I've put the fern up as my desktop piccy. It is very relaxing.
I get your point about the foreground. The depth of field must be bugger all at these extreme closeup distances. The lens was probably no more than 30mm from the fern (or the spider for that matter). I think I'll have to take about 20 shots to get one where all the right bits are focussed. In that piccy the fern was coming towards me - in which case keeping the foreground focused entails cropping approx 1/3 of the bottom. I guess bending or holding with sticky tape is required to ensure most of the foreground is in focus.
I noticed the wee spider on the cycad next to the driveway. I'm sure it is quite harmless. I'll be sure to avoid the agro ones!
It was cloudy and dull. I used a very thin layer of tissue paper over the flash to try to diffuse it a little. 30mm from the subject it either misses some of it or it is too harsh.
If I get crazy enough, I might try making up an alfoil dish, maybe 6" diameter to fit around the camera to try to spread the flash around the subject better.
Cheers
John K
