An Interview with dalantech-UPDATED

May 20, 200815 min read

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Macro-Beginners-Club

Published: May 20, 2008

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I came across another indepth interview by

(mbc member) also known as

You can read the interview here news.deviantart.com/article/47…
Also whilst perusing Anna's gallery I found some wonderful photography work, look out for a future feature on this wonderful lady

An Interview with dalantech

Often, I peruse the DA galleries looking for something that makes me go 'WOW that's just fab'. Secretly Im jealous of course and hope that one day, maybe, I could be that good .
So cheekily as I often am, I asked dalantech to share with the MBC members on how he gets such fantastic photo's.

Before I go on I would like to thank dalantech for letting me have this opportunity to ask some questions on his fabulous photography work and for sharing them here for the MBC members.

When did you first become interested in photography?

I first became interested in photography in the summer of 1989 while in Singapore (I was in the US Navy at the time). I took a lot of terrible photos, but fortunately one of my friends, Eddy Lohram, was an experience photographer who shot with a medium format Hasselblad camera and he taught me basic composition and how the quality of the light affects the color and contrast in a scene.

Are you self taught or did you go to classes?

Self taught for the most part, unfortunately. I’d love to take some classes on photography but have never had the time or opportunity.

What equipment did you start off with and what equipment do you use now?

I started off shooting with a Minolta SLR (initially print film but Eddy got me to use color positive slides –I still love the look of Fujichrome Velvia!) and today I use a Canon 40D DSLR. For the past 18 months I’ve taken all of my macro images (1x and higher magnification) with a Canon MPE-65mm macro lens.

Your photography and macro skills are perfect by far, are you one of the lucky ones who gets a good shot first time or do you spend a long time setting up for a good shot and are they a planned shoot?

If my images were perfect I’d be able to quit my day job

John you are too modest

I take 99.9% of my photos out in the field, and in a lot of cases in weather that most people wouldn’t shoot in, so it’s just not possible to nail every image. Because of the subjects I photograph I can’t use a tripod; they slow me down too much and, if properly used, it will only freeze my motion. But a tripod can’t stop the motion in the scene ( the critter might move and the wind is a constant problem) so for my style of photography I just get the flash, an MT-24EX, as close to the subject as I can and I rely on an insanely short flash duration to freeze the motion for me. In fact there is a lot of similarity between stop motion photography and my macro work. Bracing the camera, or an elbow on a knee, also helps and the “kneepod” is easier to setup and take down

Have you any hints or tips for a beginner starting out in macro photography that may help them when they are out in the field so to speak.

Absolutely! I like teaching almost as much as I like photography and I’ve posted several tutorials in my gallery as Deviations. I have them listed in the shoutboard on my journal: dalantech.deviantart.com/journ…

For anyone who is interested in the differences between the two Canon macro flashes I have a article on the MR-14EX verses the MT-24EX as well: MR-14EX verses the MT-24EX
One of the reasons why I started writing was to answer common questions, and one of them is “What’s the difference between the MR-14EX and the MT-24EX?”. I’m no expert, but I own both of those macro flashes so here is my .02 on their strengths and weaknesses and what really separates them. In a nutshell I could say that the MT-24EX allows greater freedom in where the flash heads are placed and call it a day. But things are never quite that easy are they…
One note: Both Canon macro flash units can be used to wirelessly control another flash like the 430EX or 580EX (II). The slave flash shows up as a ratio controlled C channel flash on the macro flash’s controller. It’s very easy to use and works really well.
MR-14EX
The MR-14EX has two semi-circular flash heads built into a circular ring that clips directly on to Canon’s EF-S 60mm, MPE-65mm, and 100mm macro lenses, and it will also clip on to Canon’s 180mm macro lens (or any other macro le

Have you a favorite photographer who inspires you to take photos of certain subjects.

My mentor and inspiration in macro has been Professor Mark Plonsky: www.mplonsky.com/photo/article… I was just starting out Mark would push me to take my photography to new limits and I have him to thank for a lot of the images in my gallery!

What is your favorite macro shot that you have taken?

I went out looking for solitary bees in the early spring because I know that the rapidly changing weather, and temperatures, can slow them down. I found some Miner Bees, and although I shot them up to five times life size this twice life size image is my favorite

I was shooting right after a rain storm had come through the town where I live and the bee’s wet hair made for some very unique images.

What are your goals in the photography world and what inspires you to take good macro photos?

My goal is simple: To be better today than I was the day before. I’m constantly pushing myself just to see what I can do.

My inspiration is the sense of wonder I get when I see something through a macro lens that I just can’t see with the naked eye –and it’s only topped by being able to share it with other people

Have you ever had a photo published if not would you like to have your work displayed or published and if so where?

None of my work has ever been published in a magazine –although National Geographic did call me once last year. I had submitted a shot of a solitary bee to their monthly Your Best Shot contest and they were looking for an image of a honey bee to use for a one page piece on Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). At the time I had very few honey bee images and what I had just wasn’t National Geographic quality –so I lost out. I made a point of hooking up with a bee keeper a few months later to correct the deficiency in my honey bee photos

I did have two images published on the NASA Earth Observatory web site in this article, oddly enough, on CCD: earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Stud…

Thanks so much for that interesting interview, I am sure I speak for every one when I say that a lot can be learnt here, I know I shall be looking at your tutorials for future references.

More interviews will be lined up shortly, look out YOU may just be next

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This weeks Features.

:thumb84050712:

:thumb84446960:

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Winners of the Spring competition

Advanced

Winner:

Not letting you go

by verniceR

Runner-up:

King Wasp

by craftworker

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Beginners:

Winner:

Real

by DorotejaC

Runner-up:

Dogwood blossom

by jetsetaphrodite

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Overall Winner:

flower3

:thumb80052681:by chriskaula

This is what Ross said;

'I felt the overall standard of both categories was very good, but, after much deliberation, I opted for this image as it is a well executed shot, nicely composed and very artistic. Well done to everyone'.

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