Small Wonders

Carolyn Derstine wins the My Macro Exhibit Photo Contest with the Tamron SP 90mm macro lens.

Article By Jennifer Gidman

Images by Carolyn Derstine

Her affinity for macro has paid off: Derstine was recently announced as the winner of Tamron USA's My Macro Exhibit Photo Contest, which required entrants to create a 3D virtual exhibit on MyPhotoExhibits. Derstine took all of the images for her winning entry using the Tamron SP 90mm macro lens.

Professional photographer Mike Moats, who judged the contest, explains what set Derstine's work apart. "Carolyn demonstrates an ability to produce excellent images with a variety of subjects in nature," he says. "All of her images are creatively composed in the frame and have good lighting and nice, sharp details. Her exhibit is a well-balanced portfolio of subjects, beautiful colors, interesting textures, and nicely blurred backgrounds."

Backyard Bounty

Derstine takes most of her macro images in her own backyard in Telford, Pennsylvania, or in neighboring areas. "That 90mm has been a real workhorse for me," she says. "I've been so pleased with how sharp it is and the closeness I can get with my subjects. I've been amazed at what great photos I've been able to take."

When she's scoping for subjects, Derstine looks for compelling compositional possibilities. "I look for something that might have interesting lines or texture to it, or eye-catching colors," she explains. "Of course, lighting plays a role, too - if what I want to shoot is in direct sun, I'll have to use a diffuser."

Shooting rapidly moving insects is always challenging in macro work. "You have to use a really fast shutter speed," Derstine says. "I usually shoot in burst mode for this type of shot, because you never quite know when you're going to get it right. When you shoot in a series, you increase your chances of getting a good photo."

In her "Color Coordinated" shot, a bee that momentarily settled down on a coreopsis flower gave Derstine the chance to practice this technique. "I needed a really large aperture because he was moving around so much," she says. "Once he rested on the flower, I was able to shoot straight down and keep him sharp while blurring out the rest of the flower."

Blurring out that background helps Derstine eliminate many of the distracting elements that often pop up behind her flower collections or resident insects. "For 'Hi There,' a praying mantis was perched on one of my hosta plants, but it was really busy where he was and I couldn't get a good shot," she says. "I actually cut off the hosta flower he was on and put it in a clamp attached to an extra tripod I had. I moved it around with him on it until I found a background I liked and shot it at F/8."

Another simple trick helps Derstine mask busy backgrounds. "In 'Unfurling Fern Frond,' I wanted the frond in great detail, but it didn't have the best background," she says. "I'll carry a piece of black velvet around for these situations and just throw it behind the flower so the focus is on the subject. If there are any little marks on the velvet, I can always touch it up in editing. I shot this one at F/29 at six seconds."

For her "Sweet Kate" spiderwort image, Derstine wanted to get extra close, so she attached an extension tube to her lens. "I got down really low in my flower bed and used live-view focusing," she says. "I enlarged it and checked out the details to make sure everything was in focus. I noticed this flower looked particularly interesting with everything being blurred except for that sharp edge."

When her subjects are bathed in shade, Derstine uses either the flash on her camera or a small LED flashlight she takes with her. "I'm real choosy with my lighting," she says. "Diffused light works best for me, so cloudy days or even evening light works well. I had to use the LED flashlight in 'Winter Patio Scene' to shine some light on the leaf that was sitting on ice on our brick patio because it was in dark shade. I shot that at F/29 to get all the details on it."

Derstine is always up for a macro challenge, including trying to shoot refractions after a rainfall. In "Raindrop Garden," an iris leaf with raindrops on it presented a perfect opportunity for her to show off her collection of Black-eyed Susans. "I couldn't quite get the placement right," she says. "So I cut one of the flowers from the bed, clamped it, and moved it behind the iris leaf until I got the placement and lighting just right to show that refraction."

The Tamron 180mm lens is next on Derstine's experimentation list. "I have the lens, but I haven't had much of a chance to use it yet," she says. "I'm really looking forward to bringing it outside come spring to get a little more distance between myself and the insects."

Check out Carolyn Derstine's winning exhibit at MyPhotoExhibits.com