Macro Test Shots: Q-Tip - 7/9/2010

I just got a macro lens. After seeing all the cool closeup shots you can get, I decided it was time to expand my lens collection. I'm still learning how to make it work to get sharp shots. In closeups, the depth of field is so tight that things easily get out of focus.
I got great practice w/ my friend's pet mantis. This is Q-Tip and she is a female mantis. I used to be afraid of them, but since I've seen them numerous times, I'm no longer afraid. Q-tip was a pretty cooperative subject for my test macro shots.
It took quite a few shots to get Q-tip in complete focus.
My friend fed her a live roach and she quickly devoured it.. I didn't even see a crumb left..
I tried to also take a photo of my opae shrimp.. they're so small and quick it was really hard to get a clear shot. This is the best I could do.
This is sort of a miniature shot processing I learned from Erick. It's called Tilt-Shift fake miniature photography. This can be done w/ Photoshop (I used Elements and it's a different workflow). This takes a real life photo and by blurring parts of the photo to make it look like a miniature. This is my first try and I thought it came out pretty cool..