Wow, some serious competition there. Wait till you have the tubes 
One question though; what was the ISO on the first one?
Iām taking a short break from macro - a friend has leant me his Nikkor 18:200mm 1:3.5-5.6G ED lens to play with - swallows nesting in the barn are my target! Mind you, had some fun in the fields yesterday trying to catch scenes through the wheat. Caught a great little bug! Will post when file size suitableā¦
Found a dead Pipestrelle in one of the bedrooms today, itās still in pristine condition, so I may have a go with macro on that. At least IT wonāt move!!! Watch this space as they say!
Thank you Linda. The hardest part is the breathing.
That is some awesome picture Stuart! Well done.
Click for full size, itās cool.
OK, I know I keep frightening people with these, but this one dropped on my head in the workshop and then started getting stroppy. Fearsome little guy.
On the bottle.
The best tip I have had and it did occur to me before. Focus manually then move in and out from the subject. I do that almost systemtically now for the very close macros.
Another tip I got was to use the live view and you can zoom in on it, which will ensure perfect focus. I havenāt tried that one yet because I think that would require three hands
I still have issues with focus - I canāt decide whether I am better off using manual focus or auto focus with macro work. Itās fun messing about though!
Since I learned to be creative with my body position in the field (Sometimes bum in the air, much to the consternation of passing neighbours) my work has improved beyond recognition.That Iris I posted has to be the best Iāve done so far. Snakes - well I havenāt given them much thought - yet! Nostly grass snakes around us, so I suppose not too dangerous - great photo opportuities though!
Great to see you posting again! First shots with a new set up are always special, particularly when they work like this.
I took one of them the other day and there you go showing me a different (and better) angle grr. Do you have the tubes now Karen?
Iāve been picking peoples brains including James and the guy on Flicker (Eddie). They both recommended the 105 mm micro lens from Nikon. I bought it second hand. I focus to the max and then just move the camera in and out. Again something I learned from the internet and talking to the experts. I have a set of Kenko rings. (68mm). I was going to buy cheap ones but thought better of it. It is quite hard to get the focus and I probably took about 8 photos before I got that one. He was posing a bit, or was it the fact that he had just been taken out the sink and was being threatened with a knife by Nathalie. I think I can safely say that it is this site and particularly you people in this group who got me back into photography and especially you Karen for the macro stuff. Now I need to broaden my horizons and I will be boring James with my questions on a regualr basis. The great thing is, not one person I have mailed or spoken to has refused or not answered my questions.
I am really enjoying myself.
Well as long as itās not yourself! We look forward to your return when youāve got your camera sorted out. Meantime just pop in and post a word or twoā¦
Remind us what youāve got Stuart - sounds interesting. Mind you, I still have my work cut out getting the best out of the basic ringsā¦
Hi James
Actually that is what I like so much about the 105. I was about 20cm from the spider. With the other lensI woulmd have been almost touching. I guess thatās what they mean by a 1:1.
Wow, thatās close!
Sorry if I put anyone off their Dinner. I am loving this new lens and tube set-up. I canāt wait for the ring flash 
The head on this spider is about 2mm across.
Hey Karen, we miss you! This group was surely your inspiration even if you didnāt start it! Who do you think encouraged me to get the rings? Come on get your camera out again!
Lovely colours Linda, I like the high key effect too, suits the subject well 
Love that Iris!