Digital Camera - Ken Gilbert

With minimal depth of
field, accurate focusing is
critical –manual works
better than autofocus
CaMera SKILLS
reAdyFor
your cLose-up?
Q i’ve
bought amacro lens formyd-sLr
and have been trying to shoot closeups
of insectsand bugs in thegarden. But
most of my pictures areblurred andlook
quite gloomy. how can i get better results?
PeterHutchinson, Basingstoke
aBen says:Amacro lens
enables extreme closeups,
but places great
demands on the photographer.
the first challenge isdepth
of field, or rather the lack of it.
At its closest focus distance of
around 30cm (measured from
the camera sensor rather than
the front end of the lens), the
depth of field of a100mm f/2.8
macro lens can beaslittle as
half a millimetre, when used at
Fit a diffusion dome to your flashgun
to eliminate specular highlights
its largest aperture. Reduce
the aperture to f/11 and you’ll
still only get adepth of field
of about 2.5mm, so highly
accurate focusing is critical.
Macro shots are also
notoriously prone to blurring
caused by even tiny movements
of the camera or the object
being photographed, so small
lens apertures can mean
unworkably slow shutter speeds.
the most cost-effective
solution is to use a flashgun,
preferably fitted with adiffusion
dome like a Sto-Fen omni-
Bounce. Switch to Manual
exposure mode and use a small
aperture of around f/16 with a
shutter speed of about 1/125 sec.
ttL (through the lens) flash
metering should apply sufficient
flash for a correct exposure,
while the shortness of the flash
duration will counteract camera
shake or motion blur.
PhotoAdvisor
your photos critiqued
oN A seA oF GoLd
By ian carter (iancaus2001)
Nikon D200/ Nikkor af 75-300mm
f/4.5-5.6D lens/ 1/250 sec at f/8, ISO100
Ian says: I had gone to this Xiapu cliff-side in China to
captureasunrise. Inearly wetmypants when Isaw this
picture evolve in my viewfinder. Yes, it’s a great shot, but a
force greater than me put all the elements there for me to capture.
PHOtORAdAR USERS SAY:
Photoradarsays: the first and possiblyonlyshot of aseaweed
farm on photoRadar.And what alovely shot it is, too. Golden
light, great lines and tight framing.
aBerSsays:Astriking imagethatmustrank as one of the best
photos of the Day this year. the detail when viewed full frame
is quite amazing.
aritsossays:parallel lines, likethe parallel life of those two
friends. A harmonic photograph with a beautiful colour balance
and symmetry. An inspirational view. Iwould liketosee more
photographs from Ian.
aliJenningssays: the amazing golden water and the symmetry
created by the structure of the farm instantly caught my eye.
A great image that's been well framed and captured.
n-hattonsays: Awesome! I love the simplicity, the colour and the
repetition of the posts.Ithas awonderful painted feel to it. this
is one of the best photos of the Day in ages.
Want one of your pictures to be featured
here? We scour the PhotoRadar galleries for
amazing shots, so upload your photos today!
PHOtO
feeDBaCK
from our online
community
DigitalCamera July2010
95