Quick Mask Flower Magic. Canon Macro Lens Choices (and more). And On Shading Flowers on Sunny Days ...

What’s Up?

I headed out early this morning — Monday 6 JULY 2020. It was clear and sunny. I stopped on the way down to the lake to photograph some large yellow flowers; I am going to try to learn whether they are a native species — there is one, Wild Allamanda, but after some online research I suspect that it is one of the non-natives …

I did OK down by the lake with several adult Sandhill Cranes including one in a very nice studio setting 🙂

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Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

A Macro Lens Question

Left as a comment by Norm Skliar:

Art, question, – is the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 HSM macro lens compatible with the Canon EOSS 7D Mark II? If not, what macro lens would you recommend ?

Hey Norm, Good question. The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens for Canon EF is perfectly compatible with all Canon EF bodies including the 7D Mark II. I have never used it but it generally receives very good reviews. Compare it with either the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens or the newer Image Stabilized (IS) version, the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens. Note: the Sigma version offers an Optical Stabilizer system that enables folks to create sharper images when shooting handheld.

Sigma also offers a Nikon mount version, the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens for Nikon F.

Most of the 90, 100, and 105mm macro lenses do not come with a tripod collar so if you are planning to work on a tripod as I do most of the time, you will need to explore the tripod collar options.

We are however, not quite done 🙂 When I used Canon, I owned the 100 IS macro and the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM Lens. For flowers, especially cultivated flowers like dahlias and tulips, the 100 macro was great. But for generally smaller wildflowers, frogs, bugs, and butterflies, I loved the longer focal length of the 180 macro. That brings us to the last alternative, the Tamron Telephoto SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di LD IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS. Here again, the off-brand Tamron 180 has a great reputation. Do understand that the Sigma and Tamron lenses will save you considerable money while producing excellent results …

All in all, it is your call. Do let me know if you have any additional questions and please remember to use my affiliate links for this and other purchases.

This image was created on 2 JULY 2020 down near the end of Lakeview Drive about a mile from my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. I used the Induro GIT 404L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sigma APO Macro 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens for Nikon F with the Vello Select Nikon F Lens to Sony E-Mount Camera Auto Lens Adapter (Firmware Ver. 6) and the 61-MP Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 400. Exposure determined by experimentation with the best exposure determined by RawDigger: 1/60 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:01am on a sunny morning. I was not able to completely shade the background with my torso so I simply pulled my Sequoia up to do the job. Picked and Plamped from an ocassionally mowed roadside median. Manual Focus using techniques from the SONY e-Guide. Click on the image to see a larger version. Photo Mechanic Screen Capture for Partridge Pea (Camaecrista fasciculata)

Partridge Pea: a Difficult Subject!

Though a common species, I found my first batch of Partridge Pea just a few days ago, and a second batch yesterday at a different location. As the flower is quite distinctive and there are no similar species, I am 100% sure of my identification. (Unless and until proven otherwise!)

The flowers are sort of curled and twisted making them difficult to photograph; with this and all of the other blossoms, one of the five petals was curved in as you with the petal at the 10:30 position (just to the right and above the letter A). This means that you need some extra depth-of-field. As stopping down with the rig I was using is problematic, the simple solution was to move the tripod back a bit and photograph the blossom with some extra leaves and a pod or two rather than trying to shoot the single flower full frame. Remember, at a given aperture, the greater the distance to the subject the greater the depth-of-field.

If you enlarge the image you can see the second big problem: the sepal (?) on our left just below the letter A is flattened against the petal below the A. Compositionally, this left an empty hole in the area around the A. After cleaning up the dark crud spots on some of the compound leaves, I created and saved a version true to the RAW file. But I was not at all happy with the image design as noted above. A day after working the image, I re-did it with a new plan. I painted a Quick Mask of the sepal (?) at the 4:30 position (just our left of the B) and placed it on its own layer. I moved it into position with the Move Tool (V) and then, using the Transform command I rotated it, flipped it vertically, and re-sized and warped it a bit so that it did not match the source sepal perfectly.

On Shading Flowers on Sunny Days …

I’ve consistently said after looking at way too many terrible flower images lit by harsh light in full sun (mostly in field guides), that the best and simplest way for folks to improve their flower photography would be to shade their subjects. That can be done in many ways — with a large diffuser, with the photographer’s body, with a large piece of cardboard or a cardboard box, with a blanket thrown over a spare tripod, or as here, with my vehicle.

This image was created on 2 JULY 2020 down near the end of Lakeview Drive about a mile from my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. I used the Induro GIT 404L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sigma APO Macro 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens for Nikon F with the Vello Select Nikon F Lens to Sony E-Mount Camera Auto Lens Adapter (Firmware Ver. 6) and the 61-MP Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 400. Exposure determined by experimentation with the best exposure determined by RawDigger: 1/60 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:01am on a sunny morning. I was not able to completely shade the background with my torso so I simply pulled my Sequoia up to do the job. Picked and Plamped from an occasionally- mowed roadside strip. Manual Focus using techniques from the SONY e-Guide. Click on the image to see a larger version. The Optimized version of Partridge Pea (Camaecrista fasciculata)

The Optimized Version

Considering the difficulty of the subject and the image optimization, I was quite happy with the results. Now I need to find a perfect blossom with the leaf just above A oriented just like the leaf above B and I will be in business … Your thoughts?

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II). You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a PayPal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand. Be sure to specify Digital Basics II.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

The techniques mentioned above and tons more (with the exception of Capture One RAW Conversions) — along with all of my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts — are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. While the new e-Guide reflects my MacBook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow, folks using a PC and/or BreezeBrowser will also benefit greatly by studying the material on DB II. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

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You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About two years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One Pro 12 and continue to do so today.

To purchase Capture One, please use this link. Then you can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here.

You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and edited by yours truly. Please use this link to purchase NeatImage.

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