Having shot hundreds of full body pictures of frogs, reptiles, and tarantulas during our macro class in St. Louis, this Gecko eyeball is one of my favorites. I love the abstract quality and other worldly feel in this extreme macro. The high magnification afforded by the Canon MP-E, 65mm macro, allows photographers an opportunity to explore an unseen world. If you’re not familiar with this lens, the range of magnification starts 1X (life size) and extends all the way to 5X or five times life size. This unique optic offers unparalleled convenience when working at high magnification. Simply turn the lens barrel to the desired magnification and move the camera in toward the subject until it is in focus and shoot.
This Gecko eyeball was shot at about 3X, hand held using a Canon ring flash as the only light source. The quick pulse of light allows hand holding with no camera shake and great depth of field (F16) considering the magnification. The ring light shaped catch light in the eye was cloned out in PS 6.
There are indeed other ways to obtain very high magnification images with equipment you may already own. If interested in discussing alternate ways of achieving dramatic high impact macro images, please feel free to contact me through my Facebook page or e-mail me at adam@adamjonesphoto.com.
Equipment & Settings:
Canon MP-E 65mm, Macro Lens
Hand Held
Canon 5D-Mark III camera body
ISO 400
F16, 1/200th sec
Camera set on manual exposure
Canon Macro Ring Lite, MR-14EX set on ETTL
