Elaine Hoffman  


Snap Macro by Elaine Hoffman

March 2020 - Snap Macro

About the Image(s)

The subject is 1/2 of a standard clothing snap about 1/4" in diameter. Taken with a macro lens and a 500D closeup extension jury-rigged to the lens. 100 ISO. f13. 1/100th shutter speed. I used a handheld LED flashlight and some ambient lighting on a blue paper background.

Ten layers focus stacked in Photoshop then cropped and adjusted in Lightroom. I was having problems with the flash at higher shutter speeds. For some reason I kept getting shadows on the photos so I ended up opening the aperture and taking less photos than I normally would.

Thanks to everyone for the comments on my photos over the last several months - I've learned a lot! And I'm sorry I haven't been reciprocating. I've been ill off and on for the last 1/2 year and much better now, so I'll be commenting again.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
7 comments posted




Charles Ginsburgh   Charles Ginsburgh
(Group 63)
This is quite a fun image. The magnification is so great that it is very difficult to determine just what it is I am seeing, even with the comments accompanying the image. Nevertheless, that is part of the fun here. The mystery of "what it is". One of the factors supporting this mystery is the close crop you employed here. I had a chance to discuss that role of cropping with Art Wolf (a renowned photographer) recently, and he specifically noted that if you wish to retain a bit of mystery in an image, cropping close (sacrificing some of the image edges) aids you. This is at odds with some of the typical "camera club" feedback we often receive, and was very interesting to hear. Note that when Art employs his close crops though, it is a conscious and deliberate choice with a stated objective in mind.

The magnification employed here really emphasizes the detail of your subject, and forces me to reflect upon the item in an entirely different way. Kudos for warping my mind some.
  Posted: 03/10/2020 14:22:21
Peter Newman   Peter Newman
(Groups 20 & 79)
If I was on a space ship travelling at warp speed, my mind would be completely warped.;-).   Posted: 03/19/2020 19:29:50
Charles, I was remembering your email about the difference between closeup and macro - that macro was for objects that were very small and I was trying to find something small! I didn't want to repeat the 'dust' experience of a couple of months ago and that's why I went with the blue paper. I think I'm going to try another couple of photos with equally small (or smaller) items in the coming months. Thanks!!   Posted: 03/31/2020 16:17:49



Peter Newman   Peter Newman
(Groups 20 & 79)
Very interesting image. If you had not told us, I would have thought it was a prop from a Star Trek episode. At first I felt distracted by the white spot near the center of the image, but after I took a second look, and thought "space ship", I decided that it, and the other white spots, enhanced the image. Just for kicks I played around in PS, but nothing that I did produced a better image.   Posted: 03/19/2020 19:26:23



I like the shine in this frame which is eye catchy. Adding a focus point would have made it look even better. I feel that X factor is missing as I don't think the focus point in your photo (which looks like the bubble on the right centre) has that factory. But the overall quality of the frame, especially WB is really good. I also like the contrast between silver and blue   Posted: 03/20/2020 09:29:16



 
Very interesting subject that show us something we see everyday in a different perspective . The contrast of the metal and fabric really come through . The center knob is in both 3rd lines so the composition is good. Nit picking here : if more slices can be done may be the fuzziness of the knob edge will be more in focus ?
I really enjoy the textures in this image.   Posted: 03/24/2020 13:44:53



 
Your image had me guessing as to what it was just like the rest of the group. The color under the snap really sets this off and was a good choice as it added dimension. The white highlight on the ball doesn't bother me. Nice job.   Posted: 03/28/2020 08:42:53