In the studio today Andy demonstrated the effects of using macro extension tubes. You can get extension tubes in various sizes to extend the range of focusing. As well as using them individually you can use them in combination eg 20mmm + 35mm will give 50mm. Unlike when you use a macro lens which does not lose light you lose one stop of light for each extension and have to adjust for this by opening up the f stop or the shutter to let more light in.
When shooting macro it’s possible to get a very shallow depth of field. To get a deeper depth of field it is necessary to shut the f stop down, maybe by as much as 6 stops, but then a slow shutter speed is needed. Therefore, it’s often necessary to use a tripod for macro photography.
Andy took some demo shots starting with a 50mm lens and then adding extension rings – 12mm, 20mm, 35mm and 50mm –
Photographing an object from above will give a deeper depth of field and show more of the object in detail, whilst photographing across the object will give shallow depth of field.
The shallow depth of field can be used to obtain a very narrow band of focus - a creative effect known as “drop focus”.
We were then provided with a macro lens so that we could try out some of our shots. These are a selection of images taken by my group:
Once again, this is an excellent way to show the variations and different effects that can be achieved by using the camera in different ways. I like the way you are displaying the work within your blogsite, its really interesting!
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