Photographic Society of RI

“Pop-up” Flash Macro Photography

Dennis Goulet — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 12:00:53 +0000

Presentation by Art Vaughan Tuesday, 29 March 2016

Low cost macro shooting delivering outstanding quality is easier than you think!

Art Vaughan has developed a method for macro photography utilizing the pop-up flash on most camera bodies to provide all the light needed to make stunning close up images.

In this program, photographer Art Vaughan describes a process for shooting macro photographs using lighting provided by the standard ‘pop-up’ flash found on many cameras. Using a simple home-made support bracket and a variety of close-up lenses, extension tubes, or stacked add-on lenses, anyone can produce amazing macro images having true ‘studio’ quality lighting, for a fraction of the cost of a system utilizing multiple flashes, ring lights, or expensive factory made support brackets. The set-up described provides maximum portability for hunting down and following small insects and spiders who aren’t going to sit still for photographers using cumbersome tripods. The program includes details of building your own low cost macro lighting rig. Anyone wishing to explore the world of macro photography and wanting to get top notch and very satisfying results should consider attending.

See some of Art’s amazing macro images at https://www.flickr.com/photos/61377404@N08/sets/

Saturday Hands-On Session ($10 per person) Log in to see workshop information.

This content is for members only.

Mike Moats Boston Area Macro Boot Camp

Dennis Goulet — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 20:30:40 +0000

Mike Moats was very well received at the NECCC Photography Conference two weeks ago. To answer the requests he received to run a Marco Boot Camp in the Boston area, he arranged to rent the Greater Lynn Photographic Association headquarters in Lynn, MA, for the weekend event. GLPI is not involved with the event beyond simply renting space. The dates for this workshop are 21-13 September 2012. Mike’s strength is artistic macro, rather than the scientific-style macro photography typical for nature photographers.

Good Source of Reading

A. Cemal Ekin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:32:30 +0000

I have accidentally stumbled upon a rich source of photographic resource online, and more about how I got there in a later post. While previewing a book online, I noticed a list of related content being displayed on the side and followed one. I arrived at a Web site called issuu.com (read it as issue, leave it to the Internet!) I started looking around, did a few quick searches and found that there are a large number of photographic books, magazines, portfolios, etc. at least for viewing online and many being available to download. Let me give you a few quick links, but also suggest that you type in your search phrase, photographer or author name, subject, and find out what else is available. Fair warning though, it may become a time sink!

Minimalist Lighting

Photoshop CS5 Pocket Guide

Fotoblur Magazine

…

and the list goes on. You will be surprised at the variety of subjects and the quality of available resources. Give it a try. Share your finds and comments here with others if you like.

On Birds and Bees, a TED Talk

A. Cemal Ekin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:47:54 +0000

Although a fragment of this file was shared on YouTube, I thought the entire video was more important to share. The opening message is important to hear, although the “real show” starts later on. Also keep in mind that this kind of videography and related photography would have been impossible to create and share before the advent of digital imaging technology.

Here is the TED presentation by Louie Schwartzberg in its entirety.

When the Frost is on the . . . Window

Dennis Goulet — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:35:05 +0000

Now that winter has finally kicked in, and the overnight temperatures dip into the single digits, there’s a good chance you’ll discover frost on your windows depending on the types of windows you have. The best way to photograph frost is to have the camera on a tripod with the camera back parallel to the window pane. It’s not always easy to accomplish, and here is a Photoshop technique to help. If you have to take the photo at an angle and can’t get everything in sharp focus, you can take several imagess, each with a different section in focus, then merge them in Photoshop.

Instructions on how to combine images together, align them, and merge them in Photoshop can be found HERE.