Nobody should argue with your technique or your choice of equipment Bill. Your work is always beyond exceptional!

I used an 8 stop ND filter along with a 2x converter and achieved great results with the 2017 eclipse. Without the converter you could have problems.

I’m using a Godox V1. Excellent flash around $260. The LI battery will last through multiple events, wedding etc. I highly recommend it. There are a few cheaper models from $75-$100. If you’re an Adorama patron the Flashpoint line is actually Godox equipment. Both deliver high quality at low prices.

I most often use mechanical with my R5. I use electronic when I want 20fps sports shooting. I don’t find rolling shutter too much of an issue. The distortion of balls is minimal and looks a lot like standard motion blur mostly. In some artificial light I do see banding that is annoying but usually unobjectionable. The mechanical shutter is so quiet I don’t feel the need to use electronic even for weddings or even plays. Electronic first curtain may be slightly less noisy. I use it on occasion.

As others have said there is no ISO setting on the RB67 or any other fully manual camera. But do note the bellows extension factor scale on the right side of the camera. Depending on the lens attached you will need to open up 1/2 to 1 stop above your hand held meter reading when doing closeups. This will come into play for a standard head and shoulder shot (or closer) as I recall. What I loved about the RB was the 6X7 CM film size that rendered a perfect 8x10 without cropping. The optics are also top notch. An outstanding camera for making very large wall prints.

Before I sold all my Carl Zeiss Hasselblad lenses I seem to recall my C150mm had a curved pentagon shape with (I assume) only 5 blades. Back then the word bokeh was not even in the vernacular as I recall, but I produced many beautiful portraits in spite of that pentagon shape.

It doesn’t seem possible to have such high contrast and sharpness without post processing here. The background is completely void of detail while the eagle is well saturated. I’m skeptical.

Such an excellent film. The beautiful short lighting and soft focus on Ingrid Bergman is rarely seen today. I think I’ll have to order it up for tonight’s viewing. Thanks for sharing.

I would take the first edit and lighten the corners. They’re unnaturally dark. The orange sky also doesn’t match the cool light on the water in the center of the photograph.

A very cool effect. I like it. But you have added extreme motion to a still scene. I rather see this with a race car or a sprinter.

I’d get the focus fixed on your camera first. It’s throwing off the test in my view.

Your 80-200 lens won’t allow you to fill the frame. You will need an 800-1200mm lens with at least an 8 stop ND filter to shoot the phases before totality. Now if your aim is to make small prints like 4x6 you’ll be fine with the 80-200. Just get the 8> stop. Do test shots of the sun beforehand so you’re 100% ready when the moments come. I recommend setting your lens to manual focus and taping the barrel to lock it sharp in advance. Once totality occurs you can take the ND filter off and shoot normal.

Edit- when I shot the 2017 eclipse I used a 2x converter which reduced exposure an additional 2 stops. Try to get your hands on one for both exposure and frame filling.

Both

The glare slots you refer to are specular highlights. Or more simply, reflections of your very small light source. Any shiny surface will show the light source like that of a mirror. The only way to minimize them is to use a larger light source which will spread a less intense reflection over the beetles body. Simply adding diffusion material over your flash wont help. You will need to either bounce light off a reflector panel or put your light inside a soft box or umbrella to reduce specular intensity.

I remember my early experiences with LR were frustrating too. Perhaps you have a friend with experience that could get you started. Just a few Ah-ha moments will get you past your anxiety and you’ll be on your way to using the most popular and useful software for image management. You could also look at YouTube. There are thousands of very talented and generous photographers out there willing to help you.

Stick with it, you won’t regret it.