The world of Macro (super close-up) is quite commonly associated with tiny forms of life such as insects and flowers. This video is an inspiration on what can be done in forms of story telling all shot in Macro mode by Vimeo member Emotion.
No information on what it was technically shot with, but if you're on a DSLR a lens very capable of performing at this level would be one of my favorites - the Canon 100mm F/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens.
Canon 100mm F/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens
Yesterday was the holiday so mail wasn't running. This morning the first few items come in and they are both photography accessories to aid in Macro Photography. Actually i'm interested in testing one of these out as a video option. I'll keep you guessing for now, and open them up when I have time later today. Can't wait to test them out though!
Canon MR-14EX TTL Macro Ring Flash
So friend of mine recently picked up a T2i only for Photography and no interest in Video. Most of the shots he's been sharing is all related to close up nature / macro type images. There's several things he can probably improve upon such as shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings, but he's learning. Another great item to really boost the color, focus, and sharpness with Macro photography is Flash Lighting. Macro flashes are designed to throw the light evenly around a small subject providing almost shadowless lighting. Of course you have to be pretty serious about Macro photography before you getting into the flashes, as the good ones like the Canon MF-14EX TTL (above) will easily run you over $400 dollars.
If you want to go a bit cheaper with off the shelf gear, there are some options such as the Ray Ring flash adapter that bend the light from your normal Speedlite. This item sits over your existing Flash. The Ray Ring will still run you about $199.95. There's obviously clones to everything these days and you can find Ray Ring Flash clones (probably not the same build quality) called O flashes for around $32.00 dollars (below).
O Flash Macro Ring Light
If you're on the cheap cheap like me, this all reminded me of that very old DIY Ring-Flash article and got me inspired to try my hand at it. I'm sure he's not ready to dish out quite so much money, so maybe I can whip something up for him to get better photos on the cheap. This thing looks pretty effective.
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Not too happy with the Fluid Head that comes attached with this $99.00 dollar slider from IndiSystems, but the rail and carrier work pretty well. It looks thicker than other Camera Slider rails out there, but it's actually hollow and very lightweight. This 2 foot version of a silder is easier for my type of workflow compared to the 4 ft. slider I show in this video. This $99 dollar video camera slider mounts well directly to the Tripod or to a Quick release plate.
I had to drill out the old fluid head mount (plastic) and make room for a 1/4 x 20 flat headed screw. I wanted to keep it at 1/4 x 20 so I still have the option of mounting a camera directly to the carrier plate. In order to mount the Bogen 701HDV Fluid head, 1/4 to 3/8 adapter like this one. I don't do a whole bunch of sliding, but now maybe I will since this is a lighter and smaller version compared to the other Igus Rail. This is the mini slider from https://indisystem.com/products/indislider_mini
You can also get the same slider for a bit more here:
Did I mention I got my new 100mm Macro IS USM lens in also?? It's awesome...Here's a few samples below I took outside in the parking lot.
