exercising most of the time. You couldn’t pay me to do it but I find
myself happily doing it for the sake of this or that photo. Don’t
underestimate the health benefits of close-up photography. It is not
only the fresh air and being outdoors. I am actually exercising.
Equipment: What Do We Need?
This is a thorny issue and it is only too easy to fall into the belief
that the next piece of equipment is going to make all the different in
your photo results. Some folks would rather research equipment to
buy than photograph and we all probably do it to a degree. I know I
love to browse photography equipment and build dreams about this
or that item.
For example, I can focus on a lens that catches my eye or that
photographers I respect recommend. I will spend hours traversing
the Internet to read every review, description, and mention of that
lens while at the same time I am inching toward just buying the
damn thing. And I usually end up not waiting too long, checking my
finances, and figuring if all goes south at least I will have this lens...
and then this lens. You get the idea.
While we don’t need endless equipment, having the right
equipment does count for a lot. Some tiny cameras have a macro
feature or you can screw a close-up lens on the front of the camera
and get a sense of what macro photography is all about.
I am primarily a nature photographer as opposed to a product
photographer so I don’t have too much to say about studio work
although I have done a fair amount of it. The general approach is
similar so what we go over here as regards photographing nature
will usually pertain to product photography in the studio, with the
caveat that product photography requires mastery of artificial
lighting, flash, and so on. My point is that you can start with what
you have on hand and work up from there to a more expensive rig.
That being said, let’s walk through what the well- dressed macro
photographer needs to be aware when heading for the fields and
woods.
DSLR and Medium Format Cameras
Most macro photographers are all digital at this point, although
some film buffs hang in there. I gave up film years ago and am still
glad about that. I never liked having no feedback from film until it