Another macro image — this time from an outdoor subject, in a park a few blocks from our house:
I’m discovering that outdoor macro photography almost requires some sort of supplemental lighting. I took this image in midday under light overcast, using the 50mm macro lens set to f/3.5. Letting it open this widely meant I had to deal with a fairly shallow DOF, while constraining the ISO to 100 (for low noise) meant that the shutter speed could be no faster than 1/320 sec.
With lights, I could have closed down the lens for deeper DOF while possibly speeding up the shutter even more — I likely would have come home with far more than the couple of passable images I actually took. Of course, a ring light or ring flash won’t come cheap…
On the bright side, the local neighborhood bees were amazingly tolerant of me. When I got too close with my camera, they’d just buzz along to another dandelion. No stings or other signs of aggravation were involved.
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