Jeremy and I went camping this past weekend at Whitewater State Park in Southeastern Minnesota. We awoke early on Saturday to the warm morning light, grabbed our cameras, and set out on a pre-breakfast hike. Every time I shoot photos I use the lens I’ve been learning on, but this time a good friend of mine borrowed me her macro lens, a Tamron F2.8 90MM.
I haven’t had much of an interest in macro photography and to my surprise I enjoyed the abstractions the lens enabled me to capture and found myself falling in love with the intimacy I had with each subject. It was awesome to see the world through this magnifying glass and I was speechless at the beauty.
So what suggestions can a beginner macro photographer offer you?
- Be patient – especially if it’s a breezy morning!
- Keep your arms close to your body to reduce camera shake
- When you have your shot lined up take a deep breath to help yourself relax and then snap the photo on the exhale. I found that when I tensed up, I would shake more and since macro photography means you shoot on a magnified scale in close proximity to the subject, the chance of blur exponentially increases.
- Use a monopod or tripod for added stability. I didn’t have one, so in hindsight it’s quite obvious that I cursed my way through the first few photos I took!
- Lastly, have fun, relax, & let yourself get lost in the beauty the world reveals to you – you might be surprised at what you capture!
This adventure was more of a challenge then I anticipated and if you were lucky enough to be within earshot during the first 10 minutes of that walk you would have heard more than a few choice words uttered on my part! Frustrations aside, there is a lot of improvement that I can make, but I was proud of what I came away with. This is most certainly a type of photography that I want to challenge myself with in the coming year. Guess I better start saving for that macro lens!
~B
Me shooting macro photos at Whitewater State Park. Meadow Trail. September 2012
