This is pretty simple stuff, but a real pain without the proper equipment (which i do not have). Basically what you are going to want to do is to take your camera, mount it on a tripod (for some semblance of steadiness) and then mount your 50mm lens onto the camera backwards... well, that is if you have a reversing ring, for nikon's it is a BR-2A, this is an accessory that will allow you to mount your 50mm lens backwards onto your camera, effectively turning it into a macro lens... I, in this case, just held the lens in front of the camera... truly ghetto.
so there must be a catch right??? otherwise no one would ever buy a macro lens. well, there are several catches... this is a completely manual solution, so a lot of trial and error will be part of your photo shoot. this is because your camera can't meter without a lens attached (and essentially you aren't mounting the lens... even with the Br-2A). So you will have to adjust the iso, shutter speed and aperture manually). there doesn't appear to be a way to adjust the focus when the camera is reverse mounted as well, so you will have to move the camera to adjust for this.
So, what I did for this shot was reversed the 50mm, and then started shooting the dandelion which was taped to a piece of black posterboard... bumped up the iso to 800 to allow for a faster shutter speed and then took about 10 shots with the timer shooting mode so i could get as steady as possible. then brought the shot into aperture and cropped slightly, adjusted the exposure, and then converted to monochrome using the green filter.
that's it... so what did i learn??? i learned it is time to get a real macro lens. i really like getting up close to items and this allows you to do just that. so i think know what my next photo purchase will be ;-)
thanks for stopping by.
-derrick
before flipping the lens:
after flipping the lens:
Excellent description Derrick!... this really gives me an idea on how you did that pic. BTW, when you are working with magnification actually you also need to shoot manual focus so you have to adjust your distancing from the object for focus... it is a little tricky at first if you are use to zooms... fortunately I always like prime lenses so that was not bad for me.
ReplyDeleteI love getting close up to objects, it really is a new world that you discover! :)
i have heard of doing this.. cool beans.. will definitey try... once i get a 50mm..i know i know... on my must have list...
ReplyDeleteand i would have never known about the reverse adapter..good to know
PS nice profile pic ;->