A look at small wonders

Being up close and personal with nature is quite an amazing feeling. Blending it with photography can blow your mind.

With all of the awe inspiring telephoto lenses available, macro photography is often overlooked (no pun intended); but more often rewarding. That breath taking shot of a bald eagle diving into the water snaring a fish in its talons is, indeed, a great thing. What we often miss is that tiny tree frog resting in the small thorny bush in the back yard. Attaching a macro lens to your camera will change your perspective on life and nature almost immediately and immensely.

Price, simplicity, complexity, exercise, and stress relief are all benefits of macro photography. A wonderful macro lens can be quite affordable, especially compared to an equally capable telephoto lens. You can find all of the macro pictures I've taken with my new equipment here. I am using the Olympus 50mm f2.0 lens. You can find it here for $499.99. It instantly became my favorite lens when I got it for Labor Day weekend.

Macro photography can be both very simple and incredibly complex. It is simple because finding a subject is often as easy as looking around. The complexity comes with experience and it doesn't take long. Once you grasp the understanding of depth of field, the world is your oyster (a very kind woman once told me that after reading my Lost Lake article in the Muskegon Chronicle). You will begin to see everything in a new and wondrous way. You will soon find yourself thinking more dimensionally, and just as quickly realize flat you had been seeing things. New angles will scream out at you while browsing through the days shots and you will wish you had only thought of it while you were there. This will vastly increase your observation skills and patience and in so doing, improve your images as well.

Exercise is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about macro photography; however, it will soon be evident when your knees and legs hurt from a day in the backyard or in a pleasant field. This is where you will begin to notice all of the interesting things you step on each and every day. The majority of macro subjects, at least outside, will be found close to the ground or in a position which will require you to move and support your body in ways you never thought possible. Even Gumby will be jealous. You will begin exploring every flower, stump, mushroom, bush, and puddle. With all of the bending and kneeling, you will not only appreciate the incredible images you capture, but all of the exercise you're doing.

While you are totally immersed in the tiny natural world, busy leaning and bend all over the place, you will soon realize how peaceful macro photography can be. Losing track of time is not abnormal with all forms of photography. "Just one more shot." "I will leave once I can get it flying away." Or my personal favorite, "when the sun comes out and the wind stops blowing at the same time, I'll have what I need." Everyone truly interested in photography knows what I'm talking about. But, macro photography is different. It is on a whole new level. While doing telephoto work I feel like I am an observer. With macro work, I am a part of that world. Not only am I seeing everything up close, I am up close. Stress relief is a regular result of that personal connection with nature and something I hope everyone tries out. The only problem with looking close at the things around you is you might not like what you find!