For me, this happens in particular when I am travelling.  Typically when I travel I have one chance to get the shot.  After that, we will visit a different place or leave the area.  On some occasions when I have a good hotel location, I do receive multiple chances – but the reality is I usually have to take what I get.

Until recently, I found I would get annoyed quickly.  I would get impatient at the person with a camera cell phone attempting to photograph something that just isn’t possible with it but refusing to believe that this is the case while standing right in front of my camera.  Even more annoying was on a recent trip to China a guy sat right in front of what I was photographing and then motioned for me to get away so his wife could take his picture.  OK, I still get frustrated at these people – but I now have a new strategy.

The strategy is simply to make your enemy your strength.  Instead of getting frustrated at that which is preventing the picture you desire, look at what opportunities this opens up.

The shot above is a beginning example of this.  While we were in Beijing, the light was horrible.  Due to the strong pollution there, everything in the entire city was washed out and we did not see a single patch of blue sky while we were there.  I realized that the light was just simply not going to improve, so I chose to zoom in instead.  I rather like the shot above.  True, better light could have made it spectacular, but it would have had to come from a perfect angle and I think this shot isn’t so bad without it.  In this case, I used the poor light to push me to take more closeups that have less dependency on light.

On another trip to the Great Wall, we were stunned to wind up in a part that was literally overflowing with people.  While there are parts of the wall that have fewer people, our tour guide (ChinaTours.net – I do not recommend them) took us to one of the most crowded parts and there were so many people that we were literally packed like sardines.  It took forever just to move several feet.  Clearly I was not going to obtain the images I was hoping for.

So instead of trying to avoid people – I chose to focus the shot on them.  While I am still not completely happy with this shot – I think it needs some more post processing – it is one of my favorite shots from the Great Wall.  It clearly demonstrates what we were up against and what the Great Wall has become.

While we were in Xi’an, we decided to attend a Chinese cultural theater presentation.  The theater was very nicely decorated and the costumes and dancing were all very well done, but very often while I attempted to take pictures several guys in front of me would lift their small cameras as far in the air as possible to get a shot.  It became very annoying just when I thought I had a great shot I would find a camera in the middle of it.

Thinking about it a bit more, what would become of my shots anyways?  I couldn’t sell them, as I didn’t have the model releases.  A few of them I would show to family and friends, but that was about all.  Therefore I decided to try something different.

I really like this shot, even though my wife hates it so much she forced me to remove it from our photo album from China.  It still needs a bit more post processing, but is still my favorite shot from the evening.

In both of the cases above I deliberately made use of the thing that was annoying me to get a shot I liked better than most of the rest anyways. 

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Here’s the truth about fireworks shots.  In order to get that truly amazing fireworks shot you need to be familiar both with where the fireworks will be shot off that year as well as the optimal spot in the city to take a shot.  Typically this ‘optimal place’ will not be empty and you will need to set up way ahead of time in order to get the spot.

While you are setup in this spot, you will need to deal with photographers and spectators setting up right in front of you and if you need to use the bathroom you can consider your spot gone.  If you have kids, you’ll either need to not take them or they will get restless waiting hours before the fireworks.

The other thing to consider here in the Seattle area is that all of our fireworks shows suck.  The fireworks companies here simply do not utilize the more creative shells that many companies on the East coast utilize.  The one show I know of not shot by a local company here – the Seattle show shot by Pyro Spectacular – also sucks.  This puzzled me for some time, as Pyro Spectacular has a good reputation in the fireworks industry.  After some digging I found that the city of Seattle is not a fireworks friendly city and is such a pain to deal with in terms of budget and restrictions that the end result sucks.

Part of being a truly professional photographer is knowing when not to click the shutter.  Fireworks are pretty, but the chances that you will get a great shot haphazardly are close to infinitesimal.  If you are going out with the intention to photograph the fireworks show, my recommendation is to not go out at all.

Several years ago I got sick of fighting the crowds and found my fireworks shots no better than the millions of other horrible fireworks shots that plague the ‘Net after the 4th.  Therefore, I decided to go a different route and I now purchase some small fireworks items and shoot them off in our backyard with the kids.

Our kids now absolutely love the 4th of July and count the days before we shoot the fireworks.  As we have a small backyard I don’t buy anything big – mainly sparklers (the wood kind), some small fountains, bees, and pagodas (a yearly tradition – each child gets his/her own pagoda).  I do not shoot any festival ball and we stopped shooting firecrackers after some of our guests complained about the noise.

This year I hope to take some pictures of the event, as last year we used small sparklers that expired quickly and I spent all of my time distributing them.  My shots may not be masterpieces, but they will be far more memorable and valuable to me than the junk I would have taken at the fireworks shows here.

Therefore, please do your part this year and save energy by not forcing servers around the Internet to transfer your garbage among the millions of garbage fireworks shots that come after the 4th.

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I also do not want your picture because if you are in my shot and I want to sell it, I either must figure out how to clone you out of the shot or I cannot sell the shot.  So it is in my best interest to take steps to assure that you (and by “you” I mean any one of the other six billion odd people out there) are not in my photograph.

The problem is, when traveling people are like locusts.  Especially if you travel to a popular destination, they are everywhere.  They walk in front of you while taking a picture.  They climb monuments you are trying to take a picture of so that their friend can take a picture of them at the top of a 300 foot tall structure with a wide angle lens.  The new cameras in cell phones are even worse, as it is generally not possible to do a quick shot.  The user stands there for awhile, trying to get the picture he/she wants on the screen.  Then the picture doesn’t come out so he/she tries again, while you are waiting patiently to get a real picture.

Unfortunately, unless you are an emperor or dictator, you cannot do anything about this.  You can plan things so you photograph when the least number of people are around – such as early in the morning or you use your own transportation so you arrive between the tour buses, but for some sites large crowds are unavoidable.

Patience goes a long way here.  Very often, when I want a particular shot I will take out my camera, frame my shot, then wait for the best moment.  That is what I did for the first shot in this blog.

The only problem that sometimes happens is others see my large SLR and think “there must be something interesting there”.  So they take out their cameras and shoot away.  I do not mind this, except when by taking the shot they wind up in my shot.  As I often use my 16-35 2.8 and they often have small compact cameras, this is too often the case.  I won’t characterize stereotypes here, but after traveling and photographing for awhile, you can often get a general idea of the kind of people who do this.  Most of them are part of large tour groups who blindly follow their tour guide from place to place.  In this case, I just wait for the crowd to pass and then aim my camera and take my shot – by which time they can’t get back to take the photo for fear of losing their guide.

Of course, as I travel with two kids and my wife, this is often not possible and they lose patience with me long before the shot is ready.  Therefore, I often need to use tactics that take less time.

The two things that work best for me, which I learned while vacationing in Mexico – where the crowds were the worst I have ever seen – are to either go long or go wide.

For the shot above, there were about twenty other people in the room with me but I managed to wiggle my way to in front of this cave painting in Cappadocia and get my shot.  No, I did not use a flash (which the others in the room would do whenever the guard was not looking).  In this case it helps to have a camera that can do ISO 3200 without much noise.  I used my 16-35 to take the shot.

Using a wide angle lens works best when you can make sure you are closer than anyone else to the subject.  This actually worked out quite well in Chichen Itza as people are not allowed to climb the ruins any more. 

It does not work as well when people are allowed to climb the ruins.  In those cases, you have three possibilities.

1) Frame the shot without them.  If the people are at the bottom of the ruin, you can photograph the top.  Of course, this often doesn’t work as they are spread out over the ruin.

2) Wait for the crowd to be lower.  As I mentioned before though, this often isn’t an option or won’t work.

3) Wait for the people to get in a cloneable area.  If the person is in front of something that doesn’t have much detail, I will take the picture knowing I can clone the person out if I want to.

The other technique is to go long.  In this case, you are a distance from the subject and use a telephoto to get the shot.  Of course, if people are climbing over the object you will still need to be either patient or clone them out.

I used this technique to get this shot of the Blue Mosque – which usually has a throng of people around it.

I deliberately aimed up slightly to avoid the numerous people walking around.  The other nice thing about using a telephoto is you can capture the detail of the building, which many people often miss.

For a telephoto, I most often use my 70-200 4L IS.  I also own a 100-400 but use it far less frequently.  The greatest thing about the 70-200 F4 is its weight.  It functions great as a walk around lens and the IS is amazing.

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First, I will divide the trip into the different types of photos you may take – landscape, wildlife, and macro.

Landscape photography

The landscape is absolutely beautiful there – and most of my favorite photos taken there were landscape shots.  However, this is mainly because I lacked a good telephoto.  If I had had an SLR with a telephoto lens, things would have been the other way around.

The best lens to take for landscapes would be the 16-35mm 2.8L II.  In this case, the 16-35 is a much better choice than the 17-40 4L because the 2.8 aperture really makes a difference – especially when you are in the jungle – which is very dark.

However, you will not have a tremendous amount of time for landscape photos because you’ll find yourself on the move quite often.  Unless you go on a photography specific tour, you’ll find the need to shoot handheld most of the time because you won’t have the time to set up a tripod.

Wildlife photography

There are actually three different ways to see wildlife on a trip like this.

A lot of the time will be spent in a canoe similar to the one above.  This is actually the best way to take pictures and most of your keepers will likely be from the canoe.  Most of the time, it moves quite quickly – but the engines stop whenever they spot something interesting.

For a canoe, if I had one lens and one body I would take the biggest telephoto I had.  Ideally I would take the Canon 600mm 4L.  Most of the interesting critters will either be on the shore or high in trees – which often is a good distance from the boat.  Therefore, you’ll need a very long lens.  Even with the 600mm I would be tempted to use a 1.4x extender.

The main drawback with such a large lens is weight.  On the trip I went on, we were severely limited in the weight we could carry due to the small plane we took back.  You will need to make sure to work this out with the company before going.

Even more ideal, I would bring a second body with the Canon 100-400L lens.  In order to accomplish this though you will need a second helper.  You will not have time to pull a camera out of the bag and you need to secure the lens well when the canoe is moving – which is often very windy and wet.

The next best way to see wildlife is from blinds.  During the trip, we went to two different blinds.  At the first blind we saw hundreds of macaw parrots and at the second we saw a tapir late at night.

The poor quality of this shot is due to the night vision feature of the F717 – probably the only time I used that feature for a real purpose.  However, Tapirs don’t mind flashes so if you plan to view tapirs a flash would be a good thing to bring.  Otherwise, I would not bother for a flash unless you want to take pictures of your traveling party.

For a blind, the same equipment as mentioned above would be important.  In this case though you’ll have time to set up your tripod and get a lot of shots.  In the tapir case, we were quite close to it so even a 70-200 would have worked just fine.  However, for the macaws I definitely would have wanted a 600mm – expect when taking pictures of a number of macaws at the same time which would require the 100-400.

For walking around in the forest, you’ll probably be disappointed.  The majority of wildlife will not stick around for awhile once they notice you – which in the majority of cases is before you notice them.  Monkeys are probably the only exception.  You’ll need to shoot them handheld – so I would use a 100-400 for this purpose.  You will not have time to setup a 600mm – so leave that back in the camp where it will be perfectly safe.

Macro photography

This is the place for macro, but unless you go on a photography specific trip you’ll notice that you won’t have much time to take shots.  On my trip the guide was constantly on the move.

You will have time when at rest around the camp.  For this purpose the best lens is the MP-E 65.  However, for some things such as army ants I probably would bring the 180L because I want to keep some measure of space between us.

It’s not a bad idea to bring a 180L when walking in the forest.  Most of the shots in the interior will be macro shots because other animals won’t stick around very long.  This will also allow you to get some monkey shots if you happen to see them.  Make sure to bring a macro flash like the MT-24EX because you will not have time to setup a tripod.

Recommended companies

The two main companies I am familiar with are Manu Expeditions – which is the company I used – and Inkanatura.  If I were to go again I would use Inkanatura.  I felt the group in Manu Expeditions (10 people) was a bit too large and Inkanatura uses smaller groups – though charges more.  When I was there I also ran across two individuals who arranged for an individual guide – which in my opinion is the best way to do a trip like this.

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I take most of my fly images with my MP-E 65.  Once in awhile I use my 180L but I like the larger size of the fly that I can achieve with magnifications higher than 1x.  Of course, this requires that I get even closer to the fly.  When I use my 180L, it is much easier to get shots but I tend not to like them as much unless it happens to be a large fly.  For lighting, I always use a MT-24EX.  For the most part, taking high quality pictures of insects with only ambient light is not practical.

The problem most people have is not in the gear, but in scaring the fly off.  Flies are very skittish (they are used to us swatting them) and will take off at a moment’s notice.  Even today the majority of flies I attempt to photograph take off before I can get a shot off, but with patience I can get the shots I want.  The first piece of advice that most people offer is to not get in the fly’s light.  I have found this rule to also be true, so it is always a good idea to know where the sun is.  This also makes it a bit easier to photograph flies on overcast days.

As is true with all insects, mornings, late afternoons, and colder days are the best times to photograph.  However, I have noticed that many types of flies only come out when it is warm and sunny.  You can find flies in almost all types of weather, and certainly it is a good idea to start out on cold days, but you’ll also have to get used to photographing them on the hot, sunny days as well if you want more varieties of flies.

On the hot, sunny days, I try two different strategies.  The first strategy, which I find does not work as well, is to work very softly and keep a lookout.  When you see a fly, slowly approach it with your lens and hope to get close enough to get a shot off.  This is how I search for a number of different insects, but has a high failure rate.  More often than not the fly gets away before I even have a hope of getting a shot off.  However, with patience I eventually find a fly that is more patient.

The other approach, which requires more patience, has a much higher probability of success.  Basically you find a spot where flies seem to frequent and you “set up shop”.  Basically sit down, sit still, and wait.  Eventually, when you see a fly, slowly move your lens toward it.  Since you were already there, it will pay less attention and you’ll have a better shot of getting it.  In my experience, I also notice a number of other insects that I would not have otherwise noticed.  The shot above used this technique.  The other major advantage of this method is you often get more shots off of the fly.

In terms of framing, always try to get the fly from the front.  Side and back views (which are all too common) are just not interesting.  It might take a bit more patience to wait for the fly to face forward, but the end shot will be worth it.  I don’t bother even taking the shot if the fly is facing the wrong way.  Some side shots, though, can be interesting.

The main key is to keep in mind the way the fly is facing as you want the shot to be interesting for your viewers.

One thing to take away from all of these approaches and advice is that you must be patient.  Fly photography is something that is best done in solitude, with no one to distract you.  It is also something that usually fails when you are in a hurry.  However, with some patience and time you’ll find that these shots are not very difficult to achieve.

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However, let’s get more specific on the differences between a diopter and a true macro lens.

The above shot is one of my favorites from the 500D paired with the Sigma at 400mm.  However, the above size doesn’t truly show the real sharpness.  Here is a view at 100%.

When you compare it to the MP-E 65 and 180L shots from yesterday, this shot is nowhere near as sharp.  There are several reasons for this.

1. The telephoto lens I had on the camera, the Sigma 80-400 4.5-5.6 OS, was nowhere near as sharp as the MP-E 65 or the 180L.  Keep in mind that when you use the 500D, the image will be no sharper than the sharpness of the lens you place it on – in fact it will be worse but we’ll get to that.
2. Macro lenses are calibrated for short focus, while telephotos are usually calibrated for objects near infinity.  Of course all good lenses should be sharp all around, but when designing macro lenses engineers pay particular attention to the sharpness for objects that are close in – as that is the main purpose of the lens.
3. The 500D itself causes a loss in sharpness.  This is one reason why extension tubes are often preferred – though they do not increase magnification greatly on a telephoto lens.  Still, the 500D is a very good diopter and you will lose much less sharpness than simpler single element diopters.

Therefore, the 500D is not nearly as sharp as a true macro lens.  Another large difference is the magnification.  The true magnification that you receive with the 500D mounted on top of a telephoto varies with the layout of the optics within the lens, but I found that on the Sigma at 400mm I managed .75x at the highest magnification.  With a shorter lens such as a 200mm, the magnification will be even less.  Since true macro lenses start at 1x, you will get better magnification with a true macro lens than the 500D on a telephoto.

The following are other differences.

1. A true macro lens is much faster. The 100mm is 2.8 and the 180mm is 3.5. The top telephotos are 2.8 but many are 5.6. Since you lose at least a full stop when you add the 500D, you wind up with f/4-f/8.
2. You’ll generally find that the color contrast is much better with a macro lens.
3. AF is slowed down significantly with the diopter on, though for the vast majority of photographs AF is not necessary.

Still, the following are the main advantages of the 500D.

- It is significantly cheaper than a true macro lens.  A 77mm filter runs about $150, compared with the most often used macro lens – the 100mm 2.8 at almost $500.

- You can quickly switch to taking macro shots while taking other types of shots.  I used to keep the 500D in my pocket while trying to photography birds.  When I found a cool insect, I would quickly put the diopter on the lens and shoot away.

I often recommend that those interested in macro photography buy a 500D or extension tubes to see if they like macro photography before spending more on one or more true macro lenses.  It tends to sell used for around $100 so if you decide that you no longer need it, you will only wind up paying $50.

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First of all, you have to be very realistic about the place you are going to?  What types of macro pictures will you really take there?  While macro photography can be done anywhere, some types of trips make certain types of macro photography difficult.  For instance, my wife and kids generally will not sit around and wait while I setup a tripod to take a picture of a flower.  While I occasionally use a tripod for my flower pictures in gardens around Seattle, I never use a tripod for macro photography on vacation (I do use one for sunrise/sunset and night shots though).  The following are my experiences on different types of vacations.

Jungle adventures – I spent some time in the rainforests of Peru before I had an SLR.  One of the members of my group brought an SLR together with a 50mm macro lens.  He expected to get close shots of army ants but came back without a single decent macro shot.  There were several problems with his approach.

1. He had no prior experience with macro photography.  When on vacation, I find that I need to move quickly for my macro shots.  The time to learn is back home – not on the road.
2. The 50mm macro is one of the worst lenses you can take with you on vacation.  It simply does not offer the distance you need to get the shot right.
3. Unless you really know what you’re doing, you don’t want to be that close to army ants.  Fortunately he was not bitten, but when starting out with army ants I suspect I would try a 180mm first.
4. He had no lighting equipment.  He did have a tripod, but this won’t help much with quickly moving army ants.
5. The group kept moving.  He never had time to properly attempt much because the tour guide kept us moving.

Jungle trips are one of the best places to take macro shots, but you will need ample time to perfect your technique before going there and you’re best shot at good macro pictures will be in the vicinity of your hotel.  Unless you are on a photography specific tour (and even then) the tour guide will keep you moving.  You will not have time to stop and get the ideal macro shot, except during down times when you can check around the camp.

Tropical trips – These are trips to tropical countries where you stay in hotels instead of camps that are usually in built up areas.  While tropical locations do have excellent opportunities for macro photography, you will still find that your best opportunities are in the vicinity of the hotel.  Therefore I highly recommend that you choose a hotel that is located closer to nature.  For instance, when traveling to Singapore, stay in Sentosa rather than in the city.  In Bangkok, I found a number of opportunities at the Marriott – which is located in the city but has ample gardens.  Many resorts not located in cities are already close to nature – but make sure to not choose one that uses pesticides or your subjects will be few (except for flowers of course).

European trips – For the most part, these aren’t the best trips for macro.  I’m sure there are some areas where you can find some interesting subjects, but unless you are staying out in the country you’re unlikely to find great subjects.  When I travel to Europe, I generally leave most of my macro equipment at home.

In general I find that I do not have much time to take my macro shots when on vacation.  I do sometimes take walking trips for an hour or so while my wife and kids relax in the hotel, but I certainly don’t have the time to setup a tripod and get things exactly right.  Therefore, I highly recommend that you take a form of macro lighting with you on vacation.  The best choice is the MT-24EX.  I won’t go into detail here about the advantages of this flash, but while on vacation I constantly have it on my camera if I am using any of my macro lenses.

Of course, this means that you have another thing to carry.  This has caused a number of problems for me as I do not have a large backpack and don’t want to carry an extra large backpack when I am on vacation.  Therefore, I often divide my equipment into two camps – macro equipment and non-macro equipment.  When I am out and about visiting sites, I generally have the non-macro equipment.  When I am walking around the hotel, I generally have my macro equipment.  As I have already stated, the vast majority of my macro photography is done near the hotel.  When I am out and about I simply don’t have the time and most of the subjects are not macros.

So now you have the lighting, but which lens do you take?  In my experience, most people who have a macro lens have the 100m 2.8.  This is an excellent macro lens and is always the lens I recommend to people getting started.  On vacation, I think this lens is the ideal choice with a cropped frame camera.  However, with a full frame camera I think it falls a bit short.

The main problem I have run across while on vacation is I never know what I will want to photograph.  For instance, on a recent trip to Mexico I was photographing a flower by a bridge.

Suddenly, I heard a pack of coatis.  I didn’t know how much time I would have with them, so I dared not change a lens.  Besides, the only other lens I had on me at the time was a wide angle lens – I had left my telephoto in the hotel to make room for the macro.  Luckily, I had the Canon 180L mounted on my camera at the time.  I turned on auto-focus and took several frames of the coatis.

If I had the 100mm 2.8 at the time, I would have had a much more difficult time getting this shot due to the shorter focal length.  On a cropped frame camera, where the 100mm macro is really a 160mm lens, I don’t think the difference is as important – though the 180L will still prove to be all the more versatile.  This lens served this purpose multiple times on vacation and is now my favorite macro lens for vacations.  Granted, it is a much heavier lens than the 100mm, but it is also more useful.  Also, a number of animals are a bit shy (such as the lizard above) and difficult to get too close to.  The 180L makes it much easier.

Keep in mind that I am not advocating you do most of your wildlife photography with the 180L.  On my last vacation to Mexico I used the Canon 70-200 4L IS to take most of my coati and bird shots.  The extremely quick AF in that lens allowed me to get more keepers.  However, my images from the 180L were a bit sharper.  Still, when I had the 70-200 that was the lens of choice as the 180L has very slow AF – even with the focus limiter.  This isn’t really a drawback of the lens – it’s not really intended for that purpose anyway.  What the 180L did offer though was the ability to switch quickly from larger wildlife to smaller critters.

What about the MP-E 65 that I currently use for a majority of my macro shots?  While I love this lens, for standard vacations it is not very practical.  This lens requires a lot of patience and time to get a good shot – even with a macro flash attached.  I simply don’t have that kind of time when on vacation.  I wound up not taking a single picture with it on vacation.  I did put it on the camera a few times, but most of the subjects I found were flowers that required the 180L.  It also didn’t help that the hotel used pesticides and as a result insects were hard to find.  Lizards, on the other hand, were in large supply – but the 180L was required because they were skittish – and too large to be photographed with the MP-E 65 anyway.

For future vacations, I will likely leave the MP-E 65 at home unless I am going on a tropical vacation where the hotel is in close proximity to the jungle – and the hotel does not use pesticides.

The last piece of equipment I take with me may be overkill for some, but I always take two Wimberley macro arms to hold the MT-24EX.  In general I find that putting the lights closer to the subject makes the lighting more pleasing.  Therefore I always use these together with my 180L.  The combined rig tends to scare some fellow tourists and I always receive a wise crack or two whenever I go out.  However, if you are using the 100mm 2.8 or shorter, I don’t think this is necessary.

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Tip #1 – Keep in mind the orientation of the subject

The following are two pictures I took recently.  Note that the first isn’t very interesting.  You can easily make out that it’s a hoverfly but other than that the shot brings no emotion.  The second picture is quite a bit better – not only due to the reflection of the bug but also because the bug is facing forward.  In general always try to find a pose that is interesting – don’t just take the bug unless you are trying for an identification shot.

Tip #2 – Look for things out of the ordinary

The most interesting macro shots are often things most others would never have thought of – or at least taking a picture of.  Therefore it always helps to look at things with a different perspective – you may find something interesting that you would normally not have shot.

Tip #3 – Backgrounds can be changed

Very often the natural environment of an insect isn’t so interesting.  Therefore, sometimes it pays off to move the insect (or spider) from one location to another that provides a more interesting backdrop.

Tip #4 – Know your subjects

If you know the behavior of your subjects, you can often use that knowledge to get a more interesting shot.  Here is a simple example.  As most people know, pill bugs roll up into a ball when disturbed (hence the name).  Using this behavior, the second shot is much more interesting than the first.

Tip #5 – Stick around for awhile

Rather than broadly scan an area for interesting shots, stay put in the same area.  You will be surprised what you find when you stay still for a bit and become more keen about your surroundings.  In this case, a small worm started floating down on a thin strand as I was waiting.

Tip #6 – Rethink the mundane

Often an everyday object photographed the right way makes it much more interesting.  This is a shot of the texture of a leaf.

Tip #7 – Search rather than scan

Macro photography is not about walking around a lot.  Instead, search deeply in one spot.  Start digging a bit and really looking around a small area.  Not long ago when searching in the bark of a rotting log, I found this snail embedded in it.

Tip #8 – Start experimenting

Some of the most fantastic macro shots are created through experimentation.  These shots require a lot of patience, but when you get something technically right the rewards are great.  The shot below is a drop falling from ice that took me quite a few attempts to get right.  I still need to work on the lighting, but I was very pleased with the results so far.

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These type of drop shots are not easy to take, but with the right equipment and a lot of patience you can get the hang of it.  Besides the obvious requirement of snow and sunshine (to melt the snow), you need a macro lens and some lighting equipment.  I currently use the MP-E 65 for all of my macro shots, but I shoot these shots at 1x.  Therefore you can use any macro lens with at least 1x magnification to get these type of shots – so a 180L or 100mm will work just as well.  The most important element, however, is to have good lighting.  Generally you will not be able to get these types of shots with ambient light, as you will need to increase your shutter speed and use a relatively high f-stop.  I currently use the MT-24EX, which works very well here.  However I do have to diffuse the flash heads and I usually set it at slightly lower output so as to not blow out the drops too much.  You may also be able to use an off camera 580EX to do this – though as I understand some remote triggers have problems when working at short distances.

The first step is to find an ideal piece of snow that is letting off drops.  This usually occurs off of a bush or shrub and that is where I usually look.  In my yard, I have the best luck getting dew drops off the huge Japanese maples we have in our front yard.  Particularly important in finding a good location is finding somewhere that you can stay still for long period at a time.  This means that you need to either sit on the ground or on a chair.  It is very important to be relaxed because you’re going to be there for awhile.  For the shoot that included the shot above, I stayed there for two and a half hours and took around 250 frames.  Of these 250 frames, I kept 26 of them.

Finding the ideal piece of snow is a challenge, as it should have the following properties.

1. Fluidity – the best location is one where drops are occurring from the same point frequently.  This is how I took my first falling drop shot – I was lucky enough to find a place where drops were occurring every second or two.  However on this day I was not so lucky.
2. Predictability – I’m sure someone familiar with fluid dynamics could explain this more precisely, but you need to have some idea when the drop will fall.  For instance, the following structure, though pretty, makes for a poor spot to wait for drops to fall.  The problem with an icicle like this is a drop could fall at any moment without warning.

3. Background – In order for the shot to be interesting you must pay attention to what is behind the drop when it falls.  I poor background will ruin the shot.  Take this shot for instance.  Though I successfully caught the drop falling, the background makes it very difficult to see the drop, making the photo much less interesting.

As I mentioned before, lighting is extremely important with these types of shots.  I use the twin headed MT-24EX, which works quite well, but I still have problems with the flash heads blowing out parts of the drop.  In the future, I think I may try bouncing the light off of something rather than hitting the drop directly with the diffused heads of the MT-24EX.  For instance, the shot at the top of this post suffers from a blown out section, though it is possible I may be able to fix it in Photoshop.  The following shot, in my opinion, suffers much less.

Of course, the main issue in this shot is the drop is a bit out of focus, unlike the first shot where the focus is good.  Still, it is a good idea to check the results of your lighting on the failed shots and make adjustments.  You will again have to make adjustments when you change your angle.

In terms of getting the shutter exactly right when the drop falls, this is a case of practice makes perfect.  The first time I tried this, I took 200 frames and caught two drops falling.  This time I took 250 frames and caught 13 drops falling.  The golden rule, though is if you see the drop falling you are already too late.  The trick is to anticipate just when the drop is falling and hit the shutter right then.  Here is an example of a shot where I got it a tiny bit too early.

Then again, here’s a shot where I got it a touch too late.

The main trick though, is to focus on the same exact spot.  As you learn how the drops form on this particular piece of ice, you will get much better at predicting when a drop will fall.  In terms of technical ways to improve this, you can try taking multiple shots at the moment when the drop is falling.  I had some success doing this, but it’s hard to say whether I was more successful doing that or more successful taking single shots relying on prediction.  Note that in order for this to work you need a flash with a very quick recycle time.  To speed up the recycle time of the MT-24EX I use the CP-E3 battery pack.

The other element, of course, is a lot of patience and aversion to cold.  The next time I try this I will likely get a pair of thin gloves as my hands were freezing from touching the metal L bracket attached to the camera.  As you sit still for several hours, it can get quite chilly.  Still, in the end I think the shots are worth it.

One new thing I tried with these shots is putting a tulip behind the drop to get a more interesting reflection.  Nelya doesn’t like these shots very much, though I find them nice.  I would be curious about your opinions – do you like the shots with the tulip or my original shot better?

Technorati Tags: macro,photography,dew drop,falling,advice

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