August Discussion: My Love for Macro

[Julie Kenward]

If you are one of the more observant people in this world you may have noticed that I am no longer listed as one of the Macro/Flora forum moderators here at BPN. I've been thinking about making a change for awhile now and the opportunity presented itself for a new moderator in the ETL forum so I took it. I'll also be on the "Friends and Family" forum, the "Introduce Yourself" forum and the "Framing Your Image with Words" forum so don't worry - I'm still here!

I made the change for two reasons. First, I think in the 2-1/2 years that I've been with BPN most of my time has been in this forum. I started under the tutelage of Al Forns in the ETL forum and then "graduated" to the Macro/Flora forum with Robert O'Toole and Mike Moats. I was pretty new to photography at the time but Robert was a master at incamera techniques and we all know Mike can set up a shot better than all of us so I just had to throw my opinion in now and then as I learned my way around photography and the world of macro. I instantly fell in love with this genre - as Paul Lagasi said this week, "It's like a whole other world out there!" Macro photography makes the world into a magical place and it will always be one of my first loves.

But as I've grown alongside you all these past 2 years I stepped out of my macro box and bought a lens that would help me start to work on avian images. I then added the occasional landscape and architectural photo to my portfolio. I helped co-moderate the OOTB forum long ago so I got a handle on black & white and digital art photography. And now I find after almost 3 years I have a little bit of experience in a little bit of everything. With the sad departure of Al & Fabs last week it left Lance Peters alone in ETL so I volunteered to help out there if they'd have me.

I want you all to know how unbelievably proud I am of this forum and you all as photographers. If you go back and look at the progression of photographs that were submitted here 2-3 years ago and then look at what is submitted on a daily basis NOW one can hardly believe the difference in the quality of the images. I have grown from you all more than I think you've grown from me and I wanted to thank you all for that. I would not be the photographer I am today had it not been for viewing your images for as we judge, we see what is lacking in ourselves. This is true in both photography and in life.

I'll most definitely be around the Macro/Flora forum dropping in to comment and showing off my latest images but the majority of my time will be spent in my new assignment where I hope to help those who are 'eager to learn' photography so they can grow to their full potential. I leave you all in the presence of some great photographers and co-moderators so that makes it a little easier for me to make this transition.

My last topic for you in this month's discussion is this: What is it about Macro and/or Floral photography that draws you in and keeps you coming back for more? How has it changed you as a photographer into who you are today?

Thanks again, everyone. It's been a real pleasure and honor to watch you all grow.

[Ken Childs]

Good luck in your new assignment, Jules! Your critiques and suggestions have been a great help to me in the short time I've been frequenting the macro forum.

My start in macro was shooting freshwater tropical fish for an importer I worked for in Los Angeles. I was documenting many unusual and new to the industry species which was very exciting. Since I had the equipment, it was only natural to use it at home shooting small critters of all types which are things I've played with and kept since I was a small child. It always amazed me (and still does) the cool things you see when you are able to blow-up something small to many times life size. Insects especially are amazing creatures when you get in close and personal. I've lost count how many times I've heard someone say "I didn't know they had..." when looking at one of my shots.

When I finally had a place with a yard, I started gardening so of course I had to photograph any flowers I produced. Now that I think about it, I'd say that more than 99% of the flowers I've shot were ones I've grown myself or were wildflowers found growing on my property.

I keep shooting macro because good things in small packages are what I'm interested in. I know I'll never grow tired of it and I know there's always more to learn. I'll always shoot anything nature but when the warm weather arrives and I'm not busy working with the horses, you can generally find me out in the garden, looking for something cool to shoot. I can't say shooting macro has changed me as a photographer other than I've improved over the years as a photographer that shoots macro. I got into photography mainly so I could shoot macro although I didn't know it as macro at the time. :)

[Jonathan Ashton]

Jules - really sorry to see your departure as Macro Moderator - you have taught me some extremely valuable lessons in terms of composition and the use of brushes and colour modification. I hope you enjoy the other fora as much as macro.
I have had a keen interest in macro photography since early /mid 1980's I originally used a Minolta X500 and X700 with Minolta 100mm macro and I used Fuji 100 and Fuji 50 transparency film. I used to hand hold and use flash in manual mode to effectively freeze any movement and it was often difficult to get "natural lighting".

Since going digital I have had so many more opportunities to experiment and here in BPN I learned more about flash and using it in differing modes and differing power outputs. I suppose this is one of the reasons I like macro - there will always be something new to try and always plenty of subjects to photograph. To be honest digital photography and this website have become totally addictive - I just can't get enough!

The other important issue is that macro fills an important gap in the year when bird photography is not so good, and more recently I have made my mini aquaria and will now have something else to experiment with during the wet and cold winter months. My enthusiasm for macro continues to grow unabated and BPN Moderators and contributors enhance the pleasure I have gained so an especial thank you to you and I wish good luck and also a big thank you to everyone else who contributes to the Macro forum.

[Anita Bower]

I'm glad for you, Jules. Glad that you are growing and changing and accepting new challenges. That is so important.
For myself, I want to cry. The Macro and Flora forum hasn't been the same without you.

I'l post my thoughts on macro photography another day, when I've recovered from this news.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jules,
Good luck to you in ETL and the other forums!!! You help will only speed up their venture out of ETL and get them in here to us!:D You will be greatly missed but we do expect you to drop by and pay us a visit often!!!

Now for the August discussion.......for me macro offers the world of possibilities that I can photograph at any time of year. While it is true that Landscapes are my first love.......macro comes in a close second! I love macro because it has no seasons! If i'm snowed in or it's dreary outside.....i go buy my wife some flowers and photograph them! The extra added bonus is that it makes her day that much brighter......even if it is just an e-mail of one I just photographed! I feel macro forces me to slow down and look at the subject closely.......this opens my eyes to things that I may miss in the other branches of photography that I do! It keeps me sharp when I have no grand vista, birds, or animals to shoot.......makes me look for the smaller scene or subject. Now when it comes to bugs......I'm a big kid at heart!!! I love finding those little critters and seeing them like I have never before! Butterflies are just flying flowers.......who doesn't love them!!! Slowing down and looking is a luxury most of us don't have or have lost with our busy liffestyles.......macro only brings that back to us and allows us to enjoy the world and lose ourselves in the simple and often overloooked.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Jules, I'm sorry to see you leave as a moderator, but I can imagine you're up for a new challenge! In my opinion, there's no better way to learn than to teach, so you're up for a lot of learning! Hope to see you around here every now and again.

My love for macro began during my ecology study. I specialized in soil ecology and the first time I gazed down a microscope to see what inhabited a handful of dirt, I was sold. Here were the most crazy creatures I had ever seen, and species I had never heard of. Did you know that there's a creature called a pseudoscorpion, which basically looks like a 2 mm tailless scorpion, and that it's actually very common on most forest floors? That's the kind of stuff that makes my heart beat faster (don't blame me, I'm an ecologist:o). As the others have pointed out, meeting the unexpected and entering an unknown world everytime you pick up your macrolens is still my main motivation! And as for photographing flowers: they're beautiful and they don't run away! Need I say more?

[Anita Bower]

What draws me into macro photography are the new worlds I discover when I look through my lens. Worlds of hidden beauty, shape, color, form, pattern. They can take my breath away. I want to capture them, but it is hard to get on a flat surface the special something that I have discovered. Trying to do so is what keeps me coming back.

Another factor is that macro photos can be representative or abstract or somewhere in between. I enjoy the breadth this allows.

Then there is my love of flowers, and my hobby of growing them. Those factors alone would keep me taking macro and floral photos.

I like photographing close to home, indoors and out. I like not having to have a lot of expensive equipment.

Practicing macro photography has made me more observant. I choose flowers to grow based, in part, on photographing them. I suspect macro photography has played a role in keeping me a photographer. I might have lost interest or not been as involved otherwise. I like photographing alone and I don't like traveling, so macro and floral fit nicely with my personality.

[Julie Kenward]

Excellent answer, everyone! I love finding out the motivations behind why we do what we do and you all gave some lovely, heartfelt answers. Thank you for taking the time to answer and thank you for all your suggestions and help over the past 2 years. Now get out there and get shooting!!! :D

[Jay Sheinfield]

Julie,

Congrats on your new role as ETL Moderator. Although I have only been posting for a few months, I have learned so much. I expect to learn so much more.

I have always enjoyed floral and close up work. What keeps me coming back, is the realization that it's the small things that can make a world of difference...........in photography and in life. Beauty and interest is all around us, not far at all. You just have to look.
I have learned to look at things in a different way. To focus more, and see the attraction of a subject as if it were in a frame. Most importantly, I have learned to slow it down. There are photographs everywhere, just waiting to be taken.

Thank you for your guidance along the way. I always looked forward to your feedback. You have a way about you that mixes personality with encouragement.

You go girl!

See ya on ETL.

Jay

[Steve Maxson]

Hey Jules - we're going to miss you as a regular here at Macro. Your words of advice and encouragement have been very helpful to us all in this forum.

My reasons for shooting macro are similar to those stated by everyone above - they are just better at articulating those reasons than I am. :)

Have fun at ETL!