dSLR Dad » Macro

How to Photograph Snowflakes

The dSLR Dad — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:36:33 +0000

"Mother and Child" by Julie Falk

Popular Photography Magazine has an article by Julie Falk on how to photograph snowflakes:

Shooting snowflakes is easy — just follow these tips:

Get in as close as the camera will let you — usually about 2 inches. Hold the camera steady, and shoot from as many angles as possible.

Aim for snowflakes that are on surfaces with clean lines and that are positioned at an angle so early morning or late afternoon sunlight can bring out details. And, Falk adds, “It also helps to find flakes in the ‘twilight zone’ areas of the snow — not in full sun nor quite full shadow — so the background of the sunlit flake is the cobalt blue shadow that snow has on sunny days.”

Large, soft flakes photograph better than small, bright ones. Falk has found them at diameters up to 5mm. “You need to have a lot of moisture in the air,” she says, “and it needs to be bitter cold.”

Nearly windless days are ideal for snowflake hunting, to up the likelihood of finding crystals intact. Colder temperatures help “to keep their little arms from melting off before you can get to them.”

You can read the entire article over at PopPhoto.com. You can also view more of Julie Falk’s photography at flickr.

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digital Photography School – 11 Fun Lego Photos

The dSLR Dad — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:13:07 +0000

digital Photography School has posted eleven very creative photographs involving Lego characters from Flickr.

Have you ever met a Lego enthusiast? They can be a lot of fun to talk to and will open up a whole world (or perhaps ‘culture’ is a better word) for you around the little colorful bricks that many of us stop playing with as kids. Many Lego lovers are also keen photographers who love to document their work, fun, humor and creativity. Here’s just a quick sample of some of the hundreds of thousands of Lego Photos on Flickr.

You can view the rest of the photos here.

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Holiday Gift Guide: Make Every Lens a Macro Lens

The dSLR Dad — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 04:58:24 +0000

The following is part eight of a much larger dSLR Dad Holiday Gift Guide:

Everybody wants to try Macro photography, but not everyone can purchase a separate macro lens. Especially if you’re new to macro photography and are not sure exactly what you would need. Well here is the perfect solution, the Canon 500D Close Up Lens(77mm at Amazon or B&H Photo). This is a two-element, precision optic that screws on to the front of your lens like a typical filter. It then reduces your lens’ focal length, so you can get close to your subject and fill the frame. It’s so good that I know Nikon professionals who swear by it.

The 500D is for lenses with a focal length anywhere from 70 to 300mm. (Canon also makes the 250D which is suited for smaller prime lenses with a focal length from 30 to 135mm).

A great tip, when you buy this or any other big filter, get the biggest filter size you think you will ever use (probably 77mm). Then you can just use a Step-Up Adapter Ring to the 77mm Filter Size on any of your other lenses. That way, you can use the 500D or any other filter both on your prime and telephoto zoom lenses.

You can find more great gift ideas over at the dSLR Gear page.

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Photo Inspiration of the Week: Unbelievable Macros

The dSLR Dad — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 05:58:35 +0000

Igor Siwanowicz has an outstanding portfolio of Macro photography. His specialty is of little creatures. You can visit his portfolio here.

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The First Two Books I tell Everyone to Buy

The dSLR Dad — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 03:04:20 +0000

OK Everybody. I think it’s time for a page just for resources that everyone should put on their “media shelf”. It’s going to contain more than just books, hence The Media Shelf.

First up are the two books that every photographer MUST OWN.

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