With less than a 50% chance of snow today we had snow, with gray skies and wind. It looks like it's going to be a loooong winter. At least it was a bit warmer, but that does make for more challenging photo conditions for snowflake pictures. Still, youngest thought it would be fun, so I added a few extension tubes and the ring light and we spent about an hour ooo-ing and ahhh-ing over the tiny crystals.
April how did you do this shot? I have macro lens but still don't understand how you can get the snowflake so close and large looking? I've seen these shots and really want to know how, I could use your help and advise again.
@juleshoogstraanderson I have done snowflakes with my 100mm macro, though this particular one I used a 50mm. I do mine handheld with my aperture at 5.6 or thereabouts to try and get a deeper dof. Usually I have to crop the image quite a bit to isolate and bring out the details of a flake. This image was taken using my 50mm lens with three extension tubes (a 12mm, 20mm, and 36mm) attached. I had tried the tubes in various combinations on my macro lens, but didn't like how close I had to get to the flakes to get it focused. I found it easier to focus with the 50mm. Focusing is mostly a matter of moving the camera forward and backward until the flake is in focus. I know for some macro work people use a slider rail, but I've never tried one. Instead I'm the slider! This was a fairly cloudy day and there wasn't really good light, so I also had a ring light attached to the 50mm lens.
The key for me, though, is really temperature. Snowflakes melt and clump quickly. I usually shoot when the temperatures are in the lower to mid teens and there's no wind. I also leave the hat, coat, or scarf I'm using for a background lying outside so it is cold and the flakes last longer.
One thing I like about 365 is that when you see a photo and you're trying to figure out how they did it you can click on the Exif View Info and it will tell you the lens length, shutter speed, iso, and aperture for that photo. This one, though, is misleading, as it shows the 50mm lens but not the extension tubes. That's when asking works best!
@aecasey after looking up what an extension tube is now I understand and will be looking into purchasing them as well. For your macro lenses do you get image stabilizer with them? If I didn't sat it before, this shot is brilliant and its fav.
My 100mm macro lens has image stabilization. My 50mm is just a simple 50mm. If you don't have a 50mm you should get one. Not expensive and great fun! I love the bokeh I get with my 50mm.
My extension tubes are Kenko. I got those so that my lens could still talk with my camera body. If the extension tubes don't do that then you have to manually focus your lens. That's ok ... just be aware. There are time when you will want to switch to manual focus anyway, so that your lens isn't constantly trying to focus. Remember I told you I use back button focus, so pressing the shutter doesn't change what I've focused on. I am pretty certain you will want to switch to manual focus and then move the camera back or forward to get clearer focus if you are working with snowflakes. If you leave the lens in autofocus every time you press the shutter the lens will try to focus or change focus from where you wanted it. With manual focus you can focus once, and then press the shutter as ofte as you like and you won't lose focus (unless you move too much). You need to control your focus for snowflakes.
February 3rd, 2016
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The key for me, though, is really temperature. Snowflakes melt and clump quickly. I usually shoot when the temperatures are in the lower to mid teens and there's no wind. I also leave the hat, coat, or scarf I'm using for a background lying outside so it is cold and the flakes last longer.
One thing I like about 365 is that when you see a photo and you're trying to figure out how they did it you can click on the Exif View Info and it will tell you the lens length, shutter speed, iso, and aperture for that photo. This one, though, is misleading, as it shows the 50mm lens but not the extension tubes. That's when asking works best!
My extension tubes are Kenko. I got those so that my lens could still talk with my camera body. If the extension tubes don't do that then you have to manually focus your lens. That's ok ... just be aware. There are time when you will want to switch to manual focus anyway, so that your lens isn't constantly trying to focus. Remember I told you I use back button focus, so pressing the shutter doesn't change what I've focused on. I am pretty certain you will want to switch to manual focus and then move the camera back or forward to get clearer focus if you are working with snowflakes. If you leave the lens in autofocus every time you press the shutter the lens will try to focus or change focus from where you wanted it. With manual focus you can focus once, and then press the shutter as ofte as you like and you won't lose focus (unless you move too much). You need to control your focus for snowflakes.