Macro and portrait

[zCypher]

I've been wanting to get into macro and portrait for some time. I like the few close-up shots I was lucky enough to get with my kit lens at 55mm, and after seeing what's out there, it had me lusting for more. Though I don't see myself making a living out of portaiture, I have a strong desire to experiment with various interesting/unique portraits beyond what I can do with the kit lens.

I spent a fair amount of time researching what's out there. I finally decided on the Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 micro (AF-S and VR). There is a very similar looking one called the 105mm f/2 DC (the DC being a *very* interesting feature!). Both lenses had extremely good reviews, basically trading blows, depending on the reviewer. I ended up deciding on the 2.8 because I really want to get into macro proper, and the f/2 DC is not a macro lens. Seems that the macro lens can double as a portrait lens quite nicely, whereas the portrait lens doesn't do macro.

To say I'm excited is really an understatement! Just can't wait till it arrives.

There are of course many others, but you can oogle some fun close-up shots on this guy's gallery: https://500px.com/biker11

 

[CuriousMike]

I expect a dozen photos of flies, mosquitoes and ladybugs shortly after you get that bad-boy.

 

[MrSquished]

I expect a dozen photos of flies, mosquitoes and ladybugs shortly after you get that bad-boy.

true most macro shots are nature related but i tried to do a series of macro photography all in urban environments in NYC. i got this far with it:

http://www.pixelsquish.com/portfolio/urban-macro-project/

 

[turtile]

I like the 105mm a lot but it does have a few draw backs for portrait work. It produces overly saturated colors which I don't like for skin tones. If you want to to get extremely close-up like the photos you linked, you'll need to couple the lens with an extension tube (like the Nikon PN-11 or Kenko) and use focus stacking. This only works on resting insects which is why most of his photos have morning dew.

When it was first released, it was one of my go to lenses when hiking. I ended up using it for landscapes just as much as my 35mm.

I've mainly moved over to Zeiss because the manual focus ring is so much better.

 

[zCypher]

and you will have your hordes of close-ups!

I too read that the macro 105 was not the *best* for portraits, according to those that needed to do serious portrait work. But in the blind comparisons I looked at, I honestly couldn't find anything wrong with it at all. I'm doubting that I will be displeased with any results of portraits (for me), especially considering that I edit 99% of my shots, at least minimally, in post (usually LR). I wanted something that could do macro and portrait, and whatever else I can create with it. So it's a good starting point

Thanks for the suggestion with the extension tube, will look into that as well.

 

[CuriousMike]

Interesting that you found the 105 your go to lens for landscapes.

 

[turtile]

Interesting that you found the 105 your go to lens for landscapes.

It allows you to take photos from a different perspective.

My Photo:
http://photos.lepiphoto.com/p1055913814/h5eb734f1#h5eb734f1

A photo I found online from the same point:
http://ecuadorperuluxurytravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Darwin-Lake.jpg

 

[CuriousMike]

Great.
My head gets caught up in "landscape = wide" so much that it's hard to see the tree in the forest.

 

[zCypher]

Great.
My head gets caught up in "landscape = wide" so much that it's hard to see the tree in the forest.

Yep, this exactly. Here I am frothing at the mouth over an extra 1mm between the Nikon 10-24 and the Tokina 11-16, but taking landscapes with the 105 has barely even registered in my mind at all. That's definitely something I will have to toy with too, I foresee this lens being affixed to my camera for a while!

If only they could ship it already...

 

[CuriousMike]

One of the things that new lenses do is get us excited, and by nature, we tend to leave the lens on for awhile and we end up trying new things.

My last new lens was the 85mm f/1.8, and I spent at least a month with this 'portrait-lens' taking photos of everything... because it's such an awesome lens.

 

[zCypher]

You got that right!! I placed my order on the 13th, and by the 18th still had no response, the site had my order in 'processing' state, still not shipped, but no information about whether there was any problem etc. So I sent a ticket to their customer support, and they claimed that their supplier ran out and would be receiving new ones either Friday or Monday upcoming, with the new expected shipping date being Jan 29 instead of previously Jan 16-19. Figured fine, not leaving on my next trip till early Feb, so it might just be ok.

This morning I check, and it has shipped. Hmmmmm. Seems like maybe someone goofed and forgot about it or it fell through the cracks somewhere, cause the story doesn't add up as presented. But that's fine with me if I get it sooner. It went from Hong Kong to Mirabel over night... There is now some "clearance delay", hoping it will clear up soon...

 

[zCypher]

Finally got it! I haven't had a chance to try it out much, but I couldn't help myself at around 2am even though it's -12c right now here.

First few pics are at : https://flic.kr/s/aHskt2wQ1H

Got some pretty nice detail out of my cat's eye, then just took some general shots walking around the lachine canal at night. I'm pretty happy to have gotten a few shots that I'm not too ashamed to share, and super excited to keep practicing with it. The 105mm focal length on DX body is really cool to work with! First impression is that I really like the versatility of this thing, and seems to be built like a tank.

 

[zCypher]

Cat eye:

Ice:

Lonely bench:

Graffiti + bridge:

Different angle:

View of the city from the canal:

 

[CuriousMike]

Cat eye is cool - looks like you have 5mm of dof.

 

[zCypher]

Going in, I knew that it would take some practice to get used to how the depth of field is handled with this. Going out at night, I wasn't expecting much. I was honestly surprised to be able to get some usable hand held shots at night shooting at f/6.3-f/8ish. I can't wait to wander during the day and see what I can capture with it in Thailand

 

[zCypher]

a few snaps from last night:

 

[zCypher]

I found it really hard to get anything up close in acceptable quality... I am going to need a lot of practice! The good news is it's tons of fun.

 

[zCypher]

Crack in tree bark looks cool!

 

[zCypher]

 

[zCypher]

 

[zCypher]

B&W take on the gate from last time:

 

[thestrangebrew1]

This is a pretty cool pic. Did you end up with the 105mm?

 

[zCypher]

Sorry for the delayed reply lol. I did indeed end up with the 105mm. Absolutely love it, fantastic lens. I still need to practice more with it though.