5D Mk IV – EF 100mm Macro with Ext Tubes – Einstein 640W Strobes – 1/125, f/32, ISO 100, Spot Meter

Today was a prep day for warmer weather when I can get outside and do more creative macro shots. This Photo of the Day was technically difficult to capture. I chose a spool of butchers twine as it was off-white and pretty consistent with little contrast. The 100mm prime had 3 extension tubes attached and the twine was about 4 inches from the lens. I had the camera on a tripod, used a remote control, and locked the mirror to help prevent any camera shake. I tethered the camera to the computer as I needed significant help in focusing this shot.

Since I was so close to the subject, depth of field was an issue. I had to close the aperture to f/32 to get as much depth of field as possible. Focus stacking was not really possible since the subject was rather flat. Since the aperture was so small, this necessitated using 3 Einsteins at max power to get a usable picture.

As I said, it was a prep day. I plan on doing a lot more macro shots, and this little exercise should help me prepare for the real deal like little bugs. I figure if I can get this shot, then a bug that may have lots of contrast should be much easier. For reference, this is the original raw image that came straight out of the camera with no post-processing. Yikes.