Photo Clinic, Part 9
| Introduction | Photo Basics | Equipment | In the Water | Flash |
| Composition | Sick Photos | Close-up Lens | Macro | Wide Angle |
Macro Extension Tubes and Lenses:
Extension tubes are just sleaves that move the lens out away from
the camera body. This lets the camera focus very close in front of the lens to take
pictures of tiny objects. Macro lenses bend the light rays to magnify and focus close by
adding another lens, either before or after the main lens.
The depth of field (range that objects remain in focus) with
macro photography is very shallow. A framer is an absolute necessity. Each macro set has
its own framer, which is a specific distance from the camera lens and a specific picture
size. For example, the Sea & Sea 2T macro set takes a picture that's two times the
height and width of the 35 mm slide.
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Moss strands, Tony Grove Lake |
Moss strands, Fish Lake |
Moss strand, Tony Grove Lake |
Why buy a macro set? Look at the photos above. The standard lens view (at left above) shows the overall shape of the moss. But look at the 2T macro view (at right above). Seeing the crisp detail, you understand better what moss "looks like." Can you just use a closeup lens, or the internal closeup switch on the Sea & Sea MMII? Maybe. Look at the closeup lens view (middle photo above). It's halfway there, but it can't deliver the impact of the macro photo. For very small objects, or for fine crisp detail, you need the macro set.
| Like the closeup lens, the extension tube operates at a set focus and aperature. On the Nikonos V, you set the focus at 2.75 feet and aperature at f-22. (My closeup lens uses infinity as its focus setting. To help me remember that extension tubes use 2.75, I've engraved each macro tube with "f-22, 1/60, 2.75, TTL" so I'll remember to set the camera correctly.) This picture shows my medium-sized extension tube and framer on a Nikonos V with two YS50 strobes. |
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On the Nikonos, rather than installing OVER the lens (like the closeup lens), the macro tube installs between the lens and the camera body. It has no lens; it's just a tube. One obvious implication is: you can't quickly change the gear while dripping. The extension tube is pushed in and rotated into the lens mount, then the lens is pushed and rotated into the end of the tube. Last, the wire framer is attached. |
| With the Sea & Sea cameras, you press the macro lens over the standard lens (underwater!), then twist it to lock it in place. This lets you take standard photos and macro pictures on the same dive. (You can also attach a wide-angle lens underwater.) Shown at right is the Sea & Sea Seamaster Pro EX with a 2T macro set. Focus is set at infinity. |
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You can buy a "lens caddy" for the Sea & Sea strobe arm. Two lenses lock into the caddy, so they're ready to attach to your camera when you need them. The YS-60 strobe at left has a 20 mm lens (top) and a 2T macro lens (bottom). |
| The Sea & Sea MX-10 camera also has a macro kit. The framer is fairly large, about the size of the closeup framer for the Nikonos. It's suitable for small -- but not tiny -- subjects. The framer has only one post, for better maneuvering. The conversion lens fits in front of the standard lens underwater. |
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The MX-10 also has a lens caddy available for the YS-40 strobe, but it accepts only one lens. It the caddy is occupied by your 20 mm conversion lens, note that the macro framer folds up small enough to slide into a BC pocket. |
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| Macro photos are probably the easiest scuba
pictures to master. With the camera set properly, and the strobe on TTL, you just surround
some sea critter with the framer and click the shutter. (To bracket the shot, try changing
the ASA setting on the camera to half, then to twice the real ASA value.) California
Golden Gorgonian polyps |
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Watch carefully where your strobe is aiming. It's easy to miss the framer with the flash. I also found that a single YS50 strobe wasn't sufficient for my 1:1 framer unless I took the strobe off the camera and put it right on top of the framer. If the nudibranch wasn't on fire after the flash died away, I knew I hadn't gotten a good exposure. For serious macro work, you really need two strobes.
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Especially with the longer tubes (smaller framer), the aiming of the strobes is critical. If you keep the strobe on the mount, the aim should be double-checked periodically. Note I've removed one side of the framer. This is a bit of vandalism you may also want to perform on your macro framing wires. (The Sea & Sea framers allow the arms to be folded down.) |
| Many of the critters you want to photograph are
wedged into cracks or hiding between the branches of gorgonians. So I cut off one side of
the framer where it turns upward. I can still see where the picture's borders will be, but
I can angle the framer against the reef, tease it into cracks, and angle it into branching
gorgonians with greater ease. It lets you rest the framer against the reef at an angle
while keeping the critter in the plane of focus. Spanish Shawl
nudibranch, Coral Gardens, San Clemente Island |
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Macro gear gives you a chance to compete with the pros. A couple of years
ago, our boat had engine trouble, so we anchored just north of Avalon Harbor. Although
there was nothing but dirt underneath, I went diving and shot this tube anemone protruding
from the mud. This photo is now a matted deluxe enlargement on rich people's walls. Tube Anemone, Catalina Island |
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Click on the
garibaldi |
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About the author: Alpine resident Bruce Argyle is an emergency physician in Salt Lake City. He also writes medical training computer simulations. And he has 7 kids. Since he has so little to do, he just HAD to take up scuba photography.
