Mike Moats

Tiny Landscapes

Equipment

Fuji S5 Pro Digital SLR 
Fuji S3 Pro Digital SLR
Tamron 60mm Macro Lens
Tamron 90mm Macro lens
Sigma 180mm  Macro Lens
Lensbaby Composer
Lensbaby G3
Acratech  “Ultimate Ballhead”
Feisol,  carbon fiber tripod CT-3372
Velbon Macro Rail

11 Comments »

  1. What model Bogen tripod do you suggest.
    Most interesting photos.
    Thank you,
    Bob Broder

    Comment by Bob Broder | November 1, 2007 | Reply

  2. Hey Bob, I use a Bogen model 3221, it runs about $180.00.

    Comment by Mike Moats | November 1, 2007 | Reply

  3. Hi Mike,

    I am thinking about buying a 180 Macro Lens for my Sony Alpha 100. I saw now that you are owning the Tamron and the Sigma Lens. What is your experience with these two lenses. Which one would you prefer if you had to choose between them both?

    A second question. At a workshop at Rei you showed us your photo veste. Unfortunately I have forgotten what brand it was. Could you provide me the brandname of it?

    Thank you in advance. Your pictures are amazing :-)

    Andreas

    Comment by Andreas Freund | January 1, 2008 | Reply

  4. BEAUTIFUL work! I love to look at your colors and clarity and artful depictions of nature. I am a music teacher in northern California (extreme north) and do photography on the side. I found your name while looking for BEST magazine contest rules.I do a lot of backpacking in the Trinity Alps and South Sierra when I can (12 lbs. of the pack is my camera gear). I so much am wanting to know more about processing my photos with a little more affect for some that I want to add a more artsy feel. I love to do all my own Photoshopping, printing, etc., but would love it even more if you could tell me a bit about some of your processing where you give them more “punch”. Do you use any Photoshop filters, etc.? Thanx so much, ~ judi

    Comment by Judi | January 11, 2008 | Reply

  5. Hey Andreas, Either lens will work fine for you.

    Comment by Mike Moats | January 11, 2008 | Reply

  6. Hey Judi, I use Photoshop Elements 2.0. I just do some sharpening, boost the color saturation, and boost the contrast, and thats about it. Some times a clone tool is needed to eliminate any small imprefection.

    Comment by Mike Moats | January 11, 2008 | Reply

  7. Hey Mike,

    I love your work, especially your more abstract close-ups. I see from your response to Judi that you use Photoshop Elements 2.0. Is that sufficient to get the black background effect when you’re isolating a backlit weed, for example? I’m wondering whether Elements (the current 6.0 version) is all I need as opposed to the full-blown Photoshop (I’m not a techie type).

    I’ve shot transparency film for years and have lots of special images on slides. I bought the lower-priced Nikon slide scanner – so that will be my first step. I’ve read that it’s important to calibrate one’s monitor before doing any editing. Do you use a monitor calibration software/hardware device you can recommend?

    Thanks,
    Lori

    Comment by Lori | February 17, 2008 | Reply

  8. Hey Lori,
    All my images are processed using Elements 2.0 which ia an outdated program but it work fine for simple processing. You don’t need the full blown PS, the Elements 6.0 or what ever its up to now will work excellent for what you need.

    Comment by Mike Moats | February 17, 2008 | Reply

  9. I congratulate you Mike on your achievements. Your posts on BPN are A Class Act…I too am working on my own web site. It will probably be up and running in about two weeks. I will be posting in the Macro and Flora section tonight. Once again I commend you…

    Comment by Gus Cobos | June 6, 2008 | Reply

  10. Thanks Gus, looking forward to seeing all your future posts at BPN. Let me know when your site is up, and I’ll put a link from my blog to your site.

    Comment by Mike Moats | June 6, 2008 | Reply

  11. Mike:
    What first attracted me to your site was your gorgeous photos. More recently, I’ve noticed that you are not one to buy a lot of unnecessary equipment, which appeals to me very much.

    So, I pose a question. Does it matter what computer monitor one uses? Are the regular LCD ones just as good at the more expensive Apple Cinema ones and others like that?

    Thanks,
    Anita Bower

    Comment by Anita Bower | December 10, 2008 | Reply


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