365 Day 63 - Marco

365 Day 63 - Marco

Inspired by Philip Smith's talk at the Photography Show yesterday, I got down on my hands and knees this morning among the crocuses. This macro lark is not as easy as sticking a macro lens on the front of the camera though, for me it is a fine balance between how sharp I want the flower and how blurred I want the background and for that reason I have either gone in very close or used the crop tool. Then when you use a very wide aperture, you need to make sure that you focus on exactly the right part of the flower that you want sharp. Some of my crocuses are in my PF and gallery today but for my 365 project I chose this Alchemilla Mollis which I noticed just bursting open and with a big rain drop sitting nicely in the middle.

The shots I took in full sun are too contrasty but those taken using my big reflector as a diffuser are better and if you look closely at the raindrop you can see me and the diffuser quite clearly. This is a good example of what I meant by the fine line between a sharp flower and a blurred background and I haven't got it quite right here. According to Philip Smith, you need a 180 macro lens to do this well and that isn't even on the wish list at the moment!