September super macros

[louist]

Why is it everytime I come to post photos it always has something to do with macros?

Inevitably someone will ask what equipment these were taken with:
Canon EOS 10D, MP-E65, tripod (where possible), CWB (9500K).

#1:

#2:

#3:

#4:

#5:

#6:

 

[mzeinstr]

NICE!

 

[Snowsurfer]

They are nice pics, but what ISO were you using ? Looks a bit grainy on my screen. Or are they heavily cropped ? Which is a shame as they would have been near on perfect otherwise.

 

[louist]

Looks a bit grainy on my screen

ISO400 on the 10D, which isn't great. Make sure your monitor is calibrated or adjusted properly, else you might be viewing it brighter than it is supposed to be. #6 is the only shot that's been cropped, all the others are not. The MP-E65 is capable of 5x magnification without any added accessories.

In the photosythetic corals, you can actually see clusters of zooxanthella in the coral tissues, which looks like film grain strange enough.

They look fine on my screen which is calibrated. Is anyone else experiencing the same issue as Snowsurfer?

 

[ssbreef]

yup, They do look a little grainy. BUT they also look great!! Love #5

 

[Blazer88]

I don't think they look grainy because of the camera/lens, it's just how the corals look when viewed that close. Here is a picture that I took of a zoa, it looks like grain on the tenticles and around the mouth, but it' just how it looks. Great looking pics BTW!

 

[astrogazer]

I agree as this image further illustrates...

Here's grain in the more traditional sense, this was imaged at ISO 800 on a Nikon D70

Louis, nice images as usual!

 

[BeanAnimal]

I think the images are just fine.... I think the problem is that they are not pleasing to some folks but they can not put their finger on why and tend to point out things they understand like grain or color. In reality I think some peoples brains are just "pleased" by different types of composition. Somebody mentioned #5.... I would argue and say that #4 is the better of the bunch. But then again I am more "pleased" by compositions like the photos by blazer and astro. It is all in the eye of the beholder


Nice photos louis!

 

[ssbreef]

Please keep in mind that I'm new at this.
Pics Taken under actinic lighting.

 

[jwedehase]

What camera are you us... oh. Nevermind

Great shots, as usual, Louis. I'd love a chance to shoot through that lens someday, but that's a rare find in the rental market, and I'm not about to buy it at this point.

What do you use to calibrate your monitor? Your shots are typically way too bright on my monitor, even when I was still using a CRT. I believe my monitor is calibrated pretty closely, though I wouldn't swear to it in front of a judge.

 

[louist]

What do you use to calibrate your monitor?

I use the Pantone Spyder.

Sometimes I can't be sure whether the display on my end is stuffing up, but I just checked these photos on my Macbook LCD, desktop Sony trinitron, Powerbook G4 and another calibrated Samsung CRT, and all looks fine to me. Perhaps "way too bright" is personal preference then? I am fine with it either way.

Oh, keep in mind that Firefox on a Mac doesn't handle the color profiles properly (sRGB), safari is fine, mozilla for linux/windows is fine also.