Macro

I have always been drawn to macro photography. It is fascinating with details of bugs and plants AND you can find a plethora of interesting things to shoot just around your house.

My previous camera had a really good dedicated macro on the lens – and that is probably the only thing I miss about that camera. But I found some extension rings that make a cheap alternative.

I read an blog post where five really good macro photographers gave there tips and it was interesting how little they stessed anything technical – they all seemed to have a DIY approach to it. The most common tip from these five was to shoot early in the morning – bugs are not as active or resting, and they often are covered in dew drops.

Another thing was the flash – to get a diffused light – and they talked about tube shaped diffusers. I googled “macro photo flash diffuser” and found some shapes that I wanted to try to DIY.

I tried all combinations of the extension rings and quickly found that the 21 mm will be the one I use the most – it has a clear effect on how close the lens can be to the subject but not too close, approximately 4 cm. The full length (47 mm) gets to approximately 1 cm distanse to the object which, under right conditions, are cool but would probably need a tripod and subjects that are not moving.

With all rings there is a possibility for great detail but it requires planned conditions. The wasp was dead so I could pose it and take my time – there are some shots where the structure in the eye is wisible.