NEW Advanced Assignment # 2: Macro without Macro

On display here is a 30 million old spider embedded in a piece amber.

I found the amber on the beach on a photo trip to the White Cliffs of Moen. Nothing was visible when I first looked at it at the beach, but when I came home I decided to polish it. And what a joy to find this little spider trapped inside.

The photographs is all taken with my Beercan + a reversed Prakticar Pentacon 50 mm f/1.8
I did´nt attach the 50 mm to the Beercan, I just held it in front of it. This complicates things a bit since one hand is occupied by holding the 50 mm.
My lightning rig was a bit odd. I placed the amber on the glass on a 12 volt torch light. On each side of the amber I placed two small diode lights with very cold light.

I had to shoot at ISO 800 which caused some grain, but in at least one of the photographs I think it adds to the overall mood.

The pictures is´nt as sharp as I had hoped, but to be honest I don´t know why. Shutter times was sufficient to prevent motion blur and mis focusing is´nt the problem.
It might be simply because the amber is´nt 100% clear

Photographs is taken with my 7D - ISO 800 - aperture between 9 and 22 and shutter times from 1/160 sec to 1/640 sec.

All pictures is taken hand held but with my hands resting on various objects.

The spider is approx. 1 mm long

The Lightning set up.













Edited by Heyckendorff - 20 February 2010 at 04:46

pegelli wrote: General Assignment Rules - max 2 pics per post/try

Do you allow everything in here now?? to post three pics breakes the rules big time!! I´d say that you send him back to the drawingboard asap or you will have total anarchy here soon!!

Fantastic pictures Werner, it alomst looks like it´s alive, great work that you might enter in some National Geographic comp or something.

Regards Christer

PS This post may content some irony

Edited by ChrBra - 20 February 2010 at 09:54

Oh my do I have to learn to read instructions more carefull.

And now I realize that the number of pictures is´nt the only rule I broke.

I must admit that I cropped more than allowed. Not to cheat but because I did´nt read the rules properly.

Pegelli...Thanks for your comment. Feel free to move my entry to The Dyxum Open views due to braking the regulations here

ChrBra...I always had some troubles with rules I must admit

Regarding the photographs I also feel it very strange that this little spider, after so many million years, still look like it was just trapped inside the resin minutes ago. It´s so strange to think about how the world looked that particular day the spider met his or hers final destination.
What a magnificent preservation resin is.

After I found this piece of amber I started digging the internet for more about insects in amber. My search brought my attention to a Danish woman called "The Amber Lady" living in the north west of Denmark. She has the worlds biggest collection of insects embedded in amber. More than 80.000 pieces of amber containing more than 120.000 insects and other animals. She even has a piece with a small lizard in it...is´nt that amazing?
Unfortunately I have´nt succeeded in getting in contact with here. I´d really like to take more pictures of amber insects.

alphatini...great magnification. You say it´s just a reversed 28 mm? Does that mean that you just hold it by hand against the mount flange of the camera?

pegelli...here is two...just two...un-cropped....I repeat un-cropped versions of the illegal photographs







About the 1:1 magnification i´m a little confused. To be honest I don´t know what that means? 1:1 of what?
The spider is approx 1 mm. 1:1 would then mean that it had to be 1 mm on the screen?...nahh....1 mm on the sensor? ..maybe...1 mm on a paper copy straight from the camera then?....nahh don´t think so either.

Here is a link to the Amber Lady
It´s in Danish but i´m sure google can translate it into something very hilarious
It´s not here own website I think. The pictures of the amber pieces clearly shows she could use some more inspiring photographs of the amber insects   

Edited by Heyckendorff - 20 February 2010 at 16:00

Heyckendorff wrote: ChrBra...I always had some troubles with rules I must admit

You Danish!! Never sticks to the rules

These two last is great as well

Edited by ChrBra - 20 February 2010 at 22:19

I hope this qualifies, taken with the 70-400G and cropping with the 850...

Brettania,

I would say about 85% crop and no diopter... i shot this photo this afternoon, i was at the limit of close focus @ 400mm.. WOW what a wonderful lens...