Low light macro photography
Apr 19, 2019 00:35:37 #
I recently caught a glow worm of a species I hadn't seen before (Zarhipis intergrippinnes (sp?)). She was lively, crawling about the piece of graph paper I put her on to give a size reference. They don't glow very brightly, too much supplemental light washes out the glow. Macro distances dictate a shallow depth of field unless you stop it down, and high ISO produces lots of grain. HDR suffers from the same motion issues as long exposures. This is about the best I managed. Curled up like that is a defensive position assumed because I gently shook her up. Sony A7RII, Sony 90mm Macro lens, supplemental light by LED flashlight. All images downsampled to reduce bandwidth. (For which I pay extra)
OBTW I released her unharmed very near where I found her.
Any suggestions?
OBTW I released her unharmed very near where I found her.
Any suggestions?
Apr 19, 2019 00:51:24 #
Apr 19, 2019 01:39:29 #
Apr 19, 2019 10:41:01 #
Apr 20, 2019 05:48:17 #
RedAdmiral wrote:
I recently caught a glow worm of a species I hadn'... (show quote)
Does cooling the insect reduce the internal glow. Frequently this method is used to reduce or stop the activity and not do harm. Scale of graph paper?
Interesting insect.
Apr 20, 2019 07:09:35 #
That's a really interesting little fellow......I like the glow rings on it.
Thank you for letting me see it. Macro photography is so inviting to me and I am always surprised at what I find when I go to it. Nature is the key to everything we need on the planet and they teach us so many things.
Nice work.
JIMBO
Thank you for letting me see it. Macro photography is so inviting to me and I am always surprised at what I find when I go to it. Nature is the key to everything we need on the planet and they teach us so many things.
Nice work.
JIMBO
Apr 20, 2019 08:10:52 #
Apr 20, 2019 08:15:22 #
Apr 20, 2019 08:40:26 #
Very interesting! I have not seen pictures of these that show both the insect and their glow, superimposed as it were. Very well done.
Moving subjects are challenging. For this extra challenging one, I can only suggest some experiments with no promise that they would work.
1. Keeping them in very low levels of light for a time might quiet them. They can be photographed with a well diffused flash, and the flash might not rouse them to move right away. Fingers crossed that you would find settings that give the desired look at lower ISO.
2. There is the CO2 anesthesia trick. CO2 temporarily knocks out most insects with minimal lasting effect. A handy source of this gas are a couple Alka Seltzer tablets in water. Here is one simple set up: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-471049-1.html
Moving subjects are challenging. For this extra challenging one, I can only suggest some experiments with no promise that they would work.
1. Keeping them in very low levels of light for a time might quiet them. They can be photographed with a well diffused flash, and the flash might not rouse them to move right away. Fingers crossed that you would find settings that give the desired look at lower ISO.
2. There is the CO2 anesthesia trick. CO2 temporarily knocks out most insects with minimal lasting effect. A handy source of this gas are a couple Alka Seltzer tablets in water. Here is one simple set up: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-471049-1.html
Apr 20, 2019 08:51:00 #
Funny, all those responses and none of them address your actual question...
Given the limitations you already know, perhaps your best choice would be to use those extra high ISOs and then denoise using something like the new Topaz DeNoise AI that just came out.
Given the limitations you already know, perhaps your best choice would be to use those extra high ISOs and then denoise using something like the new Topaz DeNoise AI that just came out.
Apr 20, 2019 09:32:52 #
The sensor noise here is extreme, and so removing it with a de-noise program would soften the image.
Apr 20, 2019 10:02:53 #
Mark Sturtevant wrote:
The sensor noise here is extreme, and so removing it with a de-noise program would soften the image.
Nevertheless, it might be worth trying the new Topaz program - especially if it can be downloaded for a sample period for free.
Apr 20, 2019 10:44:35 #
Apr 20, 2019 11:08:54 #
Apr 20, 2019 11:20:09 #
nadelewitz
Loc: Ithaca NY
RedAdmiral wrote:
I recently caught a glow worm of a species I hadn'... (show quote)
There are limits to EVERYTHING. Since depth of field is determined by only two things, magnification and aperture, and macro deals with some very high magnifications, you can't achieve as much d-o-f as you might want no matter how small an aperture you use.
I've started trying macro photography. First thing I discovered is that filling the frame with a penny, with the lens not absolutely parallel to the penny's surface, I can't get the whole penny in focus. Even the different levels of the face of the penny can be a problem.
It's physics. Can't change it.
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