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Capturing Dragons by Andy Astbury - part 2 of 1 2 3 4 5 6

by Andy Astbury Published 01/02/2009

Others meanwhile pursue maximum DoF in a very direct and factual manner, and they do indeed succeed in achieving the level of subject sharpness they thought they wanted only to be disappointed still. When they took the image the subject was sitting perched in splendid isolation, and yet in the final image the subject is either lost against a tangled background of vegetation, or something equally distracting.

If a subject looks good in the viewfinder that's no guarantee of a good final image - and that's why God gave us DoF preview buttons on our cameras! I never cease to be amazed at just how many people think they know their cameras inside out, and yet they don't use this valuable facility, or worse still, don't even know they have the facility in the first place!

Anyway, this brings me quite nicely around to talking kit - not that I'm a 'gear-head' by any means, but if you want to produce stunning images then you need to start with equipment that at least stands a chance of putting you in the ball park.

The singularly most important item of kit for producing sharp images is, believe it or not, a sharp lens. The major lens manufacturers all produce sharp lenses, and most of them produce not-so-sharp alternatives at a lower price. These lenses just will not do and I do so wish the manufacturers would stop making them, and that 'amateur' photographers would stop buying them; they are a false economy and bring their purchasers nothing but misery and, in the end, regret for buying them, coupled with a burning envy of anyone who went the extra mile, spent the extra money and came away with a sound investment that will deliver years of top-quality service.

My personal choice of lens for all my macro work is a 180mm macro lens which I usually use as-is, but very occasionally in conjunction with extension tubes.

Camera-wise I use a Nikon D2Xs out of preference to my other bodies - and it's the body I will continue to use quite happily until someone shows me something better for this kind of work. Even so, there are plenty of much cheaper camera bodies that do the job more than admirably - just as long as they provide TWO facilities; DoF preview and mirror-up shooting.

On the support front I use a Gitzo 1548, but lately I've invested in something I had a fleeting relationship with years ago when they first appeared - the paralysed spider-crab which goes under the name of Benbo! As yet I've got to settle into it and I'm not using it all the time, but it is very quick and easy to set up and it does get you on the subject a bit quicker than a more conventional pod. The head I use for macro is just a simple Manfrotto 488RC4 - solid as a rock, very un-fiddly, very reliable, and cheap - just up my street!

Finally, the last essential piece of kit is a cable- or remote-release - I use an MC36 but without the batteries as I can't be doing with all that ludicrous garbage on the LCD, so anything will do, as long as when you press the button, the camera takes a shot.

• Capturing Dragons by Andy Astbury page 1
  
• Capturing Dragons by Andy Astbury page 2
  
• Capturing Dragons by Andy Astbury page 3
  
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• Capturing Dragons by Andy Astbury page 5
  
• Capturing Dragons by Andy Astbury page 6
  

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