New Wide Open Macro Work

Kram · Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 1344 Location: Portland, OR

More work from today. I think that I'm finding some interesting compositions with my Schneider-Kreuznach 50/2.8 Xenar lens.

EDIT: a couple of these are at f/4.[/img]

yinyangbt · Expire: 2012-12-27

Great work,Mark !

poilu · Expire: 2019-08-29

wow! so beautiful work, my favs #5#6#7#10#11#12

Minolfan · Joined: 30 Dec 2008 Posts: 3437 Location: Netherlands

The Schneider lens is inspiring you with great effect! Nice pictures.

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

Good ones Mark! Personally I prefer to work with large apertures for macro, so I like these a lot!

hemmo · Expire: 2016-12-17

Wow!
1, 8 , 10 and 11 my favorites.

danikatia · Expire: 2013-10-26

Great work! Wink

My compliments.....

revers · Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 12:32 pm Post subject:

#2 grabs me the most.

adrifaisal · Joined: 22 May 2011 Posts: 25 Location: Indonesia

Nice shot, unique bokeh, great color

IAZA · Joined: 16 Apr 2010 Posts: 2587 Location: Indonesia

David · Expire: 2013-01-25

These are some of my favorites of your shots. I'm incredibly impressed. Did you do much PP on the colors ? There's one shot, the blue flower and the white center, was the backlit? It's a great effect.

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

Great work Mark.

agent_cooper · Joined: 06 Oct 2010 Posts: 139 Location: Germany

Impressive. Period.

Nikon75-150E · Joined: 14 Aug 2011 Posts: 148 Location: Houston TX

Cool. My favs are 3 and 6.

Kram · Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 1344 Location: Portland, OR

Thanks very much guys. Yes, the lens has inspired me plus the fact that winter is coming!

David, minimal PP. The lens records color very well. Yes, the morning glory was backlit.

Still learning the lens and trying to go some places I haven't been, creatively speaking.

Laurence · Expire: 2016-06-19

So...here I was, looking for inspiration, especially in the macro genre. I knew that Kram (Mark) was darn good with
macro work, so I searched by Author and here he is!

My first need was met - I am inspired! My second need was also met, which was to see some really fine work that could
give me ideas for different and new approaches to macro shooting.

Mark, you have a "style" that seems to always make me linger. I am a big fan of wide-open macro shots, and you've
certainly filled that bill. I have to say that these are among the best macro shots I've EVER seen. The colors are
phenomenal, and I have to credit that lens! Is it a macro lens, or did you use tubes? Either way, the results are
dynamite.

Your selection of focus points seems to be a result of great intuition, and great visualization of the final image. The "candy
cane" bud is just extraordinary; however, all of these can be put into my "extraordinary bucket".

If I was to try to define what a macro shot should look like, I would simply steer any questions to your posts. I can't tell
you enough how good these are, in my opinion. I tend to enlarge images in my head, and macro is always the toughest
to effectively enlarge and retain beauty and form. But in this case, I think that most all of these would be purely wonderful
as big prints. The color combinations, the focus points, and the framing are first-class.

That's one of the nice things about this forum - if I am sort of having the doldrums in my shooting, I just look to the forum
to get excited again. Well, these are BEYOND exciting. You have a gift, Mark, and you use it well.

Larry

Kram · Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 1344 Location: Portland, OR

Larry, my sincere thanks.

I've devoted my life to photography. To make a long (30 year!) story short, I started in fashion and advertising, grew frustrated with the inevitable commercial compromises, went into more fine art, grew tired of the endless pursuit of shows and notoriety, decided to simplify and just do simple images and to immerse myself in the effort to make something unique (which I've always done).

Hearing your kind comments means a lot to me because I spend a lot of time honing my skills and trying to get better, critiquing myself, starting again and not much time promoting this work, so I don't hear much feedback. Your comments make me feel like I am on the right track and that means everything.

I have no idea where I'm going as to an end result with this work. I'd like to do a book one day, but for now, the experience of creating and sharing the work is what inspires me to continue. Your comments make me inspired to keep going. So it's a mutual inspiration society!

Looking forward to sharing more work here and I'd like to thank everyone who infected me with this crazy LBS! It's helped to express myself in ways I'd never have done otherwise. Group hug!
Very Happy

Edit: Larry, forgot to answer your question! I did use extension tubes some as it's not a macro lens.

Laurence · Expire: 2016-06-19

Mark, I've checked out from the library a very nice small book of macro "ideas and techniques" by Tony Sweet - Fine Art
Flower Photography - Creative Techniques and the Art of Observation. It is basically a series of images with background
information on how the image was created. Tony is a good photographer with what I think is very good vision; however, his
work is not as compelling as yours - just my opinion.

I particularly was intrigued by his image of two Rugosa flowers. He used a Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 and an 81B warming filter.

He used a "sandwich technique" in which two separate images are made at different exposures and placed together in a single
slide mount (or in the case of digital, stacked upon each other in a photo program).

The result is a glowing effect that is indicative of that particular technique.

His instructions were as follows:
1. Make the first image at f/22 and overexpose by two stops.
2. Make the second image at your widest aperture (2.8 in this case), overexpose by one stop, and defocus just until the image
blurs.
3. The defocusing, in combination with the sharp +2 overexposure in Step 1, is what creates the appearance of a glow.

You possibly already knew of this technique. But, I just shot a roll up yesterday using the Tamron SP 80-200/2.8 with the Contax
AX on Velvia 50. Since I have a supply of Gepe' 35mm slide mounts, I can pretty easily sandwich the transparencies and then
scan them. Tony uses a Nikon 80-200 extensively, sometimes with extension tubes, as well as the standard Micro-Nikkor lens
types.

My driveway has a lot of color this year, with the Japanese Maples and other dwarf Maples showing nice oranges and red. The
sun was actually out yesterday (!), so I concentrated on backlit leaves. I also have a potted plant with Begonias that is still
going strong, so I applied various techniques to the flowers. It was a nice 90 minute break in routine, well-spent with the camera.

I'm also going to break out the old Bronica SQ-A 6x6 since I have a 110/4 macro lens with it, and try the technique with the larger
transparency. My scanner is really better suited for medium format than with 35mm. I'll also be trying it with the Pentax 645.

Tony also has other rather unique techniques involving camera movement and other off-the-wall maneuvers, that showed some
nice final results.

Anyway - it's ALL fun! Very Happy

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

That's a wonderful life story Mark and I'm sure you're on a very good way, if I may say so, by seeing your results!

@Larry: that an interesting technique, yet I try to reach similar without using such "artificial" techniques. A glow can also be achieved using a lens having (some uncorrected) spherical aberrations and I prefer that. But well, there are many ways always... Wink

NikonD · Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 1922 Location: Slovenija

excellent photos!

Sven · Expire: 2011-12-29

Impressive work!
The are all great captures in my opininon.

Laurence · Expire: 2016-06-19

Olivier · Expire: 2015-08-06

Wow, Mark, they're beautiful !

Thanks a lot for the sharing and your life story.

I tried to use the Xenar 2.8/50 on bellows It works quite well but I had to close the diaph a bit and the 5 blades diaph is noticeable... Smile

Kram · Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 1344 Location: Portland, OR

Olivier , thanks! We certainly have different lenses, mine has 10 blades.

Sven, NikonD, thanks guys!

Klaus, thanks! I'm enjoying the ride and that's very important!

Larry, I've been doing a lot of experimenting with layering of film but more in this line of work (NSFW): http://markcolman.com
His technique sounds very workable. I'd rather do it straight and in-camera. Besides, I'd have to get on a a tripod! Wink

I look forward to seeing your experiments Larry. Is the Voigtlander 90/3.5 SP a Leica mount? I know they make a similar lens for Canon and Nikon DSLR's. Been contemplating that one and the Voightlander 40/2. Christmas is coming! Also the Voigtlander 58/1.4 looks good... so many lenses- so little money!

Olivier · Expire: 2015-08-06