How to judge a macro image?

Argh...this is gonna be a tough one to write. I should just post a few images:P

Not sure about you, but when i look at a macro shot, I look at not just the technical aspect of it but also the artistic/aesthetic side as well.

- Is focusing spot on?

- Sufficient DOF and enough details for me to ooh and aah at?

- Is the pose good? Let's face it...butt shots are normally frowned upon, even though it might work once in a while :D If you catch a bug in flight or about to take off, extra brownie points!

Now a couple of images for a short break.

Most of the images below were shot with a Canon 40D, Canon MP-E65 1X-5X Macro Lens and Canon MT-24EX Twin Flash.





- Composition. This can be very subjective though so let's not discuss it too much here :-D. Common portraiture rules/guidelines apply in macro as well. For example, active space, head shot, shoulder shot, half body shot, full body shot - you need to know where to crop/frame even if the subject is a bug. But of course...the bugs are always on the move and it's not always easy to shoot, much less frame them nicely.

- Background clutter - try to avoid them as much as possible.

OK..another short break.



- Quality of light, whether you shoot with natural lighting or full flash, the light has to be good. If you're shooting natural light, shoot in the morning or evening or when it's overcast. Clouds are the best diffusers for sunlight.

If you're shooting full flash, bring your light as close to the subject as possible, and make the diffuser as big as possible - apparent light size. It's been discussed in this post.


How to tell if the light is bad?

Clue #1:

Look at the specular highlight and see if they're easy on the eyes. Any blown highlight with lost details?

Clue #2

Look at the shadow. Hasrh aka poorly diffused light will result in hard i.e more defined shadow.

Something like this..but of course this one is not bad at all:D


Notice the shadows of the legs are quite defined? Not bad but can be better. But it's shot with a 100mm at quite a distance, with snoot-diffuser. Bigger distance = poor apparent light size so this is to be expected.

Do bear in mind that if the subject is very leggy, you can't expect to see much shadow. For example, look at this shot of a stilt legged fly:



Almost no shadow.

- of course when you see a shot of a rare bug, all the rules above can be relaxed a little :D

Wonderful Floras and Faunas

I woke up really early last Saturday. 4:30am to be exact. Met up with three other photographers and went up to a highland hoping to shoot sunrise.

Turned out to be a foggy, windy, and rainy day with no sun in sight. Still a great day though to enjoy the cold weather and all the wonderful floras and faunas the highland had to offer.

All images here were shot with a Canon 40D and Sigma 150mm F2.8 Macro Lens.


A rather rare scorpionfly, for me, at least. Hope to see it again and take better shots of it.


Asian Flower Mantis, black BG


Asian Flower Mantis, green BG. Haven't seen one of these since May 28, 2008!:D


An animation here: View On Black

Tiny Pitcher's plant...some less than 15mm!

A few Odonata shots with my new toy

Just a few Odonata shots from my new lens. You'll have to view the exif to see for yourself which lens it is. If you need help on viewing exif, view this:. The "bokeh-er" background should give you a hint that it's a long focal length :D. I'm still not telling. Go check the exif yourself.

Trithemis aurora male, crimson dropwing

Canon EOS 40D, 1/50, f/7.1, ISO 320, Natural Light, Handheld



A male Crimson dropwing (Trithemis aurora)


Trithemis aurora, female crimson dropwing

Canon EOS 40D, 1/100, f/7.1, ISO 200, Natural Light, Handheld

Up close with a male Crimson dropwing (Trithemis aurora)


Bronze Flutterer (Rhyothemis obsolescens)




Yellow-barred Flutterer Rhyotemis phyllis




A male Trumpet Tale, Acisoma panorpoides, eating a damselfly.

Canon EOS 40D, 1/100, f/8, ISO 320, Fill Flash, Handheld

Portrait of a male Trumpet Tail, Acisoma panorpoides


Another portrait


A female Trumpet Tail, Acisoma panorpoides


A male Pygmy dragonfly, Nannophya pygmaea. The smallest dragonfly in Malaysia, only about 15mm body length and 20mm wing span.


A female Nannophya pygmaea


A male Pygmy dragonfly, Nannophya pygmaea.


A male in obelisk pose.


A sub-adult male Sarlet Pygmy (Nannophya pygmaea)


Female Lyriothemis biappendiculata


A male treehugger dragonfly,  Tyriobapta torrida


A female treehugger dragonfly Tyriobapta torrida. Very cryptic!


Potamarcha congener?


Macrogomphus thoracius


Onychothemis testacea


Ictinogomphus decoratus(Common Flangetail)


Neurothemis ramburii dragonfly fallen prey to a raft spider. If you like spiders, check this post out!


Variegated green skimmer (Orthetrum sabina) with prey - a butterfly.


Heliocypha biforata.


Dark tipped forest skimmer (Cratilla metallica)


Euphaea ochracea


Not sure of its ID.


Devadatta argyoides


Rhinagrion elopurae


Stunning male green metalwing, Neurobasis chinensis

Watch an animated gif to see for yourself the flashy green metallic wing tips of this gorgeous damselfly here.



A damselfly with cricket prey.


Damsel eats damsel.


Damselflies in tandem.


The emergence of a damselfly.

More animation here.


Portrait of a male immature Crimson dropwing Trithemis aurora




Another portrait. Not sure of its ID.


I haven't tried Full Flash shots with this long focal length macro lens yet, but i know the light is going to be harsh. Heck, i could see that even in my fill flash shot already, so it's gonna be worse for full flash. I use the same DIY Diffusers for my usual 40D, MP-E65 and MT-24EX setup, except now it's 40D, MT-24EX and a new, longer lens, and longer working distance. So why the harsh light? Why does it work ok on when i use my MP-E65 but not with this new lens? Well, again, it's about the apparent light size, which i explained in one of my earlier post: Full Flash Macro Photography - 3 Things you must know! Besides the longer working distance compared to the MP-E65, which I am still trying to get used to, this new lens also produces much warmer images. I normally set the WB to 4800K for the 40D, MP-E65 and MT-24EX, but the same 4800K still results in very warm photos. I'm going to lower the WB to maybe 4000 next time. That's all and cheers for now :) OK...i'm sure you've checked the exif and know the answer already - my new toy is a Sigma 150mm F2.8 Macro Lens :)