Monday, September 09, 2013

Bongmu Bug Party.

So I'm lucky enough to have a new apartment in a perfect location in Daegu, South Korea. It's a newly developing area, Bongmudong. It's right on the outskirts of the city, so on one side I have all the amenities I need, and on the other... Traditional Korean houses with adjacent vegetable fields, a park, a lake, mountains... So I'm right next to a great place to relax, with a boatload of bugs - Butterflies, dragonflies, scarab beetles, spiders, wasps, ladybugs, aphids, grasshoppers, praying mantises, crickets, roaches, earwigs, centipedes, you name it. For a macro enthusiast like me, it's a dream location. The park even has an insect museum (apart from learning their names, not of much interest to me, as I am only interested in shooting them while they are alive), and a terrarium full of orchids and butterflies that is open all year round. I'm told that deeper into the bush there are snakes, squirrels, and sometimes deer, but I have yet to wander that far in. The lake also has turtles (I should know, I released my 2 terrapins into it just last month) and fish, so there is an abundance of great nature photography to enjoy there. All this just a ten minute walk from my door.

So, my bug setup. I shoot with a Canon EOS 60D and an EOS 5D MkII. Between the two bodies, I interchange the Canon EF 180 f/3.5L macro and the MP-E 65 f/2.8 1-5x macro lenses. I also use the EF 1.4x II extender sometimes, which fits both of those lenses. Swapping the lenses between the medium and full frame sensors, plus using the extender, gives me a good variety of focal lengths to work with, making two very specialised lenses a lot more versatile than their native values. I currently use my Speedlite 580 EX on a gorillapod for the MP-E 65, but will upgrade to the MT 24 EX twin macro flash next spring, when the next bug season starts. Also very useful with that lens is my Manfrotto 190 Prob tripod with a 322-RC2 trigger head, and a Velbon macro rail. It is possible to shoot handheld with the 65, but with the ridiculously narrow DOF (about 0.25mm at 5 x magnification) you can't afford shake, sway, or wobble of any kind, on your part or your subject's. It's a very challenging lens to work with, but when you get it right, the results are magnificent. So, let's take a look then...

EOS 5D Mk II + MP-E 65 f/2.8 Macro lens. 1/80 sec, f/16, ISO 100.

My best macro shot to date. Shot on full frame at 5x magnification, so,
 left to right represents 7 mm in real life, and top to bottom represents 5 mm in real life.
EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/100 sec, f/10, ISO 100.

EOS 5D Mk II + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 0.3 sec, f/32, ISO 400.


EOS 5D Mk II + MP-E 65 f/2.8 Macro lens. 1/80 sec, f/16, ISO 100.


EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/125 sec, f/10, ISO 400.

I couldn't believe my luck to see the two dragonflies mid-coitus -
I'd been hoping for a shot like this for a few years, and finally got it.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO 400.

EOS 5D Mk II + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/100 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/100 sec, f/9, ISO 400.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/60 sec, f/6.3, ISO 800.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/80 sec, f/16, ISO 100.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/100 sec, f/16, ISO 100. 

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/6 sec, f/16, ISO 100.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO 100.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/80 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100. 

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/100 sec, f/67.1, ISO 100.

This is the same kind of butterfly as the extreme close up at top, and the same kind that laid the eggs below. 

EOS 5D Mk II + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/100 sec, f/10, ISO 100.

EOS 5D Mk II + MP-E 65 f/2.8 Macro lens. 1/80 sec, f/16, ISO 100.

This little guy was about 3-4 mm in length, and very hard to catch a shot of. 

EOS 5D Mk II + MP-E 65 f/2.8 Macro lens. 1/80 sec, f/16, ISO 100.

These are the eggs of the same kind of butterfly from the extreme close up at the top.
Each egg is about 1mm from top to bottom. 

EOS 5D Mk II + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/50 sec, f/9, ISO 400.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/80 sec, f/14, ISO 100.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/100 sec, f/16, ISO 100.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/60 sec, f/16, ISO 400.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/4 sec, f/13, ISO 800.

EOS 60D + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/8 sec, f/9, ISO 200.

EOS 5D Mk II + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/80 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400.

EOS 5D Mk II + EF 180 f/3.5L Macro lens. 1/80 sec, f/9, ISO 400.



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