Macro in the Forest: Top Tips for Lighting and Focus Stacking Your Best Photos

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  • Опубліковано 16 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 86

  • @fotiss8883
    @fotiss8883 7 днів тому +2

    Hey Andrew, I know how you feel. I've been feeling kind of uninspired the past couple of months and I don't have the will to go out and take photos. Everyone goes through that. You shouldn't worry about "having to make videos or I'll lose viewers". Your loyal viewers will understand. We really appreciate your videos and if you ever want to take a break we'll understand

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  7 днів тому

      Thank you very much, that's really kind to say and I'd like to hope that's true of many of the people that watch my videos. Unfortunately the bigger battle is against "the algorithm" which really doesn't like if you take a break so it does make it more difficult to find that balance. Still, it's been nice to find these opportunities to just concentrate on my own things for a bit.

  • @FranklynMendez-n4z
    @FranklynMendez-n4z Місяць тому +2

    Something I like about this video is that you actually go and show us how to take the best shots and also show us the different possible shots as you move the amount of light on the target. This is something I noticed that I don't see in most how-to videos on taking macro shots. They tend to get either too technical or to vague and only show us the final shots. Great Job!

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому

      Thank you! I think it makes sense to show that experimentation as I never just take one shot but always try and refine it. So I always try and show the different approaches each time

  • @gordonociao1231
    @gordonociao1231 Місяць тому +2

    I think that understanding how light falls on your subject is a key point. Thank you Andrew!

  • @MrKreweesti
    @MrKreweesti Місяць тому

    What a wonderful forrest to have in your neighborhood, along with floating water. I envy you 😮

  • @gary.kenyon
    @gary.kenyon Місяць тому +3

    A fantastic watch and great shots.

  • @joefriday4171
    @joefriday4171 Місяць тому +1

    A wonderful wander through your woods with you and you give so many tips to make our shots stand out from the crowd. Thank you so much for another inspiring video.

  • @stefansandmeier2080
    @stefansandmeier2080 Місяць тому

    Looks like you had a very nice day in the forest. Love it!

  • @Thirsty_Fox
    @Thirsty_Fox Місяць тому

    Well-done video with great colours and music, and of course lovely photos. I find the greens to be really soothing in your shots, where it can often be harsh and overbearing in woodland photos.

  • @laurelb8372
    @laurelb8372 Місяць тому +1

    We do watch your videos because you give good instructions and insight into macro , love the images

  • @Black73Cat
    @Black73Cat 21 день тому

    Lovely video Andrew...thank you! I've just bought my first macro lens (Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 to go with my Sony A6700) so lots to learn.
    I haven't done any image stacking, since the early days of HDR but that looks to be an essential method to get the best out of this lens.
    I love mushrooms...so if I can get anywhere close to the standard of your images, I'll be well chuffed! 👍

  • @scottjessiman4115
    @scottjessiman4115 Місяць тому

    Really enjoyable video, intrigued by the 35, so thanks for the review and tips 😀

  • @bungleandshrek
    @bungleandshrek Місяць тому

    Great video. Really enjoyed that one. I'm trying to find my subject focus and I'm leaning towards macro photography.

  • @just_sandie_photos-j77
    @just_sandie_photos-j77 Місяць тому +1

    Love all these shots. Thanks for showing the different aspects with the different focal length lenses. I have all three of these lenses but tend to do all my macro with the 100mm. I'm now going to experiment.

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому

      Good luck with experimenting. I love using the different lenses and seeing the different looks you can get!

  • @doogieham
    @doogieham Місяць тому +1

    Thanks for another great video, Andrew. Like you, I hate being locked-down on a tripod so I really enjoyed your walk-through of how you used hand-held focus bracketing.

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому

      Thank you! I get why some people love having their tripod locked down and there are some shots that it's absolutely required, but it's increasingly less important, especially when you can use auto focus bracketing on mirrorless cameras to do focus stacks in an instant instead of having to manually turn the focus wheel over many shots. The more I use the camera off tripod the more I feel liberated by it and I end up being a lot more experimental with my compositions.

  • @barbarachamberlain6918
    @barbarachamberlain6918 Місяць тому +1

    Some lovely shots! I especially enjoyed the bright orange mushroom at the start and preffered the vertical shot of the small single mushroom toward the end.

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому

      Thanks Barbara! I really appreciate your thoughts! What is it do you think that makes you like the orange one the most?

    • @barbarachamberlain6918
      @barbarachamberlain6918 Місяць тому

      @@AndrewLanxonPhotographyI like the saturated colors of the mushroom and moss, the frilly look of the mushroom, its off center position, your subtle use of light, and the nice bokeh. But really, I liked so many of them, it was tough to choose.

  • @tomking3800
    @tomking3800 Місяць тому +1

    Enjoyed the video including your commentary which was very informative. Thank you

  • @SeaAngMo23
    @SeaAngMo23 Місяць тому +1

    I like your style, guy!

  • @Pseagust
    @Pseagust Місяць тому +1

    I've just bought my first macro lens and have been binge watching you videos 👍

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому +1

      Thank you! I hope you get some great shots with it!

    • @Pseagust
      @Pseagust Місяць тому

      @@AndrewLanxonPhotography Than you, Hopefully. 👍

  • @sh8736
    @sh8736 Місяць тому +2

    Liked the groups of little white fungi best. I’ve often found that I see a subject and then when I get down low with a shallow depth of field if can’t find my subject! So have packed a coloured lolly stick to place near by and locate. Think it’s been too dry for fungi yet here in south midlands

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому

      That's such a good idea! I definitely saw some compositions in the big groups of mushrooms that I then lost sight of and didn't take, but I also got distracted by finding more and more shots I wanted to get so I don't feel like I missed out at all! Late summer is still too early for them really but we'd had a few wet days in Scotland and I think I got lucky. I'm looking forward to getting out more over the coming months!

  • @BadSloucher
    @BadSloucher Місяць тому +1

    This was such a beautiful video 😍 love the hint of light tip, going to try that next time I’m out and about

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому

      Thank you as always! It's always worth playing around with the light. Often just a tiny hint of it, well placed, makes all the difference!

  • @robintaylor7374
    @robintaylor7374 Місяць тому +1

    another great insightful vid. Thanks.

  • @wongkenneth4005
    @wongkenneth4005 Місяць тому +1

    Mushrooms are a good subject to photograph, different shapes and sizes really make you think a lot about how to present the photos. Good job.

  • @thomasriera2030
    @thomasriera2030 Місяць тому +1

    Great video and really nice collection of shots! Mushroom vertical vs horizontal at ~30:15 min: both are nice but, I prefer the horizontal. The vertical nicely shows more context/environment but, I really like how much stronger the mushroom is in the horizontal. It's not just that if fills more of the frame but, elimination of the bright sky background simplifies the lighting and color palate. The orange pops out against all of the green dominating the frame. I also like that the mushroom on the 1 third line rather than centered. It emphasizes the feeling that you are peeking around the out of focus foreground to see the mushroom.

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому

      Thanks so much Thomas for your thoughtful comment! I agree with your analysis of the horizontal Vs vertical shot and certainly get that the orange pops out more. I think finding strong colour contrast in scenes is often overlooked in photography in place of regular light Vs dark contrast.

  • @FleetingMoments-2
    @FleetingMoments-2 Місяць тому

    Have you ever thought of running local tutorials? I have the R5, and started with 35mm f1.8, and today finally picked up 100mm F2.8 from WEX Edi :)

  • @zhuanjifarms5050
    @zhuanjifarms5050 Місяць тому +1

    Andrew! Such a funny guy...mushrooms don't exist much anymore here in fiery Colorado...thanks for the content!

  • @bkc1965
    @bkc1965 Місяць тому +1

    I enjoyed the video, thanks for sharing your walk with us. I need to get out in the forest here and look for some mushrooms, but it is a bit too warm here in southern Germany at the moment I think.

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому

      Thank you for taking the time to watch! Hopefully you get some nice ones springing up soon, although there's always something fun to photograph in a forest!

  • @robertkluck7964
    @robertkluck7964 Місяць тому +1

    Thank you for another great video.
    I had a question/thought for a future video. In this one, you had a focus stacked image of a bee. Assuming it was moving, how did you do that?

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому +1

      Hi Robert, thanks for the question. The bee was actually barely moving when I took the shots. And using the auto focus bracketing tool (found on many mirrorless cameras) it rattles through the series so quickly that even the tiny bit of movement it did have didn't make any real difference. Even so, I did quite a few attempts to get it right. Hope that helps!

  • @scotskinner4350
    @scotskinner4350 Місяць тому +1

    Lots of cool photos in this one Andrew, very inspirational. Thanks for sharing. Which extension tube did you use?

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому +1

      Thanks Scot, I really appreciate it! Any fav images in the set for you? I was using a JJC set I found on amazon a little while ago. They work natively with canon Rf mount and seem to do the job well enough!

    • @scotskinner4350
      @scotskinner4350 Місяць тому +1

      @@AndrewLanxonPhotography I meant, which length of extension tube did you use (Why can't people ready my mind? 😛)? I've got a set of extension tubes that I bought way back when I was shooting film. They don't support auto focus.
      I really liked that whole group of mushroom photos around the stump of tree near the beginning of the video.

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому +1

      Ahhhhhhhhhhh. I think it was an 11mm. But don't quite me on that. It's the skinniest one. They often don't support AF as they usually don't allow for communication between camera and lens. So focus stacking becomes a solely manual affair. But that's usually fine in my experience.

    • @scotskinner4350
      @scotskinner4350 Місяць тому

      @@AndrewLanxonPhotography Thanks. That's what I thought. My skinniest extension tube is 12mm.
      I'm thinking about hitting one of our local woodlands this week see what I can find. I was in the city park that's walking distance a week ago today. I may go to the local state park or a site managed by the federal government.

  • @M31glow
    @M31glow Місяць тому +1

    Great post!

  • @garywebster8355
    @garywebster8355 Місяць тому +1

    Fantastic 😊

  • @Hannemanneke
    @Hannemanneke Місяць тому +1

    Thanks Andrew! Nice again and I almost can’t wait till the mushroom season and autumn colors…
    Today I’ve tried a Raynox DCR 250 on my Sigma 90mm macro on Dahlia flowers… great option too!
    Do you have used such clip on lenses like the Raynox? Giving more magnification… 😍

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому +1

      Thanks! I haven't tried one of the clip ons. I might give it a go at some point!

  • @duringthemeanwhilst
    @duringthemeanwhilst Місяць тому +1

    mushroom season is back - yay!!
    it was a real disappointment here (south Wales) last autumn. hopefully it'll be better with more varieties fruiting!
    very enjoyable watch as usual. some of that getting down low photography displayed olympic gymnast level skills ;-)

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому +1

      It wasn't so much the getting down low that was tough, it was getting back up that was the problem!

    • @duringthemeanwhilst
      @duringthemeanwhilst Місяць тому

      @@AndrewLanxonPhotography I know all about that!!!

  • @billbromer
    @billbromer Місяць тому +1

    Really enjoy your videos. Just wondering how you set the Focus Increment? I have had mixed results with R6mii EF 100mm at f2.8 with very small increments, and poor results with larger increments 5 or higher.

    • @AndrewLanxonPhotography
      @AndrewLanxonPhotography  Місяць тому

      Hey Bill, thanks for watching! I honestly find some of the auto focus bracketing settings to be a bit like alchemy and I tend to operate on a 'best guess' approach. I'll often have it set to use smaller increments (maybe not the smallest, but definitely in the lower end) and lean more into taking a higher number of focus points in order to guarantee I get all the focus points I need.
      This can often be 60+ photos, but storage isn't an issue (I use fast 2TB CFExpress cards) and I usually use very wide apertures with narrow focus so I need to take more focus points than if I were at f/10. Even in these shots I did them multiple times and I often shot way more focus points than I required and simply culled the spares in post later on.
      Do you also find it to be a trial and error process?

  • @johnlangford7788
    @johnlangford7788 Місяць тому +1

    Very good

  • @lynnecliffe3056
    @lynnecliffe3056 Місяць тому +1

    talk about lying down on the job 😉

  • @flyingfd
    @flyingfd Місяць тому +1

    Great video Andrew. Just out of interest where are these woods?

  • @LonerJoe
    @LonerJoe Місяць тому +1

    Thanks alot

  • @rayzalaf8988
    @rayzalaf8988 Місяць тому

    What size was the extension tube? The smallest I've come across is 13mm I could do with something around 7 or 8.

  • @briantafelmeyer7337
    @briantafelmeyer7337 Місяць тому +1

    Maybe on days you feel your images and content are not up to par for the videos you can set the camera up and dance in front of the camera in the middle of the forest with some really good music……😂

  • @sandihermana4873
    @sandihermana4873 Місяць тому

    You should take a macro with a phone huawei pura 70 ultra😂