Macro Photography

Grape Hyacinth

I find April to be the most frustrating month for landscape photography; the trees are still bare and yet there's no snow left (thankfully). It's largely a month characterized by myriad shades of brown and gray. Out of desperation this is when I break out my macro lens and hit the backyard.

Close-up photos of flowers is not my favorite subject, and I usually avoid making them. I've been doing this photography thing for many years now, and it's partly a case of "been there, done that". It's also a subject that's been overdone, to say the least, and unless it's done well tends to be cliche'. There are those photographers who excel at it, however, Stephen Gingold being one of them.

A macro lens is a must for those interested in close-up photography, its versatility opens up a world of possibilities and the potential for more original photographs. A macro lens allows the photographer to get much closer to the subject than  with a regular lens, thereby enabling an exploration of detail that would otherwise not be possible. For example, the flowering portion of the grape hyacinth is in reality a little over an inch tall, but in these photographs appears much larger. When coupled with a shallow depth of field (the range of distance in the photo that appears sharp) the results can be striking.

www.chrismurrayphotography.com

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