Green Crested Lizard

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Moderators: MacroMike, nzmacro, Ken Ramos, twebster, S. Alden

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tchuanye
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Green Crested Lizard

Post by tchuanye »

Took this in Apr. It was climbing down a tree, and had to approach it slowy with my FZ10+6T.

Exposure Time = 1/160"
F Number = F8
Exposure Program = Manual
ISO Speed Ratings = 50
Ext bounce flash.

Appreciate any comments!

CY


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Moebius
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Post by Moebius »

Beautiful, simply beautiful.

tchuanye (and Danny too)

I have a very similar setup with a FZ-20 and Nikon 6T and get decent Macro pics, but you two get clarity and sharpness that I cannot as of yet get. Now, I know I have only been at this about 3 months now and I am sure experience is the answer, but what do you think is the main reason you can get such greater clarity than i can (my web page is below if you are curious)...is it more experience in keeping the camera steadier, experience in lighting techniques, or something more intangible?

I appreciate any insight and tips you can share on this

Ken Nelson
http://perceptions.smugmug.com/gallery/717675

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tchuanye
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Post by tchuanye »

Moebius wrote:Beautiful, simply beautiful.

tchuanye (and Danny too)

I have a very similar setup with a FZ-20 and Nikon 6T and get decent Macro pics, but you two get clarity and sharpness that I cannot as of yet get. Now, I know I have only been at this about 3 months now and I am sure experience is the answer, but what do you think is the main reason you can get such greater clarity than i can (my web page is below if you are curious)...is it more experience in keeping the camera steadier, experience in lighting techniques, or something more intangible?

I appreciate any insight and tips you can share on this

Ken Nelson
http://perceptions.smugmug.com/gallery/717675
Hi Ken,

Thanks! Check out your pics at your gallery and they are not bad at all! Its hard to just say what is the main reason why one shot is sharp or not, but I will just state what I do....

1) The eyes of the insect must be sharp. The challenge is greater when the subject is smaller. Sometimes, just a few mm off would cause the eyes to be OOF. So that must be in focused first. No special tricks for that.....I got alot of OOF eyes too...just that you get to see those that were not! :)

2) Use F8 for max DOF....which I think you did.

3) Use lowest ISO where possible....no right or wrong in this, but high ISO may lead to noisy image....but this can be clean up with neatimage, which I do.

4) Post process. Do you process the image? I do. Usually, some levels, curves, colour balance and USM (unsharp Mask) which sharpens the image. These helps tremendously.

Well, this are from my point of view. Danny may have others to share......

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Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

Tell ya what, Iwould have to voice Kens comments. That is really a supurb and sharp image. One of the best IMHO. Appreciate the tips. Most I use but have yet to have them grace my images with what you have displayed here. Darn good work tchuanye! :D
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MikeBinOKlahoma
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Post by MikeBinOKlahoma »

The lighting here is wonderful!
Mike Broderick
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(reposts on this site of my images for critique or instruction are welcome)

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tchuanye
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Post by tchuanye »

Thanks Mike and Ken!

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stingrey
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Post by stingrey »

Chuan Ye,

Good to see you posting here.
Very nice Image and sharp. Keep them coming.

rgds,
Rey

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S. Alden
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Post by S. Alden »

Beautiful image, great composition and love that light.
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S. Alden
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Post by S. Alden »

Moebius wrote:Beautiful, simply beautiful.

tchuanye (and Danny too)

I have a very similar setup with a FZ-20 and Nikon 6T and get decent Macro pics, but you two get clarity and sharpness that I cannot as of yet get. Now, I know I have only been at this about 3 months now and I am sure experience is the answer, but what do you think is the main reason you can get such greater clarity than i can (my web page is below if you are curious)...is it more experience in keeping the camera steadier, experience in lighting techniques, or something more intangible?

I appreciate any insight and tips you can share on this

Ken Nelson
http://perceptions.smugmug.com/gallery/717675

Hey Ken

Yep, the eye has to be sharp. You do lose some sharpeness, color, etc when you transfer from camera to computer and you need to bring that out in your editing. When I get back home and on a cable connect :roll: , I will PM you on the process.
Sue Alden
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Moebius
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Post by Moebius »

tchuanye,

Thanks for the input.

I have learned to use f8 and low ISO (though a couple times have mistakenly left it on ISO 200, there is certainly a difference!).

I have also learned that eyes are the most important thing to get in focus and I strive for that. I also believe there are some intangibles that separate the professional quality prints like yours with budding amateurs like myself.

Sue,

I would appreciate post-processing hints, as all I do is crop and sometimes mess with the Levels (without really knowing what I am doing) and maybe a tad saturation. I am using PhotoImact 10 but am unable to find a book on it. I also have PS, but haven't tackled the learning curve yet.

Is there any online guide to image post-processing that may help me out?

Ken Nelson

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tchuanye
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Post by tchuanye »

Thanks Sue and Rey!

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S. Alden
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Post by S. Alden »

Congratulations on the Administrator's Appreciation Award. This is a beautiful image and looks fantastic on the front cover :D
Sue Alden
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Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

Congratulations on your image being selected Tchuanye. This has to be one of my favorites in the Marco Forms. Very beautiful and it looks great on the cover of photomacrography.net! :D
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tchuanye
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Post by tchuanye »

Thanks for the encouragement! Deeply appreciated!

wtrfall
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I like!

Post by wtrfall »

what a nice bright picture! :)

maybe I need to look at something bright because there is two feet of snow on the ground here :cry:
I think it would make a great poster!

my grandaughter likes it too. she aid it looks like a cool lizard she saw before. :)
nice,
lynne

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