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dalantech β Feeding Honeybee
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#bee #flower #honeybee #insect #macro #nature #topaz #macrophotography #topazlabs
Published: 2016-05-01 10:43:40 +0000 UTC; Views: 1015; Favourites: 51; Downloads: 0
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Description
Technique: This flower is growing out of a pot that's sitting on top of a tree stump. I injected artificial nectar into the flower so the girl would have a reason to let me get close, and then I just braced myself on the tree stump. The light in this shot is the product of the flash, the way I diffuse it, and the angle of the light. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary in post.Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 1x) + a diffused MT-24EX (both flash heads on the Canon flash mount, E-TTL metering). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held.
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Comments: 31
First off, my 2nd critique and I am saving 5 stars for exceptional work. So you wont see that a lot of me. Now lets get to work.
Vision.
I think everything fits in this picture, I love how the DOF fits the color of the flower. The subject is almost 100% visible, just try that. You can't really improve on perfection. So a full score on vision.
Originality.
I find this one of the most tricky things to rate. A bee foraging on a flower. It's what they do people. dalantech once said to me he makes portraits. Well that is exactly the limitation you run into. You only have so many poses a subject can take. Again full score.
Technique.
We don't really have to talk about that as we have a master at work here. He would be a professor (=teacher) in the academic world as we see on the work of snomanda If you are an adept in photography you might argue that his equipment does the work. I a sure you, you are wrong. With the sophisticated material the demands in handling it become greater.
Impact.
For me most every picture of this artist is a small adventure. I realize I have a different look as most people have. I enjoy a picture but at the same time want to know everything about it. I would eat the raws so to speak. But beside that I find that there is another big impact he makes. He shares. A comment, the exif. This is something where an artist gets bonus points with me.
Concluding.
I was asking myself what does this guy want with his request for critique when it suddenly came to me that a critique can very well be a compliment that just steps over the usual comment garbage (pardon me). So there you are. The first big fat 5 star critique. Keep them critters coming.
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Thanks for the critique!
Would you believe that I struggle more with these full body shots than with the high mag portraits?
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As I said in the critique I can imagine. I am very critical of my own pictures and struggle to achieve, now trying my luck at geometrics and boy what a mess that makes. Especially as you realize you also run into the limitations of your lenses. But if life thought me one thing it is, if you cant create with inferior material you don't have to try with better material because your failure will just stand out more. That is consolation but also a valuable lesson that tells you if people can handle better material they just way ahead of you. So for me that means to learn get around the limitations of my glass, look at others like you, and learn.
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Indeed! I've lost track of the number of people I've disappointed by telling them that better equipment won't make them better photographers.
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Next time tell them that some places rent out material. Then they can try 
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I've worn out the aperture assembly in my MP-E 65mm twice. About $350 USD each time to have it replaced.
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In what time-window? Isn't that covered in the guarantee? Hope it at least pays out in sales.
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Twice in eight years, so not covered by the guarantee.
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Will that cant be a bad millage if you use it professionally is it? Β This must be quite a complex toy inside. I can imagine that things like temperature will take a heavy toll on it.Β
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It's extending the lens to change magnification that weakens the cable that runs between the lens contacts and the aperture assembly. I probably take between 7 and 10 thousand frames a year, and I use magnification as a composition tool (so I adjust the lens a lot).
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That's quite a workload. That cable must suffer a lot of stress. What do you do with all those shots. How any of them are usable. I hate to throw stuf away because even a complete white or black picture in a series tells a story, if only that I was under pressure or not paying attention.
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I have become one with the universe and the delete key on my keyboard. I probably keep one ten percent and publish less than five percent.
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That must hurt. I think though I would be at that keep ratio, maybe even publishing (got some stuff not selling on gettys through Eyeem)
Well I really should rethink my strategy here or start my own harddisk factory
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Keeper rate is really subjective, and inversely proportional to your quality standards
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True. And after giving it a thought I decided to apply my usual logic, don't change don't destroy don't edit until you can't avoid it. Payed off for me till now. HD storage is so cheap there is no need yet. I have a little question I hope you can answer me. When f.i. shooting the front of a flat. What would you aim for? I notice quite some distortion pointing up. Is it better to zoom out and choose for a relative eye high spot? I can logically comprehend that a viewing point in the middle for hight and horizontal position would be best. But obviouslyΒ you are usually on street level and get a trapeze form that is very delicate to handle and tends to pull left or right when you point up.
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I've got no idea -haven't shot anything lower than about .6x for quite some time
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Damn distortions are driving me crazy, I now see distortions everywhere. Even in the mirror :-P But I think I have it for a great deal under control now. Part is of cause the lens. But I need to watch my level better for one, trade of between zoom en pointing upwards another, and start cropping my pictures. As you can imagine by now that last thing hurts me the most
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A true pleasure, Sir.
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brilliant macro...detail and composition fantastic
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That's really clever trickery! Β Great results, too... Β
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