Macro photography
For the last few weeks I’ve been borrowing two macro lenses from a friend, and I’m having a blast photographing plants and flowers around the garden. Here are some of my favorites.
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| Perennial Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) |
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| Perennial Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) |
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| Rose leaf sage (Salvia puberula) |
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| Bog sage (Salvia uliginosa) |
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| Lion’s tail (Leonotis leonurus) |
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| Lion’s tail (Leonotis leonurus) |
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| Spider web hens and chicks (Sempervivum arachnoideum) |
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| Tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii) |
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| Quadricolor agave (Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor') |
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| Variegated elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta ‘Elepaio’) |
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| Giant farfugium (Farfugium japonicum ‘Giganteum’) |
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| Golden lotus banana leaf (Musella lasiocarpa) |
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| White Queen caladium (Caladium bicolor 'White Queen') |
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| Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum') |
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| Happy Halloween! |
What type of camera do you use, and what were the specs on the macro lenses? I've been considering a macro lens for a while now, as I'm tired of the lower quality photos produced by my point-and-shoot (which I currently use for macro shots).
ReplyDeleteAlan, I currently use a Canon Rebel T2i. The macro lenses I'm borrowing are the 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM (http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/ef_lens_lineup/ef_100mm_f_2_8_macro_usm) and the 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM (http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/ef_lens_lineup/ef_180mm_f_3_5l_macro_usm). Both focus to 1:1 magnification without requiring extension tubes. The 100mm f/2.8 is still "relatively" affordable at $500 or so, but the 180mm is $1500. The image quality is superb on both of them. Depth of field (or lack thereof) can be a real issue with the 180mm but I love the beautiful out-of-focus backgrounds its focal length produces. I'm telling myself NOT to get addicted to these lenses because I need to give them back in a month :-).
ReplyDeleteUsing a point-and-shoot for macro works a lot of the time, as you know, but I often find the background to be very distracting because it's only a little out of focus, not completely.
I just wish there were a cheaper way to get superb macro quality for less!
That's the thing about lenses: you (usually) get what you pay for. The good ones are more expensive than the camera and get hard to justify. If you've got a good "regular" lens, what's wrong with extension tubes or reverse mount adapters, or even bellows setups? (I haven't played with any of that yet, but will eventually.)
ReplyDeleteAlan, I haven't used extension tubes in many years but you're right, definitely something to try out. I already have a great 70-200mm lens and if I could get it to focus closer, I'd be happy, especially since it's image-stabilized and these two macro lenses aren't.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, how did you get the lion's tail flower photos? When I grew these a couple of years ago they were at least 8' tall!
ReplyDeleteOur lion's tail is no more than 5 ft. tall. We planted it about 3 years ago from a 4-inch pot. I've heard of it growing to 8 ft. but ours is taking its sweet time to get there. Or maybe it's a shorter variety?
ReplyDelete