Extreme macro

This is the eye of a tokay gecko photographed during my annual frog and reptile workshop held in Kansas City. This has to be the most unique and intriguing eye in the animal kingdom. I took the picture with a 50mm macro lens plus 2 extension tubes. This image is uncropped; the extension tubes increase magnification. The working distance -- the distance between the eye and the front of the lens -- was about one inch. I used the smallest lens aperture available to me which was f/32, and the shutter speed of 1/160 didn’t affect the exposure but was chosen because it synchronized with the opening and closing of the shutter. Focusing with this kind of magnification is a little tricky. Since I was hand holding the camera, the slightest movement of the gecko, which changed the subject-to- lens distance, meant the eye would go out of focus. So, I didn’t use autofocus. Instead, I moved back and forth with subtle movements and tripped the shutter when perfect focus had been achieved.