I was sorting out the table downstairs that is heaped with photo gear. Cameras, lenses, straps, batteries, cables, bags, and all sorts of other bits and bobs. I was looking for a small bag or pouch to carry some film specific gear, so I was also rooting through the piles of swag bags accumulated over the decades of work. A fanny pack is about the right size to carry the small notebook and pencil, filter cases in case I decide I don't want to use the ND filter, a roll of film, and a small knife to get into the roll of film. (I have difficulty getting into small foil or plastic wrapped packages, and am still traumatized by the memory of failing to get into a package of cheese served on a flight from Toronto to Vancouver in the mid-60's or so.) I was experimenting with a fanny pack instead of pockets. I know that for me, I might go for a walk and not see anything, or I might get on a roll with wonderful light, and 8 photos per roll can go quickly.
Back to the mound on the table. I was sorting through and found the specialty macro lens and realized it's been a long time since I used it, and it's a specific kind of fun. I checked in with my friend Antje (of the Two Noir Detectives fame) to see if she'd like in on the fun. I wanted to experiment with the big shop lights and the copy stand used for digitizing film negatives to see how all that worked.
(Those familiar with macro photography can skip this digression and go right to the photos.) There are several challenges with macro photography; depth of field and getting enough light on the subject. The typical definition for macro photography is 1:1 or higher, meaning if your subject is 3 mm long (an ant for example) it will be captured as 3mm long on the sensor, and might be several cm long on your screen. The depth of field is extremely narrow, often less than 1mm. This means that part of the ant butt could be in focus, another part be slightly out of focus, and the rest of the ant is a total out of focus blur. At full extension the front element of the lens is only a few cm away from the subject, leading to the next problem, light. It's hard to get enough light to bounce off the subject, through the lens, and onto the sensor. The solution is to increase the ISO, leading to sensor noise, or increase the exposure time typically leading to a blurry subject because breathing on the camera will make it move, or the brute force solution of a more powerful light. This particular lens, the Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x Macro only focuses by changing the magnification or the distance between the sensor and the subject, and don't forget the extremely shallow depth of field. Previously I used a jerry-rigged contraption of a bike stand and a tripod with a macro rail. I wanted to see if the copy stand offered fine enough control. It does, if you're careful and patient.
The LED work lights are unbelievably eye-ball searingly bright when looked at up close. We both had to take breaks a couple times because we glanced at the light, and all we could see for a moment were giant white spots. Even though the front of the light is cool, the back gets warm, and anything put directly on the light is going to get warm, so I was careful with heat. There were two approaches. One was to shine the light from the side, and the other was to lay the light on the copy stand pointing straight up, and put the subject on it. Having Antje made life much easier because sometimes you need 3 or 4 hands. One to tweak the camera height by tweaking the copy stand, one to adjust the lens magnification, one or two to ever so slightly tweak the position of the subject. It's easiest to start at 1:1, find the subject, and gradually magnify in, slightly moving the subject as required. You can't just centre it and zoom in because the stand is built on a bit of an angle.
Enough. On to the photos.
1. As you'll probably realize, most of these are fabric. You can't tell with any of them particularly, but you're looking at an area about 3 x 2 mm in these photos.
