Venus LAOWA 15mm f4 1:1 wide angle macro

I couldnt see a thread dedicated to this rather unique lens so thought I would start one up.

It is a great lens for capturing closeups of small animals while at the same time, with its wide angle FOV, providing the viewer with an idea of the habitat within which the animal lives. However, as always in photography, there is a trade-off as it is manual aperture and manual focus, and doesnt report to the camera body. This can make it a major pain to use, but when everything comes together it is a wonderful, inexpensive toy.

Sahara Frog (Pelophylax saharicus) by Kris Bell, on Flickr

Cunningham's skink (Egernia cunninghami) by Kris Bell, on Flickr

Puff adder (Bitis arietans) - Morocco by Kris Bell, on Flickr

Mograbin Diadem Snake (Spalerosophis dolichospilus) by Kris Bell, on Flickr

Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus) by Kris Bell, on Flickr
 
Many thanks for your comments. I forgot to mention a couple of other problems with using this lens...

Getting nice low-down, eye-level shots of particularly small critters can be difficult as the front glass element has quite a wide rim/collar, meaning you often need to dig the lens into the ground to get the camera pointing more horizontally rather than shooting down at the animal. You can always put the animal in an elevated position (on a rock for example) but even then they would need to be next to the front edge of the perch and you also run the danger of it looking too posed.

Another issue is the ability to get subjects lit from the front when shooting macro. The focus distance is incredibly small - I was no further away than 3 inches in any of the above shots - and as a result it is difficult to get light to reach all parts of the animal evenly. A well diffused light helps, as does shooting in the lowest ISO possible to enable gentle lifting of shadows in post processing.
 
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kirispupis said:
Very nice shots! I have this lens and can attest to its difficulties.

Are these actually wild subjects? The biggest issue I've had with reptiles is getting close enough to them for these types of shots. Also, snakes here (garter snakes) aren't dangerous at all.

Thanks! Yes all the animals are wild. It certainly can pose problems getting so close to the subjects without spooking them. Some individuals perform beautifully, others less so!

Huntsman and his boots by Kris Bell, on Flickr
 
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krisbell said:
Many thanks for your comments. I forgot to mention a couple of other problems with using this lens...

Getting nice low-down, eye-level shots of particularly small critters can be difficult as the front glass element has quite a wide rim/collar, meaning you often need to dig the lens into the ground to get the camera pointing more horizontally rather than shooting down at the animal. You can always put the animal in an elevated position (on a rock for example) but even then they would need to be next to the front edge of the perch and you also run the danger of it looking too posed.

Another issue is the ability to get subjects lit from the front when shooting macro. The focus distance is incredibly small - I was no further away than 3 inches in any of the above shots - and as a result it is difficult to get light to reach all parts of the animal evenly. A well diffused light helps, as does shooting in the lowest ISO possible to enable gentle lifting of shadows in post processing.

This was what I am curious about. Are you doing anything to light these shots? We've seen a lot of discussion of lighting rigs for small macro, but I'm curious what you might do to light these larger subjects.

Again, great shots. Laowa should pay you for these.
 
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krisbell said:
Many thanks for your comments. I forgot to mention a couple of other problems with using this lens...

Getting nice low-down, eye-level shots of particularly small critters can be difficult as the front glass element has quite a wide rim/collar, meaning you often need to dig the lens into the ground to get the camera pointing more horizontally rather than shooting down at the animal. You can always put the animal in an elevated position (on a rock for example) but even then they would need to be next to the front edge of the perch and you also run the danger of it looking too posed.

Another issue is the ability to get subjects lit from the front when shooting macro. The focus distance is incredibly small - I was no further away than 3 inches in any of the above shots - and as a result it is difficult to get light to reach all parts of the animal evenly. A well diffused light helps, as does shooting in the lowest ISO possible to enable gentle lifting of shadows in post processing.

Wait...how do you "put the animal in an elevated position" or "make it look too posed" if it's a wild animal? From a quality perspective the photos are very nice - in particular I'm curious how you did the lighting - but they fall more in the bucket of "great animal portrait" than "exceptional wildlife photography" if you had a handler train the animal.
 
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mrzero said:
This was what I am curious about. Are you doing anything to light these shots? We've seen a lot of discussion of lighting rigs for small macro, but I'm curious what you might do to light these larger subjects.

For all these shots the lighting used was natural backlighting combined with a diffused on-camera flash.

kirispupis said:
Wait...how do you "put the animal in an elevated position" or "make it look too posed" if it's a wild animal? From a quality perspective the photos are very nice - in particular I'm curious how you did the lighting - but they fall more in the bucket of "great animal portrait" than "exceptional wildlife photography" if you had a handler train the animal.

All these animals are wild and it was just me photographing them on my own, with no animal trainer involved. I seriously doubt you could train any of the animals pictured even if you wanted to! For something like a frog or a lizard you can simply place them on a rock (elevated position), for the venomous snakes you pretty much have to let them do what they want and make the most of any pose they assume.

LordofTackle said:
Awesome shots kris, really like the frog, although for my taste it's a bit too dark. How DID you get so close to that snakes? That's an MF lens right? So have to get your hands in front of the camera to focus, only cm away from some seriously poisonous snakes.. :eek:

-Sebastian

Many thanks Sebastian, I am somewhat protected by the lens and camera, but mostly by the large diffuser. For the puff adder my focusing hand was in a protective glove as those guys strike often and quickly and with large fangs, but the tiger snake had a fairly placid temperament after it got used to me being there. I simply backed off a little if it started hissing or looked like it was going to strike.
 
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krisbell said:
mrzero said:
This was what I am curious about. Are you doing anything to light these shots? We've seen a lot of discussion of lighting rigs for small macro, but I'm curious what you might do to light these larger subjects.

For all these shots the lighting used was natural backlighting combined with a diffused on-camera flash.

kirispupis said:
Wait...how do you "put the animal in an elevated position" or "make it look too posed" if it's a wild animal? From a quality perspective the photos are very nice - in particular I'm curious how you did the lighting - but they fall more in the bucket of "great animal portrait" than "exceptional wildlife photography" if you had a handler train the animal.

All these animals are wild and it was just me photographing them on my own, with no animal trainer involved. I seriously doubt you could train any of the animals pictured even if you wanted to! For something like a frog or a lizard you can simply place them on a rock (elevated position), for the venomous snakes you pretty much have to let them do what they want and make the most of any pose they assume.

LordofTackle said:
Awesome shots kris, really like the frog, although for my taste it's a bit too dark. How DID you get so close to that snakes? That's an MF lens right? So have to get your hands in front of the camera to focus, only cm away from some seriously poisonous snakes.. :eek:

-Sebastian

Many thanks Sebastian, I am somewhat protected by the lens and camera, but mostly by the large diffuser. For the puff adder my focusing hand was in a protective glove as those guys strike often and quickly and with large fangs, but the tiger snake had a fairly placid temperament after it got used to me being there. I simply backed off a little if it started hissing or looked like it was going to strike.

Very impressive then. I assume you work with/study reptiles either as a profession or as a major hobby? For the snakes I would assume one must be an expert on their behavior. For instance, what's to prevent the snake from biting your head? We have rattlesnakes that I've photographed with a telephoto, but I'm not confident enough in predicting them to get close enough for the Laowa.

For lighting then, you used something like a 600EX with a large diffusers on it? Did you use anything to move it closer to the end of the lens to avoid shadows?

As an aside, how common are the subjects you photographed in Morocco? I will be visiting there in April - spending some time in the Atlas mountains and around Ouarzazate. I'm wondering if it's worth bringing the 15mm.
 
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kirispupis said:
Very impressive then. I assume you work with/study reptiles either as a profession or as a major hobby? For the snakes I would assume one must be an expert on their behavior. For instance, what's to prevent the snake from biting your head? We have rattlesnakes that I've photographed with a telephoto, but I'm not confident enough in predicting them to get close enough for the Laowa.

For lighting then, you used something like a 600EX with a large diffusers on it? Did you use anything to move it closer to the end of the lens to avoid shadows?

As an aside, how common are the subjects you photographed in Morocco? I will be visiting there in April - spending some time in the Atlas mountains and around Ouarzazate. I'm wondering if it's worth bringing the 15mm.

Yes I used to be a herptelogist, and it remains a major hobby. There is virtually no possibility of the snakes pictured here biting my head as it is hidden behind a lens, a camera, a flash and a diffuser and they are all very small animals (despite how they look in the pictures).

I used the one down from the 600EX (is it a 580EX?) with a Lumiquest softbox. With the flash on camera and with the diffuser on, it sits in front of the lens so I have to tuck it behind the front lip. Shadows are a nuisance but more from the natural light hence why I generally shoot with this lens either into the sun or in the shade.

Snakes are common in Morocco if you put a lot of time in and are looking in the right places. We found over 40 in a 5 day trip in 2016 so I'm sure you will come across a few.
 
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