Entry-Level Macro

[@TheVeryBFG]

You not only make me want to capture beautiful images, you also make me want to be a better person. Your humour, patience, dedication, meticulous attention to detail, generosity and professional expertise are my navigation beacons. Thank you.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

I literally have no idea how to respond appropriately to these words. My late-wife told me that when I get overwhelmed and lost for words, I should just say thank you, and mean it. I do. Thank you.

[@felixespana2004]

you are a true master. thank you from Chile 🇨🇱

[@royhornyak8596]

I am a new follower, and I think I will have to watch all of your videos, very interesting

[@gerdt.7106]

You show us great videos. Very helpful.

[@Namaste..]

Just happened to stumble upon your light diffuser video; enjoyed it so much I decided to waste another 45 minutes and watch another! Very informative. Brilliant delivery; very entertaining to watch! Liked it so much that you’ve got yourself another subscriber. You’re well on your way to a half million viewers! Best of luck👍

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thank you! Appreciate the kind words! Welcome aboard.

[@enriquediaz8939]

Hi Allan!! Good to see you again in this magnificent instructional video, I told my wife that time flies by watching your videos and I also learn a lot with you about this wonderful world of macro photography. Thank you very much Allan! I will continue every day watching one of your videos.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thank you Enrique! I'm glad you are enjoying the videos!

[@BADTUNES100]

thanks Allen for all your help , I do appreciate it ..!

[@ForevermoreVibe]

I really enjoyed this, thanks so much.

[@photo_dee_jay]

I love your movies and your sense of humour :) keep it up!

[@weekendwanderer5514]

Really comprehensive--thanks for posting. Have been enjoying all of your vids. I've become somewhat obsessed with macro and have been putting together an indoor rig so that I can still use my camera gear during the long New York Winter when it's tough to get out. Got a lot of great ideas out of this!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thank you! It doesn't ever get that cold down here, but I still do a lot more studio work when the days are short.

[@billgordon4423]

You Cracked Me Up.😂 Really enjoyed watching this video. Thanks!

[@davidhefner5668]

Polymer clay, found at your hobby store, makes a good base for holding pins. I bought black. You can also push a flower stem into it.

[@FredWilbury]

Thanks for this ..... wonderful

[@kevinseddon6860]

Wonderful stuff as always mate! Love the content

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Cheers Kevin!

[@SomeGuyInSandy]

Nice video! I sent a link to my first macro / stack in the adapter video. Except for moving the slider too much it turned out better than I thought it could. It helps to have good instruction!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Excellent! I'll check it out right away. There is so much cool stuff that we can do with macro photography, I'm surprised more people don't get hooked into it!

[@ammoalamo6485]

I am a bit ahead of your beginner stuff, but not by much. Your tech looks great to me. Now I need subjects, dead insects to be specific, and I can't find the book I recently downloaded about the care of insect specimens. Anyone recall the name of that book? It's supposed to be famous. BTW, where has Live View been all my Macro life? Man do I love what you can do with LV!

[@grahamleigh8398]

That was hilarious. Buffalo Clip. 😂

[@jeffg6924]

If you use lithium grease on the platform, it makes adjustments silky smooth.

[@ammoalamo6485]

Also, some older bellows use nylon bloccks for friction-less slides. Pentax's last few Bellows, Auto Bellows I and II, Bellows K, I think all had the nylon blocks for easier sliding. The K-mount male and female attachment bits front and rear can be replaced with T-mount standards, and from there Nikon or Canon manual focus or most any setup can be arranged. I don't know if the Nikon bellows allows for this. Spiratone made two 160mm Bellows, one with elaborate tilt-and-shift arrangement, but the geared tracks are not nearly as accurate as the Pentax model Bellows with the nylon blocks, which are my only other bellows for comparison.

[@abrahamgebru8919]

Thank you Allan.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

My pleasure, Abraham!

[@mgraham416]

The Macro comedy hour. Lol

[@khalidnaveedRWP]

Hi You are great really great. I am totally amateur and a poor photographer, my apologies. Nikon D3400 may not be used with remote control. To overcome the problem the Nikon SnapBridge application must be installed on a compatible smart device like smartphone, before it can be used with this camera, that will work as a remote control device, as well. Thanks a lot.

[@jdcoverland365]

Loved the video. 18/03/2020, found several adjustable tables on eBay the cheapest is USD $12.90,with free shipping, you have to look as others were $25.00-69.00 so scroll around

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thanks Dave. I would be cautious selecting the lab lifter - make sure you get one with a nice heavy base and a smooth mechanism. I have a cheap one and a slightly more expensive one, and the latter is so much easier to work with.

[@aomedina3844]

201..... just another 499,999 subscribers to go.

[@tombarnes7889]

hello from across the pond iv enjoyed watching your you tube channel can you recement a good beginners text book for macro ? many thanks tom

[@ashstubbings2603]

I've already edited my previous comment (twice!) so I thought I'd just write another! Blu-Tac! I'm so glad you mentioned Blu-Tac, because I absolutely swear by it! for all sorts of purposes! (But I won't go into that! LOL)

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Ashley! Sorry I missed your comment. For some reason my blu-tac is white - but you are right, it is one of the most useful accessories out there!

[@redeyedloon3922]

Did you make the vaping coils?

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

I sure did. I've been building coils for years.

[@redeyedloon3922]

@@AllanWallsPhotography I got nosy and had a look on IG some brilliant work man 👍

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

@@redeyedloon3922 Thanks! I'm glad you found those old posts.

[@ashstubbings2603]

So how much did you manage to get for the two children you sold? Or would that be telling?! LOL Oh, and by the way, one of the major differences between you and I, is that I WILL buy new stuff and smash it up! LOL

[@skakdosmer]

Allan, but don’t you know you’re not supposed to say “slave” flash? Ooh, politically very incorrect!! A few months ago I bought a Canon flash (I got a bargain on the 470ai which can change angle on its own which I find quite amusing. And potentially it might turn out to be useful, who knows). In the manual it's no longer “master” and “slave” mode as in earlier models, but “transmitter” and “receiver”. I don’t know who could possibly feel offended by the old terms, but apparently someone has complained......

[@realfnneato3111]

makes me laugh thinking about people continuing to watch something they dont like and making themselves more and more upset

[@skakdosmer]

Allan, for a “budget” setup it seems we’re recommended to spend money on a lot of little gadgets and other stuff. Foam board is not inexpensive where I live. It may not cost a fortune, but more than enough to make me think there must be cheaper ways! How about cardboard? We get everything in cardboard boxes these days, so that's free. If necessary you can cover it with a sheet of printer paper. And your little metal “table” that you can screw up and down looks very fancy, but my immediate thought is, why not just stack a few books to get to the right height? And some of your Do It Yourself stuff has required the use of various tools. Now, an old man like me has all these tools, but young people may not have any. Nor can they necessarily afford to buy them. So that’s not very budget oriented. Now, your homemade flash diffuser is more in line with my way of thinking, but as far as I know, nobody in my country sells milk in jugs. And I've seen other macro photographers (Thomas Shahan for one) using DIY diffusers that obviously must have required less work, and seem to work well anyway. It seems to me that you often like to choose the long and complicated way over the short an easy one, just because it looks more interesting. I fully respect that attitude, but it may not be for everyone.

[@ficklefox2171]

I’ve got to say while I appreciate that you took the time The time to comment in such a detailed manner, it seems like you’re going out of your way to nitpick at - speaking as someone who is currently homeless and definitely in the budget oriented category - rather inconsequential and/or malleable details that are only in accessory to the main point. You see, Allen is simply speaking from what he knows using his environment and his collective past experiences. How would he possibly know the average value in your country when neither he nor anyone reading these comments knows what country you’re from in the first place, even still? The fact of the matter is is over here in the states and most western countries some board can be had for maybe 20 -80 cents for giant panels of it. You see what happens, though? From within your circumstances, where that is not tenable, you took the point he was conveying and applied it in another way; thus your idea of printer paper and cardboard as an alternative was born. He got the point across, he explained it patiently and in great detail, not to mention in a very approachable, humorous way. By your own admission, you understood the purpose that the foamboard was to serve. The point wasn’t to acquire foamboard; the POINT was to redirect and indeed tame your direct-light sources in a way that benefits your macro photography. I know this comment was from quite a while ago, but the idea that someone would go to such great lengths to try and demean and almost insinuate arrogance in Allen’s teaching simply offends me. I had to comment. Allan, you are a treasure in the realm of macro photography; don’t you ever stop doing what you do. 🤓. 📷🔬🔍🐝🐛🦟🕷

[@omss704]

mate you speak to much sorry I was following you but thats to much