Come, Fly, With Me

I like the look of this bee a lot, but this is one of the very few times I was able to also capture an insect other than a bee. One of the things I love about these echinacea is the colorful spikes in those danger colors—yellow, orange, and red—like a collection of nuclear warheads arranged by Fibonacci.

Honeybee and green fly join forces in the inspection of nuclear warheads

Honeybee and green fly join forces in the inspection of nuclear warheads

F32 and BEES There #2

Bees on a dahlia

F32 and BEES There #2

Yes, I know these images are starting to seem repetitive but I took ’em, and you’re gonna look at em’! Hopefully by the next time I see a folio I’ll have new flowers and some different looks.

Boris in one of his comments on Folio A asked for more detail on the Macrobox, which is given here:

The Macrobox is based on a contraption I purchased years ago from John Hart of Colorado. It was designed to hold 2 cameras at 90 degrees to each other, and both cameras were aimed at a 50/50 mirror (aka a beamsplitter) which is at a 45 degree angle. One camera shoots THROUGH the mirror, while the other shoots at the reflection.

Overhead view of the Macrobox

Overhead view of the Macrobox

Side view of the Macrobox

Side view of the Macrobox

The original box needed to be modified to accommodate the motor-driven Hasselblads, which are taller. I shoot with the 120mm Makro lens, and up to 2 extensions of 56mm each. Most of the bee shots are shot with 1 extension. The cat shots are with no extensions. My target stereobase for the cats is 1.6cm and for the bees is 8mm.

In the sideview picture you can see the beamsplitter on the left side of the rig. If you look carefully at the mirror, you can see both cameras.

The cameras are individually mounted on sliders so they can be slid into position. Additionally, the Macrobox is normally mounted on a heavy-duty Velbon macro slider, to help with making fine adjustments to the positioning.

Keep it down up there, Willya?

Keep it down up there, Willya?

Keep it down up there, Willya?

I lost my beloved cat Tesla in April to an aggressive cancer. Tesla was a total character: vocal, complaining, smart, adventurous, curious, determined, sneaky, athletic, playful. We were bonded and I miss her every day.

One of the reasons I wanted, and built, this Macrobox was to capture shots of Tess in MF3D. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy pursuit because the moment I started doing something she would be all over it. “No, Tess, I want you *in front* of the camera. Not *on* the camera.” That sort of thing.

I was able to catch her in a quiet moment when the camera and strobes had been pre-set for her position. I like to think that in this shot she is hollering at some kids upstairs to be quiet. In fact I caught her in mid yawn.

Bee Good #4

This whole set could be titled “Adventures Near and Far.”

Bee Good #4

Bee Good #4

My most recent photo endeavors have revolved around a macrobox. I had purchased a box like this from John Hart of Colorado, but fitting my Hasselblads in it was a stretch—the space was so tight that, once the cameras were mounted, it was difficult to check their settings, and simply winding the cameras was bound to knock them out of alignment.

This was shot in August of 2020. Lots of the technical details are listed on the slide mount. One detail is listed incorrectly—the extension is 56mm and not 57. Cameras were triggered with the same wired trigger that I’ve used for fireworks. I like the look of the stamen in this shot—each one looks like a nuclear warhead. Using the macrobox, I was able to get a shot like this as well as shots of my cat Edison that circulated last round. But a total PITA to set up and use.

Meanwhile, a new friend of mine had opened my eyes to some Hasselblad equipment I was unaware of— things like bodies with built-in motor drives and wired remotes. I picked up a couple of the motorized bodies, but they were too big for the macrobox. That’s when the quest for a new macrobox began in earnest. By the end of September I had ordered an optical breadboard from Baselab Tools, which was to be the platform for my new toy.

Orchid #3

DR5 Orchid

DR5 Orchid

This was one of many ‘proof of concept’ shot with the new macrobox in my kitchen. Here I’m still trying to wrap my head around camera placement in the box and other technical details. Obviously you don’t need a beamsplitter to get a shot like this—you could get this with a single camera moved slightly between shots. But my aim was to shoot ‘action’ macro shots, with flying insects. No matter how well you train your bees, that’s not going to work with cha-cha. Processed by DR5.

F32 and BEE There!

F32 and BEE There!

F32 and BEE There!

This is one of the first rolls I got back after setting up some ‘real world’ shots with my new macrobox. I’m thrilled with the results. I love the shadow cast on the flower by the bee, and the shadow of the leg is a bonus. Flashes were on either side of the bee; one more to the side, the other more from above. Black velvet draped behind. And a single strand of web in the back has caught a grain of pollen. It’s a minor distraction but if I’d noticed it at the time I would have removed it.

4 From Bob Venezia

4 From Bob Venezia

4 From Bob Venezia

Timing was very unfortunate this year. I blame the Coronavirus. I received 2 folios within days of my state being identified as one of the world’s hotspots. The problem was compounded when several of my coworkers were ordered home because of potential exposures to the virus. For a while I was doing the work of 5 people. Even though by now there are 4 of us doing the work of 5, I’ve still been working long hours and not getting enough rest.

Sorry to have held onto the folio for so long. I’ll try to add some context to the photos in the coming days.

Skydiver is among my all-time favorite carnival ride shots. It’s the only time I captured the intermittent movement of this ride while it was loading. (My other captures of the ride show a more boring seamless disk when the ride was in full motion.

Photographers Playground is a slight hyperstereo shot at Bryce Canyon. At the time I was cursing these people who were messing up my nature shot. But clearly I ‘m an idiot, as you can see that they make the shot. Shot with Hasselblads at about 18 inches separation.

Fireworks (Sorry, I’ve already sent off the folio and don’t remember the exact title) is another of my hyper shots with forty feet separation.

And Edison Advances is shot with twin Hasselblads in a macrobox with a beamsplitter.

Edison In Repose

Edison in repose

Our cat Edison abiding on a comfy chair.

There have been numerous entries playing with camera distance from subject, and with varying results. I love the idea of getting in close, but I would want to limit the depth of the scene so my background wouldn’t be difficult to fuse. Some years back I purchased a macro box from master 3D photographer John Hart of Colorado. At the time I was using it with my digital cameras, but it’s mostly sat around unused. Last year I decided to have a go with the Hasselblads. I was happy enough with the results, but the whole setup was a total PITA to use. Trying to get both cameras to the same settings, focus them both, capture an image, and then wind them for the next image (without knocking them out of focus or position in a cramped macro box) was an exercise in frustration. Plus there was a lot of experimentation with flash sync. Anyway, I do have an example of using the setup to capture a portrait of our cat Edison.

I do plan to continue this pursuit, but it will involve rebuilding the macro box to accommodate two motorized Hasselblads that can be triggered wirelessly

This was shot with flashes. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a fan of the strobist blog. If you are interested in learning about using portable flash units, go there and start with Lighting 101. I can’t recommend it enough.

I like the eyes and whiskers of course but I especially love the hairs in Eddie’s ears. They remind me of fireworks trails.