Desert flower!

Well, my exploration into Close Up and Macro Photography has begun in a big way!  Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun!

Rob Sheppard begins his book on Macro Photography this way, “…This truly is a different world for most people and most photographers.  When you and your camera get in close to things, what you discover can be amazing, unique, and remarkable.  We simply don’t usually spend time looking at most things around us with a close-up point of view.”  A few pages later, Rob describes this paradox, “By going small, you can go big, very big.  How is that possible?  By getting in close to the small things, that smaller majority, we actually see more of the beauty of the world.  The world becomes a bigger place!”

Not only am I developing a new view of the world, I’m developing a new set of photography skills as well.  Depth of field (DOF) is very different when you’re working in close.  Shoot a landscape at a small aperture opening and DOF goes for miles.  Shoot a flower at a small aperture and DOF is measured in centimeters and fractions of inches.  Hand held shooting is possible, but keep your expectations low.  The definition of ‘good light’ takes on a whole new meaning, however.  For example, mid-day light is very harsh and unforgiving to the landscape photographer and gives me fits when shooting wildlife.  Go for the small subjects, and mid-day light can be your friend.  For me, Macro and Close Up brings a new set of challenges, but it reinforces the same basic photography concepts by forcing me to use them in a different way.

Enough technical talk for now – let’s get to some pictures!

I found this little fella’ working our new Catmint in the backyard.

My lovely bride likes it cropped a lot closer…thoughts?

This is a Macro of a Rose in our backyard. I gotta say, I’m putting fewer miles on the PHOTORANGER since the flowers in the yard are blooming!

Red Hot Poker just starting to bloom. When it’s fully bloomed, the tips are red and the rest of the bloom is yellow. This is one of my favorite plants!

We found this California Poppy at Topaz Lake. One of my few successful hand held macro shots!

On the Thornless Hawthorne in our backyard. These flowers are gone now.

When I started being serious about Macro, I rented a Macro lens and went looking for subjects. I drove Monitor Pass and found these beautiful flowers. Don’t ask me what they are – they’re just pretty!

This is a Peony from our back yard. I made multiple exposures and merged them in Photomatix. With our flowers, that’s always dangerous because the wind moves everything. I got lucky this time!

I found this Peony at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park.

Not a Macro – a Close Up! This is a headlight on a 1927 Willys Knight that I saw at a car show over the weekend. This is an HDR image processed in Photomatix.

Well, it hasn’t all been Macros and Close Ups.  I took a ride with my old retired guy ATV group the other day.  We drove east of Carson City to Silver Springs, then south towards Fort Churchill.  Just south of Buckland Station, we turned left into the high desert and unloaded the ATVs.  A short 11 miles later, we arrived at Hooten Well and took a break.

This is a panorama looking west towards Cleaver Peak. The desert is green, but it was a very hot and dusty ride!

Cleaver Peak with remains of one of the stone structures in the foreground.

Our ultimate destination was Salt Cave.  Native Americans used them for shelter and decorated the ceilings.

…and I had to shoot them in Macro…yes, I need to work on my DOF and focusing…

My plan is to continue to be up close and personal for a while, with the occasional landscape and panorama.  HDR is a great tool, and I’m getting more comfortable with it.

For my LinkedIn friends, please consider endorsing me for Digital Photography.  Thanks in advance!

Until next time – Enjoy!  PHOTOROGR