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thanks!

Blimey - those are amazing. I take it those are using your new macro thingies? I’m gonna have to get me one of those. Tell us your set-up again (1cause I’m too lazy to read back)?

Jett - Those were definitely long before the ‘tinis!  ...and did you mean the 6th one down or the one with filename number 6?

Lisa - Thanks. I wouldn’t go so far as to say amazing (yet)… I am having a lot of trouble with the working distance and focus. I use an adapter I bought from CKC Power in NY on my Canon S50. The adapter gives me 37mm threads on the front end of the lens barrel space even though the camera definitely wasn’t designed to add anything on it. I use Tiffen diopters with 37mm threads (I stack a +10 nearest the camera and a +7 on top of that) attached directly to this adapter then set the cameras internal lens zoomed all the way out and lock the focus at the maximum macro focus. I then position the camera within the DOF and slowly rock the body to get the part of the subjuct in focus that I want for the snap. The problems I immediately see with this setup is getting enough light to the CCD. I probably shot 75 butterflies yesterday and very few were good enough to share. There is also the option of using a reversal ring and reverse-mounting a fixed focal length standard SLR lens, but make sure it’s a fast lens because you’ll get vignetting around the edges pretty badly if not. I haven’t tried this method yet.

bsag - I cheated… sorta. All the photos you saw posted were taken camera in hand. I couldn’t get my tripod set up to get the needed framing AND get the working distance from the subject (which is really, really, really, really small… like within a couple inches). I went to a butterfly hatchery/sanctuary place where there is an over-abundance of butterflies in a confined space. I waited. I watched and planned where I thought they would land and set up there until I got a shot. In “the wild” I can find butterflies to shoot, but can’t seem to get the macro shots because of the working distance issue. I’ve heard that a lot of pro macro photographers (besides spending thousands on rigs that give them better working distance) go out on really cold mornings and such where the insects are sluggish and not as active over all. I live in south Texas… we have no cold mornings. Heh.

Thanks for the comments… I really dig ‘em. I will post more of my stuff as it churns out. I’ve found myself becoming more and more of a photofile of recent and it will probably only get worse from here.

Sixth down.