On Mar 5, 8:15 pm, MJW <me@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> I have just had a go at photography in the dark! We have the fruit bats
> around each night for dinner & I thought I would have a go at taking
> some pics. I have a Canon 350D, a Speedlight 550 EX II, & a 100mm USM
> Macro lens.
>
> I set up the camera on my tripod late in the aft & used manual focus on
> the lens to get the sharpest focus. I then set the camera to "****trait"
> & waited till it was dark & the bats came. When they did land, I moved
> the camera to the spot I thought they were, ( could not really see
> through the eye-piece), & snapped away.
>
> Here are the best 3 pics.
>
> >www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Bat-01.JPG
>
> www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Bat-02.JPG
>
> www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Bat-03.JPG
>
> These bats are gonna be around for a while, so I was wondering if anyone
> had some advice on what I can do to get some sharper pics. I have to
> wait till dark & I cant move up on em cause they will fly away!
>
> --
> >>>M.J.Wyllie.<<<
Like Avery said - you may find if the lights go on early, they will
visit anyway. But critter behaviour varies from region to region..
Your focus is pretty close, so I would persist with your method, maybe
even 'bracket focus'.. If you use AF it's going to be a challenge for
the camera to work out what is leaves and what is subject, no matter
what, if those are typical of the scenes. Increasing d-o-f might help
the focus, but is probably not going to help the aesthetics..
Yep, the diffuser would be good idea, but they have to be fairly large
(ie at least 6" or so, imho and the further away, the bigger..) before
you get any visible benefit, and they will drop your flash reach.
However, I think you could afford to go down a coupla stops almost and
still have a usable result - the subjects look overcooked to me.
Lastly, the 'red'-eye will remain a problem unless the flash is well
off camera, and that may cause shadow problems..
Good luck, keep at it!
See you same bat-time, same bat-channel..
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