FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello,

I hope this isn't a duplicate thread, but I thought it would be fun to start a place for people to share their macro photos. I enjoy seeing VFTs on a closer scale and figured there might be others that do as well. So please feel free to post your closeups here!

I'll kick it off. Here are some macros I took outside today. After reviewing the pics, I realized that I need to have a better camera setup to do these. The gentle breeze outside caused a bit of blurring in the exposures, so next time I'll do them indoors with better light and stability, and they should be much more crisp.

Be sure to enlarge the photos by clicking the magnifier.

A young Big Mouth trap beginning a new life [Field of view: 15mm. Trap: 8mm]


A youngling FTS Maroon Monster ready to open for the first time [Field of view: 10mm]


FTS Maroon Monster trap [Trap: 20mm]


Closer view of above. [Field of view: 5mm]


All the best,

Mike in WA

Wow. Great photos! Thanks for sharing them on the Forum.

Awesome pics!

I struggled with my cam but heres some attempts.

Great photos Dark-Flight and 0rmus!

Nice pics 0rmus!

Stratofortress wrote:They look Awe-Inspiring To Me! What camera, lens, etc., did you utilize to capture such Dionaea Details?

I use a Sony 3.5/30 Macro lens on my NEX-5N. The tricks are aperture, light, and stability.

Aperture: You need to use the smallest aperture possible on your camera to give you a crisp field of depth to work with. This is crucial when operating on a small scale like this, otherwise, with a large aperture, only a tiny portion will be in focus.

Light: You need lots of light to get that small aperture shot, but I don't recommend direct sunlight. Indirect sun is the best. I like shooting on overcast days or just after a rain. Some artificial lights work well, but tend to leave the image "cold".

Stability: Since you are taking a photo on such a small scale, the tiniest movement is magnified and will blur the exposure, so I use a mini tripod and remote shutter. This keeps the camera perfectly still, but then you need to keep the plant still. The traps tend to vibrate with even the slightest breeze, so avoid breezes or even your own breathe!

That's about it. Also, I never use the automatic setting on the camera. They always seem to be working against what you want to accomplish!

All the best,

Mike in WA

A few from today:







All the best,

Mike in WA

Very nice Mike!

Awesome, Daniel! Thnx for sharing.

Thanks for the idea, and yours are great pics!