Word of caution: Please read the customer reviews and various video links attached on the site before purchase.

Okay, people don't be disheartened if you cannot think of getting a tripod now, I will post a few pictures which I took without tripod and will surely hope that even hand held shots can be wonderful. The trick is to have very sturdy hands.
The following two picture were hand held

Or another cheap idea is to rest our camera on something solid if available. 

Eg. I would like to display two images here which have been shot in an interval of a minute, the Exif,is the same but a slight variation in the angle which they were shot.

You can click on the images for a closer view.

The two images displayed here are of Euphorbia milli flowers from my home garden(not much of a garden though) both of them look equally good, they were clicked using all the earlier mentioned points in the previous posts like a shallow-depth-of- field, an appropriate angle to showcase the pollen inside the flowers, and the white balance is set properly as to not burn the colors of the image.

But the only difference is that the first image was shot by resting the camera on the window grill while the second shot was hand held.

Now when they were zoomed to 100% and cropped appropriately it resulted in the following images, 

Now do you see the difference in the clarity of the pollen?

The first image has a relatively clearer pollen than the second image.

That is the reason the camera has to rest on some support, but that is not possible every time, is it? Hence the importance of tripod cannot be ruled out in Macro photography.

Hope my article helps, do write in if you have any doubts and I would be honored to reply. And keep checking for my further tutorials.

PS: Please click on the images for a bigger view.

Have a great day people, keep smiling and Keep clicking.

Cheers, Deepthi Nannam

Macro Photography tips for Point and Shoot Cameras II

This post is a continuation of the last post.

So, we were discussing the various possible subjects in macro photography. Today I will give a few more examples and then will move ahead with lighting.

The other subjects can be Insects which make for interesting subjects only when the focus is at the right point.

Wasp clicked by my husband using Nikon L820
Look at the clarity, even the fur on the wasp is clearly visible

For more of the interesting Insect pictures please visit the following link INSECTA

2. LIGHTING

Lighting plays a very important role in macro photography, in any photography as a matter of fact though.

The best light would be the sunlight, especially early in the mornings and in the evenings when the glow of the sun is soft and is at an angle and sun casts a beautiful glow on the subjects.

Please avoid shooting when the sun is at its peak and the skies are clear because the intensity of the sunlight is very harsh at noon which makes the highlights of the picture to be "blown out". And the natural hues or color of the subject changes.

So, while shooting outdoors white balance should be taken into consideration to capture the real colors and to retain the freshness of the subject. Choose the sunlight option under white balance for shooting outdoors.

Shooting in very harsh light and without setting the white balance resulted in "blown up" image and false colors 

The same flower shot at a different time of the day when it was cloudy and with white balance set to Sunlight

The above two photos were shot using a 5mp Samsung duos phone camera.

But when the subject is being shot indoors, then the flash plays an important role, make sure that the camera is not very close to the subject as the flash can cause a shadow. Select the Fill flash option which is more desirable while using flash.

Flash plays an important role even outside when the subject is constantly moving due to wind, the usage of flash enables us to freeze the motion in other words it eliminates blur.

The following examples illustrate this.

Buds of the wild neem (Melia azarderach), the flash has cast a shadow

By properly distancing the subject the fill flash option can be used to create stunning images

Though these flowers were captured during day light the shadow of the tree, and it was quite windy which made me use the flash. 

This ends the topic of lighting, the post will continue with the remaining topics.

Indian Golden Oriole (Oriolus kundoo)

These yellow beauties are a feast to the eyes.

What do you think?

Female Indian Golden  Oriole

Another profile

This bird was perched very far so could not capture the stunning details of it, but happy enough to have captured it as soon as I saw it for the very first time.

Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus )

Hello!
These days I'm so engrossed in Bird photography, that when ever I get some free time i.e. when my 6 month old son sleeps or when my husband has a holiday or during weekends I go out hunting to shoot new birds and to keep them caged in my computer :)

I now present to you all a new debutante in my collection of bird photographs. THE GREATER FLAME BACKED WOODPECKER( Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus)

I saw this bird perched high on a rain tree outside my window a very long time ago and tried capturing it but couldnt capture it clearly due to the thick foilage of the rain tree and very recently the neighboring apartment people had half of the tree overlooking my window chopped down which brought tears in my eyes and the thought of not having any more birds come made me very sad, but neverthless I never lost heart as that is a way in which I tend to spend my little free time, and have been eagerly waiting for it to show up again and I'm pleased to tell you all that it was back and though it was very high like the last time the lack of obstructing branches made my job easy. Though the bird seemed to be in a hurry, I managed to grab some beautiful shots of the magnificent creature.
Hope you like them.

TIPS FOR IDENTIFICATION:
1. Un marked golden yellow to dark brown back and wings
2. The red hood is characteristic of males

Adult male greater flame backed woodpecker

characteristic red crown of an adult male

White spotted Fantail (Rhipidura albogularis)

This is also called Spot-breasted-Fantail, this is the only fantail found in Goa out of the 4 fantails found in India.

Captured this at Vasco-Da-Gama municipal park. This bird is always there and as soon as we enter the park it kind of welcomes you with a tail display. 

Captured this with my Nikon L820 as well.

look at the tail..hence the name

Macro Photography tips for Point and Shoot Cameras

MACROS....oooh!

I kind of like the term and also love clicking in that mode...who doesn't?

I'm neither a professional photographer nor do I own a professional DSLR camera with a fancy Macro lens. (No offense to people with those wonderful Cameras).

Rather I'm an amateur with a great enthusiasm and passion for photography and I own a Bridge camera. But that doesn't stop me from getting some wonderfully clean and crisp macro photos, it shouldn't stop you either.

Today I'm going to illustrate neatly about the steps involved in macro photography with relevant examples.(All the photos in this post are clicked only by a point and shoot camera  by me unless and otherwise mentioned).

First of all...check out for the following flower like symbol on the camera to go to macro mode.

Click on this button, and start clicking, but some cameras like Sony cybershot, etc do not have a special button for macros but rather you have to set your camera in auto mode and get the camera closer to your subject and your camera automatically displays the symbol and you can start clicking.

And before you get close to your subject please press the shutter button slightly which allows you to focus on the subject properly and then in the next click you can start clicking, perfectly focused pictures. And when you slightly press the shutter button then you can know which part to highlight in your picture and the you can blur the other parts.

Important points to remember in Macro photography:

1. Subject

2. Lighting

3. Angle of Photography

4. Steadiness of hands or Tripod

5. Post-processing

And most importantly PATIENCE

All there are interrelated and cannot work without each other.

We come across many interesting things and little creatures in our daily lives which may seem mundane but after careful observation would make for some wonderful SUBJECT..

There is no hard rule, just let your imagination run wild and in no time you will have great pictures. The subjects may be flowers, insects, still life or any thing.

Today I'd like to discuss in detail how ordinary things seem extraordinary in Macro photography. The main focus of the article is upon the FLORA. Check out my Facebook link for other  macro flora subjects

Droplets of rain on a Euphorbia milli leaf with the refraction of the building in the back ground.

These are the flowers of a variety of wild grass which were swaying in the wind, their rich color against the blurry background makes it a good picture.

This is a wild Fabaceae flower(Need help with the ID), The monotonous green of the leaves makes the bright orange stand out

These are the sexual stage of a moss called Funaria, these are very small in size almost a cm or so and go  UN-noticed by everyone

Here the concentration  is on the pollen which being in the same color as the flower stands out cause it has been focused upon.

These are very few examples of what the subjects can be and will discuss the rest in the coming posts. Till then Keep smiling and keep Clicking.

PS: Please click on the images for a larger view.

Cheers,

Deepthi Nannam

Beautiful Lantana

I captured these stunning beauties at Vizag on a terrace. They had grown wild near a tank, thanks to the birds for the seed dispersal.

This variety of Lantana is called Eggs and Ham due to the dominant yellow pink and orange hues in the flowers(hehe nice name huh!),  love the flowers but the smell of the plant is a no-no to me.

I captured Lantanas in many colors check out this link for the other flowers. Lantana camara

Touch me not

This plant should probably be renamed as TOUCH ME..cause everyone who finds this plant seems to touch it instantly..lol

No matter how insignificant we are......

Photography 365

Day 9

Milk weed bug on a wild fern

I captured this milk weed bug on the way to cortalim, Goa.

This bug reminds me of the various n number of creatures created by the God Almighty...and I wonder...!! How did He draft such variety? such colors, such patterns and what not...just cant imagine how He managed to draft the blue-print of the creation.

Ranging from the microscopic organism to the blue-whale He created everything. But no matter what the size is, what the color is...and irrespective of how the creatures look...God cares for all of them. HOW WONDERFUL IS OUR GOD!

The same thing applies to us humans...it is written in the Bible...Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (NIV). So no matter How poor we are, how ugly we look or how insignificant we are, or any problem we might be facing...God is with us and he takes care of us, so do not be disheartened or do not worry cause we have the heavenly father.

Leaves and thorns....

He-ya!

Sorry for not posting in 365, my computer was down.

Photography 365

Day 8

I took this picture at my Granny's garden. Captured this early in the morning when everyone in the house was sleeping. Just cant tell you how good it feels to go around clicking pictures when no one is watching..the best feeling ever..its like I'm lost in my own world with no one to other.

Don't the dew drops look heavenly...? What a bliss it was going around and finding the nature at its best...it was as if the whole garden had a thorough shower from the heavenly father...looking fresh and clean..ah! what bliss...Thank you Lord for your wonderful creation.

Green, green and green

Photography...365

Day 5 

Guess what it is?

Green, Green and green...

Here, there and everywhere...

From the grass so lean.....

to the birdie's queen...

From the heart of a seed....

you rise to be a mighty tree...

Our hearts are so happy..

when we see you everywhere...

Author-Deepthi Nannam

Green blow fly (Eega, Eega, Eega.....)

Photography 365

DAY 4

Blow fly (Stapelia gigantea)

Captured this at my Granny's place very early in the morning.

My mom just loathes this insect...so does everyone I guess.....?

But it does make a very elegant model for a photoshoot, Lol.

The royal Blue....

Photography...365

DAY 3

I captured this blue butterfly pea, (Clitoria ternata)  at my home garden in Goa.

Blue, blue, blue.....

From darkest to the lightest hue...

spread across the sky so wide...

reflected in the ocean so deep...

makes my heart merry and glad....

driving away all things that made me weep.

Author-Deepthi Nannam

Pearly drops on a leaf

Photography...365

DAY 2

Rain water droplets on Colocasia leaf

I took this picture at Selaulim Dam...it was raining hard while we went around but when it stopped raining, it looked as if the surrounding had a very good shower.

It was hot and sultry
suddenly it started to rain...
soaked up everything dry
but the trip wasn't in vain...
cause the world became fresh and clean
and vanished all our heart's pain.

Author-Deepthi Nannam

Don't mind my silly poems :P...Am just writing them as I blog by.