this is one of five photos of the robberfly that went into the finished image .. this has only been resized for dpc ..
i took a few photos focusing on different parts of his body so i could focus stack later ... was a miracle he didnt fly off ..
i brought the five photos of the robberfly into photoshop and masked off the areas i didnt want to create a less shallow dof and show more details on his body ..
then added these other photos to create a virtual world .. thought of calling it robberfly in a virtual world but wanted to make it look as realistic as possible ..
i took this photo especially for the foreground to cover the ugly stick he was perched on ..
took this photo for the foreground bokeh rotated 180 degrees ..
and this photo for bokeh ..
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This is totally amazing. The amount of detail you manage to capture of these tiny creatures is mind blowing! How do you get these little beauties to stay still for you?
thankyou Paul .. :)
if you shoot in the early morning there's more chance that the insect will stay for a few shots .. during the day they're more active ..
when I'm looking for an insect to shoot I will have set up my shutter speed .. aperture and iso before I see one .. all those settings will depend on whether it's sunny or cloudy ..
when i see an insect I will shoot a blade of grass or a leaf or the barbed wire fence depending on what the insect is on .. before i get to him .. as a test for exposure ..
when I approach I move very slowly with no sudden movements and make sure my shadow doesn't fall on them .. the flash doesn't bother them tho ..
I try and brace myself on something so i move as little as possible .. and shoot as many photos as I can before the insect flies away ..I mainly try and get the eyes in focus and then different parts of the body so I can focus stack later ..
I prefer to shoot not as close as I can get and then crop later .. that way I'll get more of the insect in focus ..
that's just a bit of a summary .. :)
Wow thank you very much Roz for the detailed notes on your technique. Much appreciated!
This is totally amazing. The amount of detail you manage to capture of these tiny creatures is mind blowing! How do you get these little beauties to stay still for you?
thankyou Paul .. :)
if you shoot in the early morning there's more chance that the insect will stay for a few shots .. during the day they're more active ..
when I'm looking for an insect to shoot I will have set up my shutter speed .. aperture and iso before I see one .. all those settings will depend on whether it's sunny or cloudy ..
when i see an insect I will shoot a blade of grass or a leaf or the barbed wire fence depending on what the insect is on .. before i get to him .. as a test for exposure ..
when I approach I move very slowly with no sudden movements and make sure my shadow doesn't fall on them .. the flash doesn't bother them tho ..
I try and brace myself on something so i move as little as possible .. and shoot as many photos as I can before the insect flies away ..I mainly try and get the eyes in focus and then different parts of the body so I can focus stack later ..
I prefer to shoot not as close as I can get and then crop later .. that way I'll get more of the insect in focus ..
that's just a bit of a summary .. :)
This is totally amazing. The amount of detail you manage to capture of these tiny creatures is mind blowing! How do you get these little beauties to stay still for you?
I saw this and wondered if it was yours. It sure had the look of your masterful work! I love the ethereal bokeh surrounding him, and I love the story of how you did it! Congratulations on excellence once again!
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