Volume 17.10
Page 13
MARCH ASSIGNMENTS – TECHNIQUE: MACRO / GENRE: NATURE (FLORA)
Fritz Goro, the inventor of macro photography who passed away in 1986 in
New York, was the chief scientific and medical photographer for Life Magazine and Scientific American for 27 years. He published amazing photographs of scientific and medical breakthroughs for us to see for many years.
Simply put, macro photography is extreme close-up photography, usually of
very small subjects. By some definitions, a macro photograph is one in
which the size of the subject on the negative or image sensor is life size or
greater. If a postage stamp fills up the entire sensor with its true size, it is
said to be 1:1 magnification. If it only fills half the sensor at its closest, it is said to be 1:2, etc. Almost
any camera from a point and shoot to an expensive DSLR can take reasonably good macro photos. Practically every camera has a macro mode setting and with large file sizes and computer programs from simple Picasa to Lightroom and Photoshop, producing good enhanced close-up macros from the Sherman
Gardens and elsewhere should be possible for every PSOC member.
Macro Lenses
A true macro lens is a flat field lens, most with extra elements
added, and will have little or no field curvature or distortion at
the corners like most other lenses have at close distances. The
sharpest macro photos are taken with special lenses designed for
very close focusing with no edge distortion. For instance, the
Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 that can get as close
as 12 inches and the very affordable Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro gets you as close as 9.1 inches.
Barbara Martens
A DSLR without a macro lens can be put in Macro Mode to focus closer to the subject. In addition an inexpensive extension tube like the top rated Canon 25 mm EFII with no lens inside, only air, is only $88
on Amazon. It is fitted between the lens and the camera body, to nicely increase the possible magnification.
Special close-up lenses screw on the front of the regular lens like a filter. The Nikon AF Nikkor 10x
close-up lens in only $59.50 on the internet. In addition, you can also reverse mount your lens using special adaptors for as low as $15 from B&H Photo.
A tripod that can point almost straight down and get close to your subject will help your macro photography. Take it out before you go and practice the unusual angles you may need to use and bring along
your remote release if you have one. Also a diffuser, a reflector and a flash will come in very handy.
National Geographic has an interesting website on "How to take Macro Picture," with lots of hints and
great pictures at http://tinyurl.com/39e6fkr.
For beginners in Macro Photography, a good website is http://tinyurl.com/oqewm8c.
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Volume 17.10
Page 14
MARCH ASSIGNMENTS – TECHNIQUE: MACRO / GENRE: NATURE (FLORA)
A good complete tutorial with some excellent links is at http://tinyurl.com/kdz6jp5.
Some good information about macro lenses is available at http://tinyurl.com/kg6u8xc.
For 12 good tips on getting better macro photographs, please see http://tinyurl.com/p2chuma.
Genre assignment - Nature (flora) photography
What is nature photography?
Among those who practice the craft, there is certainly a great deal of
debate over what constitutes "true" nature photography. A few of the
most hotly contested aspects of the definition include whether an animal is "captive" or is found "in the wild," whether a species is native to
a region or was introduced by man, or whether a floral subject is cultivated or naturally occurring. Put ten photographers in a room and ask
each of them to define "nature photography" and there ís a good chance
you will be given ten different interpretations.
Marianne Cohen
(C)Jim Erhardt (http://tinyurl.com/pnzcyu9)
Nature photography refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors
and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife,
plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures. Nature photography
tends to put a stronger emphasis on the aesthetic value of the photo than other photography genres, such as photojournalism and documentary photography.
For this month's assignment, we will hopefully avoid "hotly contested
points" by embracing the broadest interpretation of nature as something that
is natural vs. man-made. With the field trip destination of Sherman Library
Carol Calkins
and Gardens on the schedule, we are narrowing that rather broad scope by
focusing on flora (or if you're a fan of Carl Linnaeus, the vegetable kingdom). Trees, grass, cacti, herbs, shrubs,
ferns, moss, worts, vines, palms, bamboo, houseplants, etc., and the things they produce like flowers, blooms and
blossoms, fruit and vegetables are all fair game - within reason. We don't want to stifle creativity, but we do encourage you to challenge yourself more than snapping pics of lettuce down at the local Ralph's.
TableTopStudio offers some specific tips for studio style plant photography (flower arrangements, bonsai and
other houseplants) at http://tinyurl.com/plpxqto.
An arts contributor at Instructables offers a good range of tips focusing mainly on lighting and composition. It
takes a bit to page through the whole presentation, but there's some good, solid information starting at
http://tinyurl.com/m8u286k.
Tips and some excellent sample photos from a professional garden shoot by Clive Nichols, one of the UK’s leading flower and garden photographers, are provided by Digital Camera World at http://tinyurl.com/m43cnxm. Be
sure to check out the other pages about the shoot via the link list at the bottom of the article.
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