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Gnat on Marigold
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Gnat on Marigold

by Bruce King

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted May 7, 201078 views8 comments
Stepped into the backyard early this morning to take a couple shots of the recently planted marigolds and fortunately the nicest bloom also had this gnat(?) perched upon it. This shot was taken at the minimum focusing distance and then cropped about 50%. I'm thinking about getting the teleconverter for the Sigma 150 but I haven't decided on the 1.4x or 2x. It would be nice not to have to crop to bring the tiny subjects to the forefront. C&C welcome.

D5000
Sigma 150 f2.8 Macro w/CP
f22 @ 2.5 sec
ISO 100

Comments

8 comments
Comment posted by mark cillo on May 7, 2010 at 4:08 PM
Nice detail on the little creature. The little insect is facing out of the frame but that is only minor here and rules are meant to be broken anyway. :wavey:
Registered on July 27, 2008, 143 Posts, 1483 Comments
Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on May 7, 2010 at 4:49 PM
Great detail and wonderful color. I thought that extension tubes, not teleconverters, would help get you closer without cropping. But then I haven't really studied the application of teleconverters in this context.
Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments
Comment posted by Bruce King on May 7, 2010 at 10:16 PM
Thanks for the comments guys.

Mark, I cropped out the left side because there was some unsightly edges on a few of the petals over there and I liked the depth of tones on the right so I kept it in.

Phil, the way I understand it the extension tubes do get you closer but that only applies to macro shots. While a 2x teleconveter on the other hand, will turn my 150mm lens into a 300mm. However, they don't work well with zoom lenses. Call me unorthidox but I ocassionally use my macro lens for other types of shots. :biggrin:
Registered on January 14, 2010, 276 Posts, 2212 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on May 8, 2010 at 6:55 PM
The minimalist comp works well Bruce, I like it.
I use a Kenko 1.4x ext, works very well with my 150mm Sigma..I still have AF with it.
The 2x is harder to work with, no AF, so I don't recommend it. I use ext rings when I have to get closer, they're inexpensive too.
Well done
:toast:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on May 9, 2010 at 9:09 PM
Bruce:
The detail on the bug is incredible. Well done. I am also mulling about whether to get the TC2EIII for my 105mm - however, the cost of the TC is about the same as the Sigma 180mm!
Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments
Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on May 14, 2010 at 7:06 PM
Great deatail on the gnat and nice colors
Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments
Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on February 10, 2011 at 4:32 PM
This came out wonderfully!
Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments
Comment posted by Pete D on February 10, 2011 at 7:47 PM
I guess the wind wasn't blowing (for once). This a nice subject on a very cool background. I'd suggest a vertical crop, but I don't know what is available in the original frame. I see a little bit of sharpening halo on the insect. I think this is hymenoptera wasp. A 150 macro on a small sensor camera is already a long macro. If you put a 1.4x on that the exposure would go to 5 seconds! I suppose this lens has an odd size filter thread, otherwise I'd suggest trying one of the good close-up diopters, for example the discontinued Nikon 3T or 4T (52mm) or the also discontinued 5T or 6T (62mm). Canon still makes a good one 550D maybe..... They are expensive, but you don't lose light. I'm not suggesting the cheap close-up "filters." 5T/6Ts are selling for around $100 on eBay these days.

Pete D.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 590 Posts, 1794 Comments