Macromania

Messiah Khan · 24 Jun 2007 at 19:04

DailyGeek said:
Wow - I am so envious

No need to be envious. Get out there and beat me.

Ranger said:
Some really great shots again Mr kahn. Nice one.

How long would you say you spend editing each shot on average?

Id say roughly 5 minutes. If a shot is near perfect in camera though, it probably take no longer than 1-2minutes. Ive got quite a few of my processes saved as actions though so that helps.

MaxPower · 24 Jun 2007 at 19:24

I think its amazing how many photographers seem to fight with the limited DOF you get with macro photography but you seem to embrace it and it works very well.

Whats your success rate like (i.e. no. of usable shots / no. shots taken)?

Messiah Khan · 24 Jun 2007 at 19:33

MaxPower said:
I think its amazing how many photographers seem to fight with the limited DOF you get with macro photography but you seem to embrace it and it works very well.

Whats your success rate like (i.e. no. of usable shots / no. shots taken)?

Hehe, you wouldn't think I was emracing it if you heard me muttering.

The limited dof is a real issue in macro photography, but its one you can't do a huge deal about. When shooting im constantly checking my settings, trying to squeeze every last stop out of the dof available.

My success rate is relatively low tbh. Im quite trigger happy (Taken over 10,000 shots in under 3 months) but its slowly going up. today for example I took somewhere in the region of 280 shots. 139 of those were usable (im quite brutal when it comes to deleting ones that are slightly out of focus, under or over exposed or just generally rubbish) and 12 made it into my 'portfolio' folder.

Arsey · 24 Jun 2007 at 19:40

Very good shots to start with, I see some photographers who make the photo into a completly different image and I just see that as cheating really. Well done

Zheka · 24 Jun 2007 at 20:12

Man I admire your enthusiasm, you are an addict though

Great work mate.

Hen_Dawg · 25 Jun 2007 at 10:38

As always I'm very very impressed. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were in Borneo or somewhere exoctic like that :cool:

Also thank you for sharing some before and after shots, I've been interested in what some of yours look like before the tweaks

::: CooliceT :: · 25 Jun 2007 at 12:17

awsome photo's again dude,

i love macro shots, and i know how hard they can be,
you done some great ones there, i just googled your lens quick.

how would it compare to my canon 100mm?
it would seem you can get a lot closer than i can, and i have 3 kenko adaptor rings aswell, but the quality on the sigma lens is awsome,

i have a sigma 70-300mm and even thought thats fairly cheap, it is really good too. very impressed with sigma.

also, how do you get on with the lighting? do you have a flash aswell.
i find it very hard at times to use the built in flash, and not sure what flash would be good to purchase for macro and everyday use.... for my canon 400d

can you tell me how much and where you got it from?

is it worth selling my canon 100mm.. or just keep with it

Nicos Rex · 25 Jun 2007 at 12:24

Your work oozes quality. Inspired and inspiring!

I am in agreement that the ones that tell a story are the best of a very good bunch.

You are clearly driven almost to the point of obsession which in part accounts for the fact that you see things that the rest of us don't even notice.

Messiah Khan · 25 Jun 2007 at 12:51

Arsey said:
Very good shots to start with, I see some photographers who make the photo into a completly different image and I just see that as cheating really. Well done

Im getting better at getting it right in the camera which is the main thing. Occasionally I do process the image a bit more, ie get rid of an unsightly highlight in the bokeh etc. But I always try to keep it to a minimum while getting the look I want.

Zheka said:
Man I admire your enthusiasm, you are an addict though
Great work mate.

Thank you. Hehe, yeah im getting a little obsessive now, but then thats no bad thing really.

Hen_Dawg said:
As always I'm very very impressed. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were in Borneo or somewhere exoctic like that

Also thank you for sharing some before and after shots, I've been interested in what some of yours look like before the tweaks

Cheers. I would absolutely love to go to somewhere like Borneo now. I used to be like; "Eugh.. creepy crawlies". Now its; "Woo, big insect, grab the camera", lol. Im having ideas about heading off to the Alps now though for Alpine flowers, insect and general mountain shots.

::: CooliceT :: said:
awsome photo's again dude,

i love macro shots, and i know how hard they can be,
you done some great ones there, i just googled your lens quick.

how would it compare to my canon 100mm?
it would seem you can get a lot closer than i can, and i have 3 kenko adaptor rings aswell, but the quality on the sigma lens is awsome,

i have a sigma 70-300mm and even thought thats fairly cheap, it is really good too. very impressed with sigma.

also, how do you get on with the lighting? do you have a flash aswell.
i find it very hard at times to use the built in flash, and not sure what flash would be good to purchase for macro and everyday use.... for my canon 400d

can you tell me how much and where you got it from?

is it worth selling my canon 100mm.. or just keep with it

Thank you. Which Canon 100mm have you got? The 1:1 macro one? If so, then you can get closer to the subject than I can. the image will be the same size, ie 1:1, but you will have a closer working distance. Ive never used a Canon 100mm, so I can't say how it compares to the Sigma. this is only my second lens after the stock 18-55 so im really not the best person to comment on them im afraid. But I would stick with the 100mm you have already. Im sure that its a more than capable lens.

As for lighting, I rely entirely on natural lighting. The only flash I have is the inbuilt one which is next to useless. Im seriously considering a decent flash setup though. The options for macro are a ringflash, or as a Nikon user the very expensive, but oh so tempting SB-R1C1 flash kit.

Nicos Rex said:
Your work oozes quality. Inspired and inspiring!

I am in agreement that the ones that tell a story are the best of a very good bunch.

You are clearly driven almost to the point of obsession which in part accounts for the fact that you see things that the rest of us don't even notice.

Thanks Nicos Rex, very kind of you to say. Hehe, your right about the obsession. Im so glad ive found photography though as it has changed my life for the better in so many ways. It has changed my social life, it gets me out of the house even when it rains, and it has made me look at life and everything I come across in a totally different way.

As for spotting details, im getting quite good at spotting bugs now. I amazed myself yesterday by subconciously spotting a tiny tiny beetle from about 10 metres away. The colour and shape just looked wrong, so I headed for it and found the little creature.

::: CooliceT :: · 25 Jun 2007 at 12:57

messiah khan said:
Thank you. Which Canon 100mm have you got? The 1:1 macro one? If so, then you can get closer to the subject than I can. the image will be the same size, ie 1:1, but you will have a closer working distance. Ive never used a Canon 100mm, so I can't say how it compares to the Sigma. this is only my second lens after the stock 18-55 so im really not the best person to comment on them im afraid. But I would stick with the 100mm you have already. Im sure that its a more than capable lens.

Yea, its the 1.1 macro one. it is very nice, but your detail is very clear on the sigma, mine does get very close. but i supose i been taking photo's or such small insects its hard to get very close detail. ill keep at it, i like the look off the flash rings also, they do look very good for macro shots, just very expensive.

i wouldnt mind a lens, well.. my next one i would get, would be some sort of wide angle, aswell as landscape, and portrait lens, which does all those. (only using the kit lens for those types) but again, super colours, great detail. very well done, another top batch for your portfolio

edit. just made a new little sig aswell, added a rotator on it for here. better then my old one i had.

hargi · 25 Jun 2007 at 14:20

messiah khan said:
Im having ideas about heading off to the Alps now though for Alpine flowers, insect and general mountain shots.

Good then we can get our snowboarding holiday booked then

Jofujofu · 25 Jun 2007 at 22:49

Amazing! Like I said in another of your threads I'm not a photographer or anything, but I find your pictures stunning. That weird thing (number 2) has a sort of scorpions tail which is a bit freaky!!

Paul

Messiah Khan · 25 Jun 2007 at 22:51

Jofujofu said:
Amazing! Like I said in another of your threads I'm not a photographer or anything, but I find your pictures stunning. That weird thing (number 2) has a sort of scorpions tail which is a bit freaky!!

Paul

Cheers. That scorpion tail happens to be its genitals btw. :eek:

Jofujofu · 25 Jun 2007 at 23:53

messiah khan said:
Cheers. That scorpion tail happens to be its genitals btw.

I'm glad I'm not a female of the species!! :eek:

Takes 'ribbed for her pleasure' to new levels.

Paul

Riiya · 26 Jun 2007 at 01:25

Bloomin' hell they are very nice photos!

How it Gods name do you take pictures like that, anyway? I mean, they are really zoomed in - didn't the bugs run away?

Also, how do you find all the critters? Doesn't it take ages?

Oh and how do you get it to be such good quality; I've never taken a photo in my life, but I expect it's har to take good photos?

hargi · 26 Jun 2007 at 08:56

Bug porn!!!

Solnyshko · 26 Jun 2007 at 11:49

nice work. a 1:1 macro's on my shortlist of lenses after a prime wide angle.

btw what software did you use to compile your website? I'm desperately hunting around to find some way simple to present a couple of dozen shots to an interested gallery. I really quite liked the simple interface you have, on black.

cheers, Sols