Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-08-30)

38

KIT LIST

▲

▲

▲

▲

▲

RossHoddinott

Rossis anestablishedprofessionaloutdoor

photographerandauthorofseveralphotography

books.A multi-award-winningphotographer,he

is bestknownforhisintimateclose-upsof

insectsandwildflowers.Toseemoreofhis

work, visitwww.rosshoddinott.co.uk.

ALL PICTURES © ROSS HODDINOTT

NEO 2

Rotolight’ssmallestand

mostportablelight,

theNEO2 is morethan

bigenoughtomeeta

close-upphotographer’s

demands.It canbe

mountedbothonoroff

camera,andyoucaneasily

adjusttheoutputandcolour

temperature of the light.

Rotopod
Thishandyminitripodis ideally
suitedtousingtheNEO 2
off-camera,hands-freefor
illuminatingground-level
subjectslikewildflowers
andsomeinsects.
Simplyattachthe
NEO2 andthen
positiontheRotopod
close to your subject.

Macrolens

Toshootframe-filling

close-ups,youneeda close

focusinglens.Close-upfilters

andextensiontubescanbe

usedtoconvertstandard

optics,buta dedicatedmacro,

optimisedforclosefocusing,

is best.A focallength

upwards of 100mm is ideal.

Low-leveltripod

Youoftenhavetoworkclosetothe

groundwhenshootinginsectsorplants.

Optfora tripodwithouta centrecolumn,

oronethatallowsthecentralcolumnto

berepositionedhorizontally to enable

low-level photography.

It ’s a bug ’s

RossHoddinottexplainshow LEDlightcan be

usedto bringinsect close-upsalive

Technique LIGHTING FOR CLOSE-UPS

I

nclose-upphotography,it is

possibletorevealandhighlight

allkindsofincredible,miniature

detail,colourandformthatmight

otherwisegetoverlooked.However,it is a

challenginggenrefora numberofreasons.

Perceiveddepthoffieldappearsmuch

shallowerwhenworkingathigherlevels

ofmagnification,whilelightcanalsobe

inveryshortsupplyowingtotheshort

camera-to-subjectdistance.Andthings

geteventrickierif youareattemptingto

photographsomethingthatcanmove,

likeaninsectorreptile.Inorderto

eliminatesubject(andpotentiallycamera)

movement,youneeda rapidshutterspeed.

However,thelackoflight– andthedesire

tousea smalleraperturetoextenddepth

offield– makesthisdifficult.Onesolution

is toincreaseISOspeedtogenerate

fasterspeeds,whiletheotheroptionis

tosupplementthelightbyusingflash,a

reflectororanLEDdevice.Moreoften

thannot,thebestoptionis a combination

ofboththesethings.

Althoughclose-upphotographyhas

a reputationforbeingfiddlyandrather

challenging,photographerspossessa huge

degreeofcontroloverlighting.When

photographingsuchsmallsubjects,it is

relativelyeasytoalterandenhancethe

lightforeithercorrectiveorcreative

purposes. This ability to manipulate light

AAbatterycharger
TheNEO2 is batterycharged,housing6xAA
batteries.Impressively,thisprovidesupto1.5
hoursofcontinuouslightatmaximumpower.
Rechargeablebatteriesarerecommendedandare
environmentallybest.TheRLchargeris compatible
withRotolight’sownRL-LION AA and also
third-party AA batteries.

shouldbeembraced– yourunderstanding

anduseoflightwillmakeorbreakyour

natureclose-ups.Personally,I’venever

beena bigfanofusingflash.Whileflash

certainlyhasitsplace,it canstartleand

disturbsubjects,increasingtheriskof

themflyingorscuttlingaway.Also,when

workingsoclosetothesubject,a large

degreeofdiffusionis requiredtocreate

natural-lookingresultsandprevent

uglyhotspotsformingonshiny,metallic

bodies.Untila coupleofyearsago,I relied

heavilyonreflectedlight,usinga small

30-45cmreflectortobouncelightontothe

subject.Thiscanproduceverynice,

natural results and, unlike fl ash, you

Thesehardfernfrondsreallybenefited

from theextralightprovidedbytheNEO 2

Nikon D850, 200mm, 1/13sec at f/9, ISO 64

light