Macro C&C

Fajitas!

Got a Sigma 105mm 2.8 macro last weekend. Haven't done much flowery macro stuff before, moreso got it as a portrait/low light/gig lens, with macro benefits.

Buuuuuuuuut...the world of macro is so so enticing, especially since I aquired a small lightbox. Gonna post 4 shots here if you macro heads wouldn't mind criting them?

1.


2.


3.

Found this little fella inside the plant in the first shot.

4.


More in the sig!

elven

Can I be 'macro head' #1?

It's pretty difficult to crit flower macros actually because we all have our own ideas about what we want to see. So I'm going to try to be objective and take your own style into account, rather than thinking about how I would have done it. Does that make sense?

The first picture there, I really like the contrast of the dark purple against the white, and the few bits at the front that are oof let you focus immediately on the centre of the flower without being distracting. My nit pick with that one is that the white bits in the middle of the flower (all technical naming, here) aren't really white in comparison to the white from the light box at the bottom left of the picture. I think for that kind of shot to work, you'd need some strong lighting from the other side to stop that from happening. My other quick point about that one is the background being a bit darker than the are at the front as well, makes it difficult to look at without your eye being drawn to the bright bit in the llc.

I like how you've almost treated it like a portrait though, and left space for the flower 'to look in to', hehe

The second one, personal taste applicable here, there's a bit too much going on. The green and pink/purply colour contrast nicely, but I'm far too boring to appreciate the lack of symmetry or simplicity. Hav eto leave that one for someone who's into that I think!

I already left you a fairly bizarre comment on the wee bug in flickr... I love it. It's just so - hmmmm, can't think of the word but it's quite surreal. Fantastic.

I do really like those glowy petals and dark centre in the last one, and I'm glad you stopped down to get the DoF right the way through, almost. To suggest any improvement it would have to be the bottom, the two petals that are coming towards the camera seem to take away from the simplicity of the rest of the shot, andit might work to lift the flower up a bit more so that they are pointing downwards and then just crop them out of the frame - but then I'm not sure if you'd get the same light through the rest of the flower - would take some playing about with.

But you didn't post here my favourite picture of this flower - actually I'm not sure which is my favourite out of the other two but I really like them. Possibly the one with shallower DoF is the best, because then you've got those dark bits just appearing out of nowhere. Very cool.

HTH...

Borderfox

Love the last one, I think it's the best of the bunch

mloc

yeah, number four ftw. the lighting on the stamen (is that what that part of the flower is called, can't remember) is nice, seems like they're almost glowing.

good stuff.

Fajitas!

Thanks! I'm happy with it for my first 'proper' macro stuff (sigma 70-300 at macro dosn't count )

Julie, really appreciate the C&C, will take on board. Any tips for me?

CONMIKE12

The last one is really great.

Roen

Four ftw alright, well done man.
I got the Canon 100mm f2.8, we must compare them someday seeing as you are around for the summer.