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 For a photographer weary of cabin fever the sound also invokes a challenge, for photographing these little tree frogs is not an easy task.
Peepers are well camouflaged, as their straw-colored bodies blend perfectly with the winter-killed grasses lining the seeps and pools
where peepers hide. Their almost impossibly loud call has "ventriloquistic" properties as well and its often difficult to determine exactly
where the song is coming from. Triangulating the sound by moving about helps, but the peeper often stymies that effort by going silent
when it detects your presence.
Peepers are most active at night, and to photograph one you will need both flash equipment and a light source. My favorite flash setup, not only for peepers but for almost all my macro photography, is the Canon MT 24EX Twin Lite system, which provides two small flash heads that can be positioned independently for creative lighting. Traditionally, many macro photographers have used a ringlight flash, a donut-like flash tube that encircles a macro lens to provide a fairly uniform, shadowless light source. Although Ive seen some wonderful work done with ringlights, especially with flowers, Ive never been a fan of this type of flash. My primary objection: wet, shiny, reflective surfaces—eyes, wet skin, water droplets, etc.—will reflect the light source, and the images that result will usually show an unnatural-looking donut-like hotspot. While any reflective surface will reflect a flashs light, a square or round reflection appears more natural. After all, the suns reflection would appear as a round hotspot, but never as a donut! Most macro flash systems, whether a ringlight or the Twin Lite system, are lightweight, and the flash tube or flashes are positioned to illuminate a subject that is fairly close to the lens. I love the Twin-Lite kit because of the lighting flexibility it provides. Each flash is connected to the hot shoe mounted control console by a coiled cable, allowing the flashes to be mounted or positioned in several ways. I can mount the flashes around the front of the lens via a sturdy ring that screws into the front of the lens like a filter—the easiest, lightest and, perhaps, most practical method to attach the flashes. This system works especially well when Im working in tight spots. When I have the space, however, I often mount the flashes on separate flash arms, to provide more flexibility and variety in my placement of the flash. Occasionally Ill have one of the two flashes mounted on the lens mount while I handhold the second flash to provide overhead or even backlighting. Normal, hot shoe style flashes can be used for macro photography, of course, but these flashes are much heavier, and are best used with the flash NOT mounted on the cameras hot shoe. When a flash is mounted on the hot shoe, there may be parallax—with the light from a flash fires over and thereby misses a subject that is located fairly close to the lens. In fact, if the subject is very close, the lens itself might shade the subject!  Several accessories are available for off-camera flash placement. Really Right Stuff makes a flash arm that mounts onto a
lens quick-release plate for lenses with a tripod collar. These flash arms are useful for traditional photography as well, as the
flash is always positioned above the lens, even when the camera is rotated for a vertical composition. A flash mounted on the
hot shoe produces a light that comes from the side, not from above, when a camera is held in a vertical format, and this often
produces very unnatural-looking shadows. You can use two flashes with their flash arm system, too, with the RRS Dual Strobe
Bar B90.
Wimberley, the makers of the very practical gimbal-style tripod head for long lenses, also makes several macro flash accessories. The Wimberley system is modular, with particular pieces performing multiple roles when coupled in different combinations. The core of their system is their Module 1, a Quick Release arm that clamps onto a lens plate or onto a special extended plate for a camera mount when using lenses lacking a tripod collar. For macro photography Ill attach two Module 4 pieces (their Macro Extension Arms) to Module 1. The Module 4 unit is a ball-and-socket arm that provides an almost limitless degree of flash placement flexibility. Alternatively, one could attach Wimberleys traditional flash uprights (Module 2 and 3) and angle the Module 3 bracket when tightening it down so that the flash is aimed at your subject.  Now that the warm season is here, and new macro subjects will be appearing daily, Ill have my Twin Lite system permanently rigged up with a 180mm macro lens for every opportunity that arises. There are several focal lengths available for macro work, but which is the best one for you? For true macro photography, youll want to have a lens that focuses down to a 1:1 range. Some folks have confusion about the ratios (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 3:1, etc.) but if you consider the colon mark as a fraction, then 1:1 is 1/1 or 1, life-size, while 1:3 is 1/3rd life-size and 3:1 is 3/1, or 3X life size. A true macro lens should focus at least to 1:2 life-sizes. "Macro telephotos" in the 300mm and 400mm range offered by Sigma and others focus down to 1:3 or 1:4—which isnt bad considering the working distance youll enjoy with these longer focal lengths, but technically theyre not true macro lenses. Most "true" macro lenses range between 50–65mm, 90–105mm, and 180–200mm in focal length. My hands down preferences for macro photography are the 180mm or 200mm macro lenses that focus to 1:1, or life-size, without additional accessories being required. With that focal length I have about 9.5 inches from the front of the lens to my subject—the true working distance. Please note that the minimum focus for that same lens is listed as 1.56 feet—about 19 inches but that distance is measured from the subject to the film plane, a good 10 inches further back! Now, consider the working distances for shorter focal length lenses. A 100mm might be listed at 12 inches or so for the minimum focus, but the working distance, from the front of the lens to the subject, may be closer to 6 inches. With a 60mm macro, your working distance might be 2-3 inches away! Knowing this, consider how difficult it would be to get a life-size image with any system for a wary subject. My odds of capturing an image will be a lot better if Im not breathing down my tree frogs neck, hence, my preference for using a 180 or 200mm macro lens. My Canon macro also accepts a 1.4X or 2X tele-converter and extension tubes, so I can obtain magnifications in excess of 2:1 when needed, while still maintaining a working distance greater than 8 inches.  Lighting becomes less of an issue with a greater working distance, too, since the flashes can be placed more freely for the effect
you want. Macro-flashes have low guide numbers, meaning theyre not very powerful flashes and theyre built to be used up close.
Hot shoe style flashes could be problematic, however, if mounted on an off-camera bracket. The guide number of hot shoe
flashes is much higher, so up close, at large apertures (f/8, f/5.6, or less), there will be an increasing risk of over-exposing an image
if youre closer than the minimum working range of the flash. Again, however, this is less of a problem with longer focal length
macro lenses and their greater working distance than it is with shorter focal lengths where the working distances and the flash-to-subject
distances might be quite close.
Over the years Ive owned macro lenses in each of the popular focal lengths: 60–65mm, 100–105mm and 180–200mm. I purchased my last 60mm macro lens with the intention of using it with a 50mm extension tube to produce images at 2X, but I never did. In fact, I probably used the lens a half dozen times while I owned it. Canon makes a 65mm macro lens that offers magnification ratios of 1:1 to 5:1, and Ive borrowed it several times. Im not tempted to own one as I found the working distances so close, and the difficulty of actually locating a living subject at greater than 3X so taxing, that it simply wasnt worth my time. In fact, the only times I used the lens effectively was in the studio with subjects that were rather immobile. All of us love photographing wildlife in the field, but sometimes its somewhat impractical or virtually impossible. Imagine stalking a little pillbug or sowbug (an arthropod that resembles a miniature armadillo) in situ, under the rocks and rotted logs where it makes its home. In the studio, I can create a tabletop environment that mimics its habitat, while allowing me to use my flashes in creative ways. In studio setups, especially at extreme magnifications, even a tiny movement of a tripod-mounted camera can be disastrous, as the plane of focus is very narrow. Two accessories can assist in your focusing problems here. Macro lenses like the 180mm and 200mm usually have tripod collars where a lens plate can be attached. If you use a long lens plate—one specially designed for macro use like the Really Right Stuff B31A or one you simply borrow from a bigger telephoto—you can loosen your tripod heads quick-release clamp and carefully slide the plate forward or back to achieve focus or correct framing. If, instead, you must do this by moving the entire camera/tripod assembly, youll experience an enormous amount of frustration.  Really Right Stuff makes a special Geared Focusing Rail that moves forward or back in millimeter increments via a geared rack, and left
or right by releasing the quick-release clamp to slide that chassis. If youre working close, at magnifications of 1X or so, a focusing rail will
really simplify your life. I use this rig when Im using my 180mm lens with a 2X tele-converter and tubes for magnifications greater than 2:1.
Talking about all the neat gear for macro photography is certainly fun, but I will caution you, the actual shooting can be a challenge. Expect to spend a lot of time on your knees, often on your elbows and knees with your butt in the air, as you stalk your tiny subjects. Youll grow to love the subjects that are actually on the ground, rather than the more comfortable-to-shoot subjects that are sitting on plants, since the ground wont sway in the slightest breeze. But for all of the work youll find the effort fascinating and rewarding. Truly, every day can yield another subject and an endless supply of captivating images as you explore the wonderful world of macro photography. |
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Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc. P.O. Box 655, Vashon Island, Washington USA 98070 Phone: (206) 463-5383 Fax: (206) 463-5484 Email: info@photosafaris.com Copyright © 2008, Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc. |