bugeyed_G's photostream  

October 2011
After a year of playing around with a tone-mapped HDR image, I find that it has limitations. In many occasions the tone-mapping process dulls the image; the color density lessens. Now I'm playing with blending several bracketed exposures and find the results more pleasing. Still an HDR image but achieving better results by manually blending instead of tone-mapping.

October 2010
Wow, HDR has swept me off my feet. It began sometime this year with the bug scarcity in southern Arizona (perhaps due to warmer temps). No bugs to photograph but with an aching need to photograph something. Then I started to dabble in HDR. I haven't been so excited about photography and the possibilities offered by HDR. It's too bad there seems to be a backlash against it that many in Flickr (groups as well) go to great pains to let everyone know their images are non-HDR. As if it's an unforgivable sin. Just crazy. Time will show that absolutist attitudes like these are simply untenable: they will be left behind by the times.

December 2009
I've begun to enjoy animal photography in the last few months. So this stream has shifted somewhat to birds and some mammals. There will be more. I've been practicing in the zoos and have gone a few times in the field. Getting good images in the field is pretty difficult. Getting spectacular images rare. It boils down to knowledge of the subject, persistence and luck. One can improve the odds by getting ever bigger lenses. I'm not one so fortunate to have that kind of disposable income. So I'll have to depend on a little cunning . . . :-)

Equipment for animal/bird photography:
- Sigma 120-400mm OS
- Sigma 150mm
- Sigma 70-300 OS
- Sigma 1.4X Teleconverter

December 2008
This is a stream dedicated to insects and spiders (so far). I find this world marvelous.

I try not to look at bugs with the usual attitudes. I have a flaw that tends to anthropomorphize my subjects: I try to capture the character, if you will, of each. I'm not always successful, but there lies the wonderful challenge.

I'm ever grateful to the folks at bugguide.net. What a brilliant project!

Thanks to all who visit with or without comments. I hope you enjoy my images.

Nikon macro equipment:
- D200
- 60mm Micro Nikkor
- extension tubes: 2 x PK-13, 1 x PK-12, 1 x PK-11A
- SB800 Speedlite
- DIY softbox for SB800
- 28mm f/2.8 AF-D
- 20mm f/2.8 AF-D
- BR2A reversing ring
- Tiffen 62mm to 52mm step down ring (for mounting the 20mm lens onto the BR2A reversing ring)

For greater than lifesize magnification, I use the reverse lens technique. The 28mm reverse mounted roughly gives 2:1. The 20mm reverse mounted roughly gives 4:1. Extension tubes significantly increase magnification factors. I can get almost 8:1 when I extend a reverse mounted 20mm lens by 77mm (all extension tubes above connected). The 60mm Micro Nikkor extended 77mm and dialed at 1:1 gives an effective magnification approx. 2.6:1.

Canon macro equipment:
- EOS Rebel T1i
- MP-E 65mm
- Sigma 150mm DG
- set of Kenko extension tubes
- ST-E2 wireless transmitter
- 580EX II

Calculating effective aperture:
effective aperture = (actual aperture)(1 + magnification factor)

Calculating the magnification factor:
m = (length of camera sensor in mm) / (# of mm that can fit horizontally on the image)