Macro Photography

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Macro Photography

(Close-up)

     Macro photography or close-up photography simply means taking photos of small items and magnifying them to a large size. When you photograph an item to on the CCCD or camera sensor to be the same size as in real life, it is said to be a 1:1, expresses as a ratio. A 2:1 would mean that the image-capture was 2x or twice as big as the original. A 1:2 would mean that the image-capture is 1/2 of the original size.

   In the BDE era (before digital era) manufacturers would manufacture what is called a bellows.  A bellows is like what you see on an accordion. It has threads both in the front and back. The back threads attach to the camera, while the front lens allow for a lens to be attached. I checked the Canon site since I use canon DSLR's, and they no longer make these items. In the BDE era, they were not that popular in the sense of selling lots of them. However, the good news is that there are 3rd party manufacturers that make bellow. I would stop by your local pro shop to see if they sell them before I would buy one on e-Bay. You'll be able to try it out, and the photo shop will assist you with your choice.

   Today, in the DE (Digital Era), you have 2 choices:

1. Buy a special lens called appropriately a "macro lens". This allows you to move very close to small subjects and get them in focus.

2. Buy threaded optical glass that are usually called "close-up filters". This allows you to get close to your subjects also and get them in focus. This choice is the less-expensive choice. 

   The better choice is the macro lens, but if you don't want to spend lots of money then don;t bother. For a hobby or most of your needs, the close-up filters will do. These filters come in different mm diameters depending on which lens that you want to use with them. They also come is sets of +1, +2, and +3. These +1 to +3 allows you to get closer to the subject as the numerical value increases.

  The Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro Lens

I took all of the photos below with this lens

     Except for the airplane close-up, it's 9" (225mm), and the yellow car which is 5" (125mm) long, all of the other toys are no larger than 4" (100mm). What's fascinating about macro photography, especially nature photography (insects, flowers, etc.) is that  you are able to capture detail that you normally can't see with your eyes. There's a whole new world out there, waiting to be discovered.

    However, macro photography is not for everyone. It's "regimented" in the sense that it's slower and not "focus and shoot". You need good weather conditions (lots of light, faster shutter speed,and no wind). You need a tripod and a remote cable or shutter release, and even flashed that can fit off-camera and be triggered by remote. You can also purchase what is called a "flash ring" that fits over the lens. The reason for this is that in the macro world, you're lens may be as close as an inch. As such the built in flash of your DSLR will not light up the subject in front of the lens!

   It's hard to focus on close-ups.

What I do is move my lights very close to the subject and:

1. Use the stop-down depth-of-field previewer on your camera. ZThis will allopw you to check the focus at small apertures such as f 11.

2. Also, I use Asian (in the case below it's Chinese writing) with a dry spray adhesive mounted on thin cardboard as my focussing aids.

F 8

 F 11

F 16

F 22

F 32

     The above series of 5 identical images shows how the depth-of-field is increased (gets more in focus) as you stop down or close down the f-stop. However, even at f-32, the focus is "soft" slightly at the rear bumper.

    There are lens tables that you probably can find on the net that will inform you where to focus to maximize the depth-of-field. I would simply tell you this: For macro photography focus in halfway form the front to the back of the subject. This is a "90% effective" way to maximize out the focus. However sometimes, you might have to alter the focus from the "halfway point".

   One more thing. I forgot to inform you why I use the Asian writing. The answer is that it is made up of fine lines with good contract (black on white). As such, the focus is much easier than trying to focus on the smooth surfaces of the red car.

  On e other thing - use dry glue. Why? I used a wet carpenter's glue above. AS such, the moisture (water) in the glue will cause the thin cardboard to curve inwards or buckle. In the macro world, even a few mm can put your focus off. I'll try and wait for the glue to dry, and then I'll place the pieces under a weigh to flatten them out.

Have a good morning, a pleasant afternoon, or good evening wherever you are.