Hey everybody,

 

If you wish, I love that you post your greatest achievement in macro shot, do not forget to put the link and tell us about this picture. Why do you like it? How have you achieved it ? What are its best characteristics for you?

 

You can also register data and Exif of your pictures so that all readers, regardless of level, can understand technically your image. But this is YOUR choice, of course!

 

Through this exchange, it is also a great way for me to know you a little better and then also to admire the various works proposed.

 

Don't hesitate to post your work !

 

Regards

So I'll start by introducing the topic with my favorite photo and tell you why.

 

It is "Executioner & Condemned" : http://1x.com/photo/52832/latest:user:146644

 

This photo is for me the beginning of my biggest change in my macro work.

On the one hand, it was the first time I attended a scene hunting behavior of a praying mantis. At the time, I was amazed to see that.

 

Later I realized that it was pretty easy to see this kind of scene, but for this first catch, I was really on my cloud!

I'm pretty pleased with myself, because my hand didn't tremble at this time and the result in sharp is for me the better than my Canon 100mm L IS could give.

 

Then, for the first time, I completely hijacked the natural colors of the image. It was the first time I switched as much all colors. And these colors that I gave him, seemed to me the most intense and generating mood.

 

And finally, this picture was the second of mine, curated on 1X gallery. I was very proud of myself at that time because this photo was one I really wanted to do for months!

 

Exifs : f/6.3 - ISO250 - 1/100 @100mm

Cyril,

 

thanks for sharing your beautiful macro here, but after yours I'm just a bit 'I would say 'shy') to forward mines ...

 

Anyhow I'll give a try, maybe I will have some comments ???

 

http://1x.com/photo/120323/all:user:139825

 

Anna

Maybe not my favorite as regards the post processing, I think I could do better, but my favorite as regards the shot itself, I mean the timing.

 

I had been sitting in an open space in a forest for quite a long time, waiting for some interesting insect to come and have a rest not too far from me.

 

I suddenly noticed this one struggling to keep its balance on the edge of a grass blade.

 

I prepared my camera, waited and started to shoot several pictures.

 

I only got one correct photo, this one !

 

I like it because I think one can see the insect falling.

 

I'd like to know what you think of it.

 

Thanks for your feedback,

 

http://1x.com/photo/152362/all:user:139814

 

Marie-Claude

Love it! The idea of the fall is perfectly rendered and wings are frozen just right, as if it desperately flaps wings to save itself from the fall. The focus is impeccable.

Hi Cyril,

I like this macro a lot, I can believe you were amazed to witness such a scene !

 

Really so easy ????

 

I probably don't search propely, I saw a mantis only once in my life in the south of France, but the photos are not good, mind you, at least I saw the insect :-)

 

I agree with the colors you chose, the really do create a fantastic mood !

 

I wish I could see such a scene !

 

MC

 

edited because of misspelling

Thanks a lot Anna ! I'm realizing we were writing at the same time, I've just written about Cyril's macro which is so impressive !

 

Many thanks for your comment about mine :-)

 

Yes, I'm totally agree with Anna!

This shot is amazing and very difficult to capture like this one !

You have all my congratulations!

Details are bluffing and that sense of movement restored by the wings is excellent!

 

Lot of thanks for your appreciation Marie-Claude.

 

In fact, where I'm going mostly is filled with praying mantises. In August, there was so much that I watch where I walk, for fear of crushing some. This is a large meadow along the Loire, or no one goes and it isn'tcultivated because it's a protected area.

 

And venturing on this particular field, I met several times by day those scenes. But it's true that the first time, I was really amazed! :)

 

Hey Anna !

 

I went to see your superb shot macro and I found it really well composed and framed ! I think you have used the better depth of field and your focus is really good where it must be !

 

I like the explosion of heart of this dandelion seems like a star!

 

Superb !!

Well here is a macro shot by me. http://www.1x.com/photo/153359/all:user:104088

 

I am ambivalent about this picture as I am not sure if it is something that would make an impact composition wise. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

This is taken with 50mm F/ 1.8 lens with extension tubes and hand held. One thing for sure is that it opens up a whole new miniature world as light dances on the Dandelion head and lights it up like sparklers.

This is a beautiful delicate picture Usha, it does open a miniature world, it is subtle and in my opinion, even if your composition is classical it is nice and works well.

Wonderful contributions here already my friends, I commented on each photo separately in order to save some space here.

I posted this photo in another topic for discovering the species. Thanks Anna Golitsyna and Cyril for their help identifying this matting couple of "Asilidae Diptera" and this is my contribution for the topic:

http://www.1x.com/photo/150890/all:user:249644

 

Cyril, it would be very helpful to advise the contributors to provide on their free will, exif data for their photos as we (at least some of us) are new to this world of photography.

OK I'll join in here. But I won't post my favorite because I don't limit myself quite that narrowly. It's very difficult for me to arrive a singularity when favoritism is involved.

 

I'll show three because that's about as narrow as I can get to this morning. They are very different but I really like them all.

 

And they are all posted to my blog at the moment. I have not decided about posting too much old stuff on 1x and finding some of these files takes time I just don't have right now.

 

First is "The Oracle"

http://www.clydebeamer.com/2009/01/the-oracle/

 

Next is "The Alien Touch"

http://www.clydebeamer.com/2008/04/alien-touch/

 

And finally a different kind of touch, it's called "Golden Love"

http://www.clydebeamer.com/2011/05/golden-love/

 

Ok Clyde, all three have something to tell me but my favorite is the third one (Golden Love) just for the "sexy" colours and composition. Thanks for sharing.

 

How shallow of you!

 

Gianni,

 

"Cyril it would be very helpful to advise the contributors to provide on their free will, exif data for their photos as we (at least some of us) are new to this world of photography."

 

Good idea ! ...and I added all that on mine ;-)

 

Clyde,

 

I like the alien touch because of its mood, it's an unusual picture, that's the reason why I find it interesting. What is it exactly ?

 

I'm not very enthusiastic about the other two, the oracle doesn't "talk" to me ( I think an oracle should...sorry about my very weak sense of humour...) maybe the tones are not to my taste.

 

Golden love... I don't the compo very much and i would have prefered less Dof, so that my eyes could focus on the main subject more easily, but of course all I'm saying is very subjective, different people, different tastes.

 

MC

 

 

"Alien Touch" is a very tiny scene created by some spiderwebs and detritus on the trunk of a King Palm tree in my backyard. It's lit by the setting sun filtered through the leaves of a Potocarpus tree. It was rotated 90 degrees to make the trunk of the tree appear like a floor. It was shot hand held using the tree trunk to stabilize the lens. Nikon D70s + Nikon 60mm Micro.

 

"The Oracle" is just a personal fav of mine, it's never been too well reviewed by others. It was also shot in my back yard after an overnight rain. Those are raindrops cradled by the tiny leaves of some succulent in a hanging basket. Shot off a tripod w/ cable release, Nikon D90 + Nikon 60mm Micro.

 

Please don't analyze "Golden Touch" shot too much, I was just trying to be in the moment!

 

Yes Gianni, I totally agree with you on the Exif and data on pictures.

I edited my post and I registered with your suggestion.

 

@Clyde : I love the third photo for the instant ...privileged that you captured!

 

But I must confess that "The Alien touch" calls me a lot in composition and perceived atmosphere. I really appreciate this intriguing material with this black and white processing!

It almost sounds like a dark landscape...

 

Thanks for your involvement!

 

Flying around my kitchen the fly caught some of the flyspray and not 100% flew into the web on the door to wake up the spider. Sorry new here so my link is to it posted on my website.

http://jcuknz-photos.com/LOOKSEE/SpiderandFlyP1130191WZ.jpg

Pany GH2 MFT with Lumix 14-140 and 2 dioptre CU lens 1/80 f/13 400 ISO Cropped somewhat. 100% cropped http://jcuknz-photos.com/LOOKSEE/TheEvilEyeP1130279WZ.jpg

Early morning found this fellow in sink, hurried flash photo before removing him to garden 1/100 f/8 My wife was raising some Monarch caterpillars ....Nikon 5700 1/4 f/7.9 100 ISO

http://jcuknz-photos.com/LOOKSEE/cater_j_2601Z.jpg

Nothing wonderful like the first photo on this thread but records of happenings around me.

Found it! Perhaps my favourite tight frame, EXIF lost. My late cat Smudge had problems and frequently sicked up ... not to waste anything these flies found it and I got my shot before tidying up.

http://jcuknz-photos.com/LOOKSEE/dinner_for_two1795Z.jpg

again with my Nikon 5700 with the 500mm CU lens helping though it was capable of taking such a shot without the CU lens with its unique focusing system .... the CU lens enabled me to use the full x8 zoom from further back. 280mm Angle of View.

A nice idea Cyril, gives some of those older photos in the 1x archives a chance to be revisited.

My contribution is the second photo i had published here on 1x 3 years ago.

I have many favorites but this one is high on my list because it's one of those unrepeatable moments (i have tried without success :-)) ). For me, it has an element of humour which was not often present in my pictures and it has inspired me to keep trying to add a bit of humour into my macro pictures.

I was very bored on this particular weekend because it was raining "again" so i decided the rain wasn't going to stop me doing photography so i grabbed my gear and my umbrella and went to one of my usual haunts.

I set up my tripod under my umbrella and found this little beetle struggling though the long grass. I put him on the grass stem i had chosen which had a nice line of raindrops along it and started following him along it shooting as i went. The beetle was walking a bit unsteadily along the top of the grass stem and then slipped and got sucked into the rain drop by surface tension. He hung there struggling to get back up and i got this shot while he was taking a breather and was relatively still.

The light was very poor so i was using ISO 800 to keep the shutter speed relatively high at 1/160sec using f6.3 and had exposure compensation set at -2/3 to scrounge up a little more shutter speed..

 

http://1x.com/photo/35931/all:user:37880

 

 

Hello jc !!

 

A big thank you for your contribution on this topic!

 

This picture really reminds me of my beginnings in macro. For me too, flies were first on my photography.

I find your picture very promising with a nice sharpness on the fly!

For my part, I put a lot of time to tame my macro equipment and my flies were far from being photographed as well as yours! :)

 

Thank you very much for your participation. I really appreciate it.

 

Don't worry about the EXIF ​​data, I understand! But keeps well for your next pictures, which are very important data to understand a picture and analyze the qualities and defects at the time of the shooting!

 

Regards !

 

I'm glad to see one of your macro here Vic!

Indeed, this topic also allows us to return to old shot and so discover or rediscover some images we appreciated!

 

I love the story of this picture! I think it's great to make small personal challenges. And frankly, the macro under the rain is!

 

Right now, I'm in the same situation as you, it's been weeks it rains at home and it is really not nice for photos outputs ....

But the evidence with your image, we can have fun with insects with all weather!

 

The photo of the insect trapped in the drop is a classic, yet it isn't easy to achieve because it requires specific conditions and generally, insects don't stay very long prisoners of drops.

 

Here, in addition to the insect, I love the drops beside him who round off the composition! I find your light management is very good views the conditions!

 

Beautiful capture, it's obvious!

 

here is one of my favorite:

 

http://1x.com/photo/116522/group:7

 

Taken one early fall morning on Amherst Island, the field were glowing with spider webs filled with morning dew. All I had to do was find a subject that would reflect well in the dew drops and was looking for something close to the web that I had selected. As I was adjusting my angle the barn way off in the background came in focus and with the sun being still low on the horizon it also show up in the reflection. In the final position I was lying down in the wet field to obtain this final version.

 

my biggest issue was timing the shutter release with the morning breeze as the web was constantly moving out of focus.

 

The technical data was: Canon 20D, 100mm macro lens, ISO 200, 1/125s @ f13, manual focus

 

Cheers, MarcB

This is my favourite so far because I am quite pleased with the outcome of the B&W conversion. Furthermore, I feel a little bit of pride too, as the picture was shot handheld. The very low position of this tiny flower from the ground did not allow a suitable position of the tripod.

In reality, these flowers of a very light yellow often remain unnoticed. I was contemplating a bit about that and decided to enhance the soft and timid appearence in post processing which was done in CNX2 exclusively. For this shot, I put my Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 on the DX-body (D90) which is a rare occasion. For macro, FX is much more suitable due to the much bigger viewfinder.

http://www.1x.com/photo/113029/group:7

Hi,

 

Some of your macro shots here are excellent. A lot to learn ahead of me...

 

Macro / close-up is one of my favorite categories and I can't really pick Top 1, it changes all the time :)

I've spent quite some time chasing Lepidoptera, so perhaps one of those:

http://1x.com/photo/138342/all:user:280199

 

And recently I've started to play with DoF, like this one:

http://1x.com/photo/136193/all:user:280199

I try to improve my "procedures" so that I can do this "DoF" stuff also with subjects which do not like waiting and posing :)

 

I didn't venture into micro (yet) as it can't really be done outside with live bugs.

 

Marian

Well this may not be my best achievement in macro but I feel is one of my best.

I was watching these guys having a fight and I knew something was going to happen. eventually one of them was airborne and I manage to capture the moment. This is my only B&W macro image but I feel that it is much stronger than the color one.

This was shot with a Nikon D800 on a tripod , with a Tamron 90mm F:2.8 @ F:54 and ISO 200 at 1/90 secs. Light came from 2 flashes (Nikon SB910 and Nisin 622) set on remote while the camera's pop up flash was set on commander.

 

http://1x.com/photo/154643/all:user:239934

This http://1x.com/photo/155184/all:user:149724 is my favorite macro shot so far. It is an older one shot with a Nikon D50 and Micro-Nikkor 85mm lens. It may not be to everybody's taste to have 99% of the image out-of-focus, but that is exactly what I like about it. The focus was intentionally set on the tip of the petal, after I was somewhat bored shooting daisies "the usual way", i.e. focusing on the inner yellow part.

For acceptance by others one has to try and focus on the point that others will want to be sharp.

Here is my favorite:

 

http://1x.com/photo/43440/all:user:9331

 

I'm still new to macro and so far this is my only macro submission to 1X, so I'm very pleased it was accepted:-)

 

At the time of this shoot I had just discovered how the flares changed radically whenever I moved my camera just a tiny bit. So I decided to capture this spider in one of these flare spots with a relatively small F-stop (for macro) in order to soften the surroundings. I think it was f/4.5 or something like that.

I find it moody in a nice way. And for some reason it makes me think of chinese fairytales....

I have a new favourite! It is called "Emergence" and displays a new rapseed flower growing through a dandelion. It is taken handheld with a Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 at 1/250, f/8 and ISO 200 on a D700.

 

Hope you like it.

http://www.1x.com/photo/156319/group:7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello everyone,

I come back to a few days photo output and I discovered with great satisfaction all your macro work.

 

I appreciate the sense of sharing and your very good explanation on the "why" of your choice! There are plenty of quality in every shots and I really appreciate your personal choice.

 

The fight scene between the two ants by Charles Charalambous really appealed to me for its quality, precision and close to the action. I'm very much aware of the difficulty of shooting. The ant is an insect that moves a lot, and I can testify that this exercise is really complicated and also very interesting to watch.

 

Thank you much for all the shares.

 

Regards

 

I'm not sure, if this is my best, but at the moment it is my favourite macro.

I love to see, how sharp and clear the tiny waterdrops appear. I saved the dandelion 2 days ago from the storm, take it with me and covered it with waterdrops.

 

Canon EOS 60D, Canon 100mm macro, f/8, 1/250, external flash indirect from behind 1/128, tripod.

 

http://1x.com/photo/163124/all:user:82539

There are many beautiful macro's of butterflies, flower and insects, but this one surprised me because of the unique and different subject.

 

http://1x.com/photo/33841/popular-ever:macro

 

 

Hello Ben,

 

Indeed, this macro is really interesting because the subject is really well controlled and the moment captured is beautifully rendered. Idea is excellent, for sure !

 

Well, just for the little information I wanted you put to the honor a macro picture you have done! Hahaha :)

 

It was the conductive wire of the topic!

But it does not matter, no one will hold it against you! ;)

 

Thank you again Ben !

 

Cheers

Here's my attempt of a macro:

 

http://1x.com/photo/168493/all:user:329491

 

I've tried to capture a small waterdrop and its reflection.

It has been raining for a time and the leafs of the box-trees are covered with raindrops.

 

I found a leaf with one little waterdrop, just above the top of the box-tree and tried to make the photo as sharp and crisp as possible. I had to make various photo's until I got a steady shot because the wind was playing with the small branches of the box-tree.

 

My gear: Nikon D7000, Nikkor Macro-lens 105mm, f/9, 1/60, tripod, ambient light.

Hi

What a great thread - I´m new to this site, and allways stunned by the high quality images i find here!

 

But i think, i´ll give it a humble try, and post my first "true" macro shot of 2013.

 

I hope you like it:-)

 

http://1x.com/photo/164190/all:user:156765

 

Regards

Kenneth Tinnesen:-)

Greetings everyone,

 

here is my contribution

 

http://www.1x.com/photo/85735/all:user:262839

 

Not sure if the best from me, but I found it interesting.

 

Here is just another favourite of mine.

http://1x.com/photo/168393/group:7

A big thank you for all your beautiful creations!

It makes me really happy to see all your pictures here. There are a lot of quality and diversity in your work and I find it very interesting!

 

Remember that the first macro challenge is open ( Theme is "Flora") and you can also share your images in the dedicated topic! I look forward your first submission! :)

 

Cheers, Cyril

Here is my contribution..

 

http://1x.com/photo/176854/all:user:224711

Het Ahmed!

 

Lot of thanks for your great contribution!!

 

You're welcome! :)

 

 

Here is my contribution:

 

http://1x.com/photo/184969/all:user:372710

 

It's probably my favorite because this was an unexpected shot. One evening, after visiting our nearby conservatory, I went outside and sat on a bench about to pack up my gear. I noticed Iris flowers behind me and stopped to take some time to notice the colors, when I found this fly sitting on one of them, not moving at all. I decided to try my hand, literally hand held, and took this shot.

 

Exif info:

 

Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)

Aperture f/2.8

Focal Length 100 mm

ISO Speed 400

Hello everyone. I am new here. I am purely an amateur photographer who wishes to get better. I am going to post my favorite Macro. It may seem a bit strange to most of you and/or a quite boring subject matter.

 

A little bit of background. I am a professional tier (creator) of fishing flies. I use thread, natural and synthetic materials to create lures that mimic insects at different stages in their lives in order to entice fish to eat them. Most pictures of flshing flies are utilitarian or simply functional in purpose. The fly held in a vise with a blue background is the industry standard. I have been trying to take this to a higher level. I hope with help on this site I might be able to achieve this.

 

The challenge for me from a photography perspective is to create a photo that displays the fly in way that the construction, the materials used to create the fly, the colors and detail are a functional display but also pleasing to the viewer. I prefer to use only natural light and like to have the subject sitting naturally on different backgrounds that I try to select that compliment the subject. The material used to create the flies come in all colors, many times contrasting, textures, levels of sheen and transparency as well as natural and synthetic.

 

I look forward to playing a role here in this group. I have loved all the photos posted so far and promise to take macros of other subjects to post as well. :)

 

Here is what I am working on.

 

This particular fly uses thread, a synthetic orange antron yarn, single barbs of ostrich feathers for the tail and back of the body, a mix of natural hair and a chicken feather wrapped spiraling at the front. The hook is just under 1cm long.

 

All the best

Carl

 

http://1x.com/photo/198420/all:user:105445

Welcome to the group Carl :)

Thank you.

Hello there,

 

First and foremost i would like to say that i am not sure as to whether i belong to the league of such brilliant macro wildlife photographers, but even then mustering up all my courage i would like to post my favorite macro photograph of all time (i.e until now).

 

http://www.1x.com/photo/205375/all:user:413114

 

Photographed this wild beauty having her morning meal of a rather crunchy and juicy little fly. The magic lay in the stare that the spider had fixed on me the moment i had entered its comfort zone, and for once i was intimidated looking at it holding its vicious pose.

 

Exif: F 8.0, 1/400, ISO 800

 

Comments and criticisms are welcome...so please do comment

Hello all,

I think this is a great group with a lot of acitvity! I want to share with you my current favorite macro shot.

 

http://www.1x.com/photo/199614/all:user:254597

 

It´s just a gerbera flower with no special insect or someting else on it. But I love it´s simplicity, the fine white pattles and soft structure.

It was a plessure to see this beautiful flower through the viewfinder and to take pictures of it.

I hope you like it too.

 

Greetings Dietmar

 

More practice, more favourites...

http://1x.com/photo/195788/group:7:all

For me this is my favorite photo because the moment for sure..:)

 

http://www.1x.com/photo/42233/latest:user:74007

http://1x.com/photo/186814/all:user:323209

Thanks a lot for all your excellent pictures!

 

I'm glad to look them and you are all welcome in this group,.

 

I know that the macro is a very popular theme and I find it very interesting to see how it's enriched by all your views.

 

It's really a pleasure to read you and see your most successful achievements.

 

My best compliments everyone,

 

Cyril Verron

I don't know that this is my favourite, but is certainly one that I am unlikely to get again. It is a Mycena interrupta mushroom and is about 1cm high. I took this with a Canon 5D, an MPE-65mm lens and a macro twin flash (hand held). I was resting the camera on a large soggy log, so I managed to get two shots to allow a focus stack. This was needed to get the water droplet image in focus at the same time as the mushroom cap.

I hope you like it.

Steve Axford

 

http://1x.com/photo/238862/all:user:269613

Hello everyone,

 

New member in this web site and the group as well. I was looking for a topic in which one I could present myself and I think this one might be the correct one.

 

First excuse me for my level in English, being french I'm not totally fluent.

 

I started Macro photography 3 months ago because I was passionate by jumping spiders. Without success at the beginning I started looking for them until the glory day I found them.

 

This is the first Saitis Barbipes picture I made but also the first which is qualitative enough to be shown.

 

http://1x.com/photo/246272/all:user:425040

 

I try to improve myself every day.

 

Best regards,

Bruno Toujas.

Hi Bruno and welcome :)

I love the detail on the eyes on this one.

 

Thank you Charles !

hi everyone .. i havent been active in 1x much but lately felt the need to be inspired by other photographers and what better place than 1x .. the quality of the work here is amazing ..

anyway .. i took this shot some time ago .. it is one of my favourites partly as it shows real life in the insect world and also because its a very lucky shot to get .. you have to be in the right place at the right time .. also the insects are very small ..

i saw the long legged fly on the leaf and got down to photograph it .. in a split second it had grabbed the little fruit fly with the red eyes and proceeded to devour it .. as the long legged fly 'eats' its prey the prey starts to lose its shape and becomes a gooey mass .. so i'm lucky i got the shot as soon as he caught the little fly otherwise it would have been a much more gruesome image .. !! ..

http://1x.com/photo/252463/all:user:4684

 

Great capture there Robin , Love the title too :)

 

Great shot - nice colors. Well done.

Hi everybody,

 

I am Lydie, a new French member on this great website. I began proxy photography one year ago. I started with flowers and then I was focus mainly on butterflies and dragonflies which are beautiful flying bugs. This year, seeing jumping spiders ‘photos, I wanted to try. I am afraid of spiders but jumping spiders are cute and small. I bought a macro lens to do that : the 85 mm. It’s not easy to shoot them but it’s worth it. My favorite macro shoot is a jumping spider one. I was lucky, I found a saitis barbipe, a very cute jumping spider and I succeed to have a nice photo so I hope you like it.

 

http://1x.com/photo/251866/all:user:426126

 

 

Beautiful flowing image Lydie. I love the composition and moody colors !

 

Thanks for all new great pictures !

 

It's really interesting to see your shots and the stories !

 

You're all welcome ! :)

Thank you very much Charles :)

Hello everybody,

 

maybe for me, so far, I think my best is this one

 

http://1x.com/photo/86540/all:user:262839

 

Superb .. and not only for you :)

 

I do thank you very much Charles.