Photography Blog

My Photography – Covid-19 made me go Macro

One Glass Marble in Macro

A praying mantis on two fingers

In previous posts, I indicated a number of times that I had a definite preference for close-up, in your face, snap-and-run photography.

Covid-19 and Macro Photography

I must have mellowed since then, or maybe, the Covid-19 social distancing rules have had a moderating effect on me. In the last few weeks, I have started experimenting with and exploring the world of macro photography.

So - What is Macro Photography?

Simply put, macro photography starts where close-up photography ends, and macro photography ends where micro-photography begins. Technically, in macro photography there is a need for some special equipment.

Reversing Ring & Extension Tubes

Either

• Close-up filters they are like screw-on magnifying glasses for a lens. They create unwanted color problems like “fringing” or chromatic aberration. I would class them the worst possible choice.
• A reversing ring, also known as a reversing adapter, is a very affordable piece of equipment that allows one to use a regular lens mounted on the camera in reverse.
• Macro-photography extension tubes, these tubes are hollow, without any optical elements inside - therefore relatively cheap. They fit between the lens and camera body and work by extending the distance between the sensor and lens – thus reducing the lens’ minimum focusing distance and increasing the size of the image on the sensor.


Extension Bellows

• Extention Bellows, work exactly like extension tubes. Their advantage is that they provide a continuous range of magnification possibilities without changing lenses or tubes. Their main disadvantage; they are cumbersome, relatively heavy – not something to carry around on a field trip.
• Macro lenses – they are a bit pricier than revers rings or extention tubes, but they have the advantage of greater flexibility. A good, mid-range lens will allow a greater working distance from the subject (quite advantageous if photographing insects or objects that you don’t want to get real close to). A working distance from the front of the lens is about 30 to 60 cm.

Nikon-Nikkor-AF-S-105mm-Macro-Lens

My choice was a Nikon AF-S Micro NIKKOR 105mm with a (healthy) Minimum Focus Distance of 31.4 cm

So armed with my trusted camera, the macro lens, a tripod and a borrowed flash – I started experimenting.

The problems encountered immediately were:

1. Depth of field. The closer I got to the subject, the shallower the depth of field, the harder to focus property. However, the lack of depth of field has an advantage on the final product – if done properly, only the subject is in focus, all distractions are blurred.
2. Most shots – so far – were with the aid of a tripod and remote shutter release. I am still training to get good shots with a hand-held camera.

I am still improving my macro skills (at home, controlled lighting and no wind). Soon, I will test myself with a less controlled environment outdoors.

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