A quick question for the experts on 365. Where can I buy live (or not) insects for macro photography in Dallas TX or online? I recently purchased a Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x f/2.8 macro lens and I wanted to put it to good use...
Hmmm.... Never heard of buying them before... I think most of us just crawl around the backyard in search of creepy crawlies in their natural habitat... At least, that's what I did!
You can buy butterflies (framed or unframed) on eBay - or you can here in the UK anyway - in the Collectables section.
Like @northy, I've never bought any bugs for macro photography. I just crawl around the garden/local park with the macro lens (& flash if you want to shoot handheld). On a couple of occasions I've used dead flies/wasps I found in my conservatory for focus-stacking practice, but that's about it.
@lambda yep crawl around the garden - if you were to find live ones to buy I hope you would be kind to them - and insects should not be released outside their natural habitat - so I too suggest local parks and gardens
@northy@annied@humphreyhippo@888rachel Thanks so much for your replies, all! Yes, I think you can buy insects for macro photography. I went to the local nursery just now and they sell praying mantises in Spring. They didn't have any at this time, though. Problem with crawling in the backyard is, with the super duper macro lens I got recently, I really cannot shoot handheld, or at least I don't think I can... Thanks again!
@lambda I'm not sure how big your lens is, but I have the Canon 100mm L series f2.8, and all my macros are handheld. It's hard to get live insects while dragging a tripod around!
Buy insects for photography? Well if you find a place could you please ask if they have people too? Dead or alive, doesn't matter. If alive they must be able to sit still!
@northy@annied@humphreyhippo@888rachel@lambda
Reading Annie's comment about them not being released outside of their natural habitat, this does worry me a bit. I hate to be the one to raise this, but is this an ethical thing to do?
@kiwisnapper Thanks Ashley. You're right - as I'm finding out now, it is very difficult to get a good DOF with this lens, especially at higher mags. I tried taking some shots of flowers and I was only partially successful.
@888rachel you do it so well though! I do know people should take good precaution for areas where ticks are (one of our beloved 365ers had an encounter with Lime's Disease). I had never heard of buying insects for anything other than for food and fishing. Very interesting.
@dibzgreasley well... I'm more in @mastermek 's camp on this... I know we do all sorts of crazy stuff for photos, but something feels wrong to me about acquiring sentient life for this purpose... But then, it's not like I'm a vegetarian so who am I to talk... But it does weird me out a bit...
Ok, Ok, I get the hint. I won't buy any insects for photography. There!
So I went out in my backyard and found this beautiful specimen in a puddle of water. It's been raining like crazy here and I don't think it was kind to this little guy. Anyway, here's a shot with my Canon macro 100mm lens with 15-image focus stacking using Helicon software.
Let me know what you think!
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Like @northy, I've never bought any bugs for macro photography. I just crawl around the garden/local park with the macro lens (& flash if you want to shoot handheld). On a couple of occasions I've used dead flies/wasps I found in my conservatory for focus-stacking practice, but that's about it.
I agree a static object would be much easier!
I would check eBay.
Reading Annie's comment about them not being released outside of their natural habitat, this does worry me a bit. I hate to be the one to raise this, but is this an ethical thing to do?
So I went out in my backyard and found this beautiful specimen in a puddle of water. It's been raining like crazy here and I don't think it was kind to this little guy. Anyway, here's a shot with my Canon macro 100mm lens with 15-image focus stacking using Helicon software.
Let me know what you think!