Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here is my Indigo snake. I took this picture with my "off the shelf" Nikon N65 rig at 1/90 and F22 using Fuji ASA200 film. I also had a close-up filter screwed on and was zoomed all the way up to simulate macro. Heh heh heh! I don't think that I'm quite "there" yet, but my pictures are improving.

That's a beautiful cribo. Nice work with the exposure on this one. Close-ups of shiny snakes using flash are tough to pull off without getting bright white blown highlights and you've done that well. This pic would be even better if it was a little more sharp.

WK

I thought the focus was pretty good on this one but you are right, it's not perfect. I had my stock 30-80mm zoom lens cranked all the way up with a #3 close-up filter. I had my camera set on manual focus and had it focused as close as possible. Then I sort of just moved the camera back and forth till the frame looked sharp to me. After about 30-something trips around the sun, my eyes are what they once where. That being said, it is one of my best pics ever. I think the only thing I could have possibly done to make it better would be to have used a more natural-looking background than white paper towels. LOL. I just don't have the knack like some of you guys but I try. At any rate, thanks for your kind words.

A couple of tips.

First of all, it does show you how close you can get with a screw on diopter lens. They don't give the sharpest photos, but they will get you closer than with the lens alone. Get a book on closeup photography (John Shaw's are the best) and read about other ways to get close. There are several other options that don't require you to shell out for expensive macro lenses. An extension tube could really help you for not much money.

As for your technique of focusing then moving the camera back and forth to get focus - that's the best way to maximize magnification.

The only thing I would suggest is to get lower. You are too far above the snake to have captured the snake's personality. Get down at eye level or just above it and take the same picture (from the front of the snake) and you will be amazed at the "pop" the picture will have.

The real key to improving is to be a harsh critic. Look carefully at your pic and decide what you do and don't like about it. Then figure out how to repeat the good things and correct the bad things in the future. Do the same with other people's photographs as well (except mine of course - LOL).

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Chris Harrison

Chrish,

Good suggestions, thanks. I have used extension tubes before on my canon and found that they are very light hungry--the more extension the more one needs to compensate. I might surf eBay and see if I can find one for my Nikon and experiment with it though. I know one thing for sure: I don't have the cash to lay out for a nice quality macro lens.