Nice! I only wish I could sit or lay while taking a shot. Since moving south I’ve discovered the joy of chiggers and seem to be a supper chigger/tick magnet. It’s my superpower. How do you avoid them? If I could keep them off me I’d love to sit or lay down for shots. As per the knees, that’s becomes a real challenge since what I like to shot is usually low lying. I think I found some good advice here for that issue though.
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Maybe there’s a repellent against them? Here there’re some strong things that work for months on your clothes, but we only have regular ticks.
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For ecological reasons I try to disturb the places where I am shooting as little as possible. I actually usually shoot from a path and am happy with the results of my photo tours. Those border habitats are often very species dense. I am not usually going deeper into meadows, forests ect. away from existing paths. Since I follow this routine my encounter with ticks went waaaay down… I also seem to be kind of a tick magnet actually, had several during my life now. I recall one student excursion into a forest were I came out having 17 tiny ticks someone had to pull off of me afterwards… one other person had 3. All others did have none… … now I did not have any ticks since quite a while.
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Use your muscles more while taking pictures! You can remove a lot of pressure from your joints by actively supporting them with muscle tension. That’s exhausting at first and takes some getting used to. But once I had gotten used to it, my problem regions (knees, spine) didn’t interfere that much any more. (And my muscles improved, too.)
Note: when the muscle tension goes on for too long, the trembling starts which isn’t good for taking pictures. But it is a learning/training curve.
In general this is not a new idea: supporting your joints by improving your muscular system. And since we photographers need to keep still, the best way to train muscles for this purpose may be Yoga (Hatha Yoga: body posture training - you assume a position and then keep it up for some time without motion).
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Try one of the sprays on your clothes that repells pests.
I spray three sets of clothing. The trick as getting enough product on each item. It seems to last pretty well. Even through laundry.
I still spray my exposed parts, arms, neck, face before heading out. My “summer scent” is DEET. I live in mid-Michigan. My first tick bite this year was in mid-April.
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Not that I have anything figured out on my end, but I agree with the other posters here; for the most part they’re offering great advice.
I guess I could add that, in my experience, getting familiar with your gear is critical. Whether that gear cooperates is also critical. If the environment isn’t always going to produce ‘the perfect shot’, you could be there for hours trying to get something that isn’t gonna happen, and you’d feel it regardless. That said, if you have a bit of an awareness of some environmental things your gear doesn’t operate well with, you may have to choose to skip it, or manipulate the environment some way. That’s where the lighting and exposures and the like would come in… I have a few spots in the woods that I will sometimes stash stuff for another day when the phone won’t cooperate and I need the conditions to improve; or just be different, or a variety of other reasons. One of these spots is an old cedar log that comes up to waist level. I will usually bring a lichen or two over there to save or to shoot as there is a bit of cover for indirect light, a stable surface and it doesn’t require too much physical effort to work the photo out. I would recommend starting out with things that don’t move much or at all too. Placing an edge of the camera or phone against a stationary surface to rock the image into focus is a good trick and using that method with familiarity with your stuff should cut down the time invested. Handkerchiefs help to keep the stuff clean(ish), as I’ll usually put the hanky on the log or rock and then my phone on it… sometimes a piece of plastic/Zip-lock if it’s wet out.
I don’t use a tripod and only shoot on a regular iPhone 12 so my experience is very limited.
I also have a variety of injuries that I have collected over the years, so pain is a daily thing on my end regardless. A different angle, but I was looking at my methods and efficiency was kind of a thing that needed some attention.
-When you do hit it big with your “Yoga for Photographers” publications, please don’t forget about us.
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I recommend this clip-on lens:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TPLKT7D/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?encoding=UTF8&aaxitk=8dbbbde1ef97eba7d1f14c60f417b51b&content-id=amzn1.sym.53aae2ac-0129-49a5-9c09-6530a9e11786%3Aamzn1.sym.53aae2ac-0129-49a5-9c09-6530a9e11786&hsa_cr_id=8716100690801&pd_rd_plhdr=t&pd_rd_r=ec2e534a-bbe6-43d5-836c-6506319d2ab6&pd_rd_w=5vbQ7&pd_rd_wg=U4l1J&qid=1655062698&ref=sbx_be_s_sparkle_mcd_asin_0_title&sr=1-1-a094db1c-5033-42c6-82a2-587d01f975e8&th=1
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Thanks Susan! Looks great.
How do you find working with that focal distance? Do you get a lot of spook-'n -fly reactions?
I’m seriously thinking of going the smartphone for all my macro stuff, and I have a 30x pont-and-shoot for distance zooming. Lugging larger cameras and lenses is proving too much for my mobility (and pleasure) in the field. And now I think setup speed, small size flexibility and quick capture trumps waiting for a lucky shot op for the heavier setup.
I mean the close-up auto focus on my phone, even without a clip lens, is 90% of the way there for almost everything but a good tele-zoom.
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Hahaha you have accurately described my life. 
I have a horrible right hip drop issue that has led to constant annoying pain in my hip. I’m super stubborn and really want those mushroom pics, so just continue with my squatting and shooting. PT and Dr’s have not helped, I think I might have a genetic hip malformation… As long as it returns to normal baseline pain in 3 days I consider that a success and continue to do what I’m currently doing…
Like i said, I’m pretty stubborn (and lazy)…
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Yeah, I’ve heard of those. I should probably get a couple of outfits and just designate them for iNat walks so I can spay those with the long lasting stuff. Believe me you would never want to experience chiggers. They are known in the area as no-see-ums because they are so tiny they are invisible. When they bite me (maybe I get an especially bad reaction) I get insanely itchy tiny blisters. I believe they must travel in packs like ravenous wolves, lol because when I get them I get a bunch.
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I think I’ll try that. It seems like my best bet so far and it can’t hurt. I’ve got a new iNat shirt - that will be my first spray designated shirt.
I can usually use that clip-on macro lens on things that are not easily spooked. For spookier things I capture them in a plastic Petri dish and then photograph them.
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I don’t have much more to add, except that I have found a 55-250 mm lens enables me to get decent photos of most insect, which I enlarge (using Windows 7 Office software!). The pictures are decent. I don’t photograph anything microscopic. I found that using Macro extensions often resulted in no target, or one that was clear in the foreground, but blurry further out.
@williampaulwhite17 You may be experiencing ‘othostatic hypotension’ - lower blood pressure when you stand up. Nothing serious, but to get a DX, sitting and standing blood pressures!
@susanhewitt I took to wearing elbow and knee pads when I rode my bike in the winter. I’ve got the bone scars from too many wipe outs! Didn’t help me this winter when I slipped on some ice, wound up with a fluid blister 2 cm x 2cm and probably a cracked or chipped bone that is only stopped hurting now. Elbow worked, so what the hell!
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When you say ‘capture’, are you talking about nets and such?
I always tuck! Shirts tucked into pants and pants tucked into socks (spray some socks too!). I usually wear boots, but when it’s too hot I do wear shoes. I still tuck my pant legs in, fashion not in mind. Really helps keep those crawling somebodies out of my clothes.
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I have that. I call it the giraffe effect. Give me a moment … okay, keep going.
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Yes, it’s not life threatening, and I don’t think there is any treatment except what you have outlined!
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I can sometimes capture a flying insect by closing a plastic petri dish around it while it is settled on a flower.
But sometimes I have to use a child’s butterfly net to catch a flying insect. However, then I usually transfer it from the net into a clear plastic four-ounce jar.
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I have no problem sitting, kneeling or lying down when needed thanks to cheap, very comfy oversize trousers with lots of pockets and especially slots on the knees that one can slide kneepads in (normal folks would wear this type of gear in a workshop, I wear it on top of everything else to crawl around). I also never use a tripod.
However, my problem is the extra effort and time now required to get up again afterwards. I am seriously considering taking along a monopod now for those places where I know I won’t find a tree or pole to hold on to to pull myself up – brambles make very poor supports, they can be a real pain, I tell you. ;-).
A monopod can also be used for support when coming down a slippery slope (going up is easy, down is another matter). For dragonflies and butterflies, it also comes in handy to rest the camera and telephoto lens on – long lenses are a great way to get close-up views while standing upright. Not quite macro, I know, but much more flexible and a lot quicker to re-deploy and to rock back and forth for focus. The most comfortable mode is using a long lens in combination with a folding chair though. Just sit still, and the critters come closer by themselves. :-)
As for ticks and the like, Neem oil may be kinda smelly but works great to keep insects away. I use long trousers and long sleeves even in summer, and DEET repellant on exposed skin, mainly neck and ears – not on my hands, though, I don’t want that stuff on my camera and lens. IF there really ARE biting insects that go for my hands, I have a pair of thin gloves in one of the trouser pockets.
I envy all of you who manage to take photos with a smartphone. I can’t see a thing on those screens, especially in bright light. I really need a viewfinder.
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A longer macro lens is so much easier. I first had a 40 mm and had to be so close to an object to get the 1:1 photo. I now have a 105mm macro and it is a delight although it is not light (3 or 4x the weight of the 40mm).
I often use knee pads. When backpacking I sometimes use just one pad.
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