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Stay Home Macro Photography Challenge

Stay Home Macro Photography Challenge

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Continuing on with our series of photography challenges you can do while you stay home – it’s time to do some macro!

Macro photography is great because you can take ordinary things and make them look unusual, create abstracts and find things around the house to photograph you may not have considered.

Find some subjects for macro photography

First look around your home and see what you can use for a subject. Household items look totally different close-up. Here are a few ideas:

  • Cutlery
  • Food items (cut pieces of fruit, seeds, bread, wine cork)
  • Fabric or yarn
  • Wood or textured items
  • Bugs (in your backyard maybe)
  • Flowers (if they’re blooming in your yard)
  • A person’s eyeball
  • Pets or pet parts like noses, paws, etc. (if they will sit still for you)
  • Lego people or figurines
  • Feathers
  • Tools from the garage
  • Shoes or parts of them

You get the idea. What other ideas can you come up with or find around your home? If you think of something unique and fun please share with everyone in the comments below.

macro photography challenge example close up of wine corks showing details

Details for this challenge

Next, if you aren’t familiar with macro photography, the first thing you’ll want to do is read up on it and decide which tools you’re going to use for the job.

I’ve written a few articles on the topic previously. Start here:

a close up macro photo of a pocket watch gears showing details
Look for things with a lot of detail that might look good close up, like this old pocket watch.

close up photo of a flower in bloom

So once you’ve read the articles you need to pick your gear. If you currently don’t own a macro lens see what other options are available to you. Perhaps you can order something that’s fairly inexpensive to give it a try.

You can use or do:

  • Reverse lens macro (you need a special adapter ring to mount your lens to the camera backward, they usually cost less than $20). Make sure you get the right kind that matches your camera brand and model and lens mount. Choose a 50mm or longer lens (wide-angle will be trickier to use).
  • Close-up filters (they screw on to the front of your lens, the cost will depend on the quality of the glass and brand but they can range from about $10 to $100 or so).
  • Extension tubes (these mount between your camera body and the lens – read the article on these before you buy, quality varies greatly and a cheap one could damage your lens or camera – choose wisely)
  • A macro lens – obviously this is a bigger ticket item and comes with a bigger price tag. But the price is worth it if you plan to do a lot of macro photography and want the best image quality. If you aren’t sure yet see if you can rent one from a camera store in your area or a company like Borrow Lenses.

I’ve made a handy list of macro items on Amazon for you if you want to see some of the options just CLICK HERE.

NOTE: Make sure you get the right lens mount, filter size, and adapter rings for your camera and system for any items you decide to go get.
This could be a week in your yard, but photographed using reverse lens macro it becomes visually more interesting.
This could be a week in your yard, but photographed using reverse lens macro it becomes visually more interesting.
macro
How about some colored marbles?
close up shot of a cat's face
Pet parts? Yes this is Munch – thank you for all your concern for her last week – she’s going to be fine and we’re so grateful!

stay home macro photography challenge PIN0

Cheers,
Darlene-1-250x130.png

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Comments

  3. P James, thank you for the suggestions. I shot this one at 1/800/5.6 everything else the same. The flowers really stand out better with the background blurred.

    After uploading and posting not sure why the colors have changed. Thought I had done everything the same.

    • Well done. I like the results of the depth of field from the new pics. The background is diminished and doesn’t compete with the flower petals for your eye’s attention. It’s equally important to note that the smaller aperture can be really helpful in increasing your depth of field when shooting really tight macro’s, IE with an actual macro lens such as in Mark Stanley-Adams images of the orchids from a couple days ago. He’s shot using F11 which created more of the flower’s depth to be in focus. That’s important if you want the viewer to see the intricate detail of the flower when it has a deeper center well. A shallow depth of field can be seen in my most recent images, ie; Leaf with rain water droplet. I shot that with a 60mm macro lens at either F2.8 or F3.5. That large aperture gave me a shallow depth of field, essentially the water droplet. That’s what I was going for.
      I can’t help with any suggestions about the color shift when uploading here. It’s not anything I’ve ever experienced when uploading to these challenges. Are you using Disqus to upload?

  4. P James, thanks for the suggestions. I had taken this at 1/800/5.6 everything else the same. Probably should have posted it. I see what you mean about making the flowers stand out more with the background blurred.

  5. Too late for challenge, did not know how to post pics. But wanted to see what everyone thought of my first attempt at macro. Taken with Canon t3, 1/50/f22/iso100/135mm length on 18/-135 lens.

    • Great colors. If you want to isolate the main flower by blurring our the background try using a wider aperture (smaller number) and faster shutter speed. The larger aperture will push the background out of focus but will maintain the color to create a nice contrast. Simple steps you may already be aware of but I think it will produce a more pleasing photograph.

  6. Rain water on a fir tree. A series of macros, all monopod supported and speedlite illumination. 60mm macro. It was a wet long weekend in Western Canada.

  9. Just upgraded from a Canon T5i to a 70D, and thought I’d use this month’s challenge as a springboard for getting to grips with it. I don’t use my macro lens very often, but this exercise has inspired me to dig it out more often. This image hopefully reveals some of the beautiful complexity of an orchid bloom. Uncropped and only slightly edited in Adobe Camera Raw… I added a little clarity and extended the white and black points to add some dynamic range.
    4 secs,f/11, ISO 100 through a Canon EF100mm lens.

  11. A nice robin couple set up housekeeping in front of my kitchen window. I’ve been stalking them for a month! Nikon 105MM Micro, f3.2, 1/160 sec

  12. A nice robin couple set up housekeeping just in front of my kitchen window. I’ve been stalking them for weeks! Nikon 105MM Micro, f3.2, 1/160 sec

  13. One more photo. Poppy flower with morning rain drop. f9, 1/320 sec, ISO 1000, Olympus 40-150 lens with 26 mm extension tubes, 58mm.

  14. three pictures I took a while ago but which I particularly like.
    1) Nikon D80, 200mm, ISO 100, f/7.1 at 1.125 sec
    2) Nikon D80, 200mm, ISO 100, f/6.3 at 1.125 sec
    3) Nikon D80, 120mm, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1.90 sec, cropped

  17. Another reflection of a flower inside drops of water; this time a tulip. Olympus EM1, with a macro lens 60mm f2.8, ISO 500, f/8, 1/5sec

  18. Another reflection of a flower inside drops of water; this time a tulip. Olympus EM1, with a macro lens 60mm f2.8, ISO 500, f/8, 1/5sec

  19. That’s a very interesting photo of the tulip. You you have peeked my interest about stacking. I’ve read a little, but found it confusing. I agree with Karen, I’m going to do some more research on it after looking at your photo to see if I can get a better understanding of it. Thanks!

    • Well Sandra, its not that complicated. Put your camera on a rail like this one http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/163879-REG/Novoflex_CASTEL_L_Castel_L_Focusing_Rack_Standard.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwsMu5BRD7t57R1P2HwBgSJABrtj-RHnoVZvOhmx89Ti5ClNeyII_A5I2syjDMv3rLLKaieBoCqkrw_wcB
      but there are many other and also cheaper models.

      Lens in Manual Focus Mode.
      Take a photo with start of subject in focus.
      Move camera on the rail a little on, take next.

      Repeat depending on requirement.

      (An with camera in Live View mode you can also more easily see what’s in focus or not.
      Use a decent f value, maybe f9. Don’t try high f like f32 for more depth, photos become unsharp.

      You could also try this handheld in cont shooting mode and move camera while shooting, some people seem to be masters in this, I am not.

      Next feed photos into a stacking program, I normally use freeware CombineZM, but PhotoShop can also do it, but I don’t have that..
      Stacking software will align and scale automatically and collect in focus area of all shots. Scaling is needed because as you get closer to the subject, the subject size changes on the sensor.
      Finally save the stacked single image.
      In the process you have lost the EXIF data. (Maybe with Photo Shop stacking it is kept by PS, don’t know), I use EXIFToolGui to copy EXIF from one of the shots to the stacked image, also freeware.

      Have fun, great for a rainy day.

      • Thanks so much for the directions on stacking. I did a bit of online research and had not found anything that explained it as simply as you did. I appreciate your taking the time to type instructions on the process and for the link to the rail. I’m looking forward to giving it a try.

      • Thanks Darlene! It’s like working on a crossword puzzle and finding all the correct pieces and putting them together correctly. The Lightroom and photoshop process is quite intricate. This article on stacking is by far the best explanation I have read on the
        subject. Both digitalphotomentor.com and digital-photography-school.com are the most informative websites with easy to understand articles. Again, thanks for sending the link my way, I enjoyed the article!!

  20. When is it a macro, when a close-up? If enlargement is 1:1 (compared to sensor) or more its a macro, else a close-up, I once read. If that’s the definition, this one is a close-up.
    Tried to get a tulip in focus from the top, with the rim and the stamen more or less in focus.
    With 3cm between the rim and the stamen, that would be impossible. So put lens in MF mode, placed camera on a simple rail and took a few shots (with remote realease cable to minimize shake) and stacked them.

    Canon 70D, Canon 100mm f2.8 USM lens, ISO 100, f9, 1/30th

  21. Nikon D5100, Sigma 18-250 lens, shot at 250, ISO 100, f 11, 1/160th sec. I shot this simply for the challenge of seeing if I could capture this tiny fly on the petal of an iceberg rose.

      • Thanks. I find there’s something “artful” (if that’s a word) in macro photography of everyday items. And for me, springtime often means repairing those weathered out-door items or building a hobby project. I like the lines, spiral curves and contrast of shapes. Just fun.

  23. Springtime for me this year means a variety of backyard projects including repairing an aged wooden deck. I was pleasantly surprised to see the colorful reflections on these shiny gold colored screws, the green coming from the trees but the red??? I don’t know what caused those shades. Not as pretty as nature’s foliage but the macro lens provides that ability to view things a little differently.

  28. Nikon D5100, Sigma 18-250 lens at 44mm, ISO 560, f 7.1, 1/80th sec. This is salvia and here I zoomed with my feet and left my lens wider so I could show the red surrounding this one purple stalk.

  29. I enjoy macro and close up photography. This flower is called an orchid rose and it is a tall thin plant. Taken with Nikon D5100 Sigma 18-250 macro lens. at 250 mm, ISO 560, f7.1, 1/160th sec.

  30. This is my first time sharing photos with anyone besides my family. I love the macro photography! I’ve attached a few recent photos I’ve taken with my Nikon D750, using both my Nikon macro lens and Nikon zoom 28-300mm. All photos were taken handheld. I welcome all input good and constructive!!

  31. Finally had some luck with the focus stacking in CombineZM. Thanks to tjeerd for the instructions and recommendations. This is a stack of 7 images of a flower ready to bloom. My DOF was very shallow and the stacking didn’t eliminate all of the “out of focus” leaves, but I was thrilled to see the results.

  33. julia skimmer or orthetrum julia

    For this one I had to take of my shoes. Resting on a twig above the water and the macro lens on the camera I had to wade over wobbly rocks to get closer. Of course she flew away, but as with most of these creatures, they come back to the same spot.

    Thanks Julia for posing against a dark spot of shade.
    Canon 70D and 100mm f2.8 Macro lens. Tv=1/320, f9, ISO 320

  34. And a second submission. Hornet hanging out on our pear tree – new fruit and all. This was taken with a 31 mm extension tube and 50 mm f1.8 lens with my T3. This and the photo before were both handheld…..

  35. This spider has been in this plant (calla lily) for the last 3 days – I first spotted him/her Saturday and this was taken Monday. I have never seen a spider like this. Photo taken with a 21mm extension tube on a 50 mm f1.8 Canon lens and EOS T3 camera.

  37. The double-plum is blooming. I found one the was only starting to open and the pink petals were still rich with color. F32, 1/200, ISO 160, Flash with the Rogue Flashbender.

  38. Crocus’ blooming in my garden. They look quite large in the photo but were wee spots of yellow in the garden. I don’t own a macro lenses so I used a 55mm lenses,zoomed in as much as it would let me, with a macro filter(+4). Camera settings were ISO 200,f 5.6, 1/100 sec. and with the filter-33mm, Canon Rebel SL1. The second image was taken with an iphone and the tiny macro lens that are available for phones. So much fun to play with! It is an image of the organisms that grow on the trunks of trees-I do not know what they are called.

  39. One more from the yard, it’s a double-plum bush that is just blooming. This little bud has yet to open into a glorious delicate flower but it still has soft petals that are wrapping together in gentle curves. 60mm macro with the Raynox 250. It allows closer than 1:1. F22 at 1/200th ISO 250. Off camera flash and the gentle light from the speedlite in a Rogue Flashbender softbox.

  40. I finally had some time to get into the back yard and see what’s small. I found this poppy bud just waiting for the right time to bloom. Canon 70D, 60mm macro with a Raynox 250 attached. (Thanks to tjeerd for the information on this macro lens add-on) ISO 800, F22 at 1/200th, illuminated with an off camera flash with a Rogue Flashbender softbox. Handheld in the breeze, manual focus, and moved in until I had the focus where I wanted it. Love the dark / light contrast and detail in the fine hairs on the plant.

      • Thanks for mentioning it in your posts! It’s a relatively inexpensive add-on for anyone wanting to try out the macro world. When I pair it with my 60mm macro, which already gives me 1:1 capability, I can get in really close and magnify the world. Now if only there were an add-on that could create a few more hours in each day…..I’d be able to find time to shoot more.
        I haven’t had any luck with the CombineZP. I downloaded it but it freezes when I’m stacking even only a few photos. I’m running Windows 10 on a PC and I don’t know if there’s a conflict or processing error I’m missing.

        • I also run Windows 10 and have no problems. Maybe also try CombineZM, which is an older version and actually the one I use most of the time.
          Do file/new and select the photos you want to stack. And next do Macro/Do Stack”
          Don’t know what’s a few for you, but the program can indeed seem to freese if there are to many shots which are to big in size. All depends on memory available on your PC. Try to resize the photos and see what happens, or start to try with 5 shots only for example.
          When I stack 72 photos I have to make them really small, need a new PC with more RAM.
          And by the way, I started with the Raynox on a Bridge Camera (Canon SX40), allows variable magnification using Zoom, but does not allow high f value to get deeper DoF.

          You may also try Zerene stacker, its not for free, but a trial version can be downloaded.

          As for hours in the day, hope you will reach retirement as I have, makes quite a difference.

          • Thank you for your suggestions. CombineZM worked well in comparison to the “freeze” I experienced with CombineZP. I’d only tried stacking 7 and then only 3 and I’d still have the freeze up. Now with ZM, no delays. It managed the files well and I don’t think my PC or RAM was the issue. Now I just have to find some calm days and some willing tiny subjects.

      • Not a dandelion but a very similar plant when blooming to seed. I don’t know what it’s called but it’s about 3 times the size of a typical dandelion “head” constructed by these little baskets. I’m in very tight for this image so you don’t see the ball shape like the dandelion.

  45. I am very new to photography. I took this photo with the macro setting on my camera. A Canon Rebel T3, shutter 1/200, aperture 5.6, ISO 100. Any helpful hints would be appreciated. I know it is kinda blurry, I took this free hand out in my garden, on a kinda windy day.

    • Hi Sharon – my guess as to why it’s blurry is that you have likely exceeded the minimum focusing distance for your lens. Most kit lenses will go to about 12″. I looked and if you have the 18-55 lens it’s about 10″. If you go closer than that anything that is 10″ away will be sharp, anything closer will not. The macro setting does NOT affect focusing distance. That is why you need a close-up filter, extension tube, or macro lens to get closer.

      See how the back part of the flower seems sharper? That is likely the case here. See if any of these options can help you: https://dev-dpm-2.instawp.xyz/the-ultimate-guide-macro-photography/

      There are less expensive options to get started in macro if you aren’t ready to buy a lens yet.

  46. Hey first time posting, Always loved taking pictures but since getting a Canon Rebel T5 for christmas a year ago been trying to learn how to take more control of my photography. Very intrigued by macro photography so thought I participate in this month’s challenge. Not sure if this would be conciderred “spring” but these are some pics of a pineapple that was growing out side of the house my family rented in Orlando this pass weekend. I tried to take different pics from different angles using my Canon Rebel T5 with its kit 18-55 mm lens.

    the first pic of the full pineapple was done at 53mm f/5.6 1/80sec 2000 ISO
    the others were done at 55mm f/5.6 1/80 or 1/100sec and 3200-5000 ISO

    none were post processed other than resizing to be able to post. I havent had a chance to play with processing images yet and going to start learning so any tips or advice on what I can do in Lightroom or photoshop is appreciated

  47. First attempt/submission – a bud on the rhododendron bush in the front yard.
    The details: Sony SLT-A58 APS-C; kit lens zoomed to 55mm; f5.6; 1/400 sec; ISO 100.
    All comments welcome.

  48. A couple of frames from the archives. Found a spider with a stealthy approach on the web and a healthy appetite. One of the ants wandered too close to the spider web and was quickly entombed by the spider. Armed with my Canon Xsi, a 60mm macro and a Speedlite off camera, I was able to work quickly to get these shots. Do they represent spring….? Maybe….maybe not, but they’re cool! I tried to load the photos in order but you get the idea…. maybe the ant was just cold and the spider was wrapping him up in a nice warm blanket….

      • Thank you so much! It was absolutely fascinating to watch the speed that the spider used to #1: get down the web to trap the ant and #2: the rapid spin of the ant into the ‘cocoon’. It was like the spider was running on a sprint to spin the web around this poor ant. This was shot in daylight against a wooden deck railing. I was using an off-camera flash to illuminate the spider and web. The shutter speed was fast enough to block out the ambient light and the background disappeared.

  49. A couple of frames from the archives. Found a spider with a stealthy approach on the web and a healthy appetite. One of the ants wandered too close to the spider web and was quickly entombed by the spider. Armed with my Canon Xsi, a 60mm macro and a Speedlite off camera, I was able to work quickly to get these shots. Do they represent spring….? Maybe….maybe not, but they’re cool!

  50. Here is a macro photo of a bunch of Mountain Ash berries taken with the contrasting frost. Taken with a 16-300 Tamron at f5.6,ISO 100,1/640, 103mm. I have not taken many macro shots with this lens but I think I’ll start using it more for macro shots.

  53. What better expression of Spring than butterflies! So first we must have the caterpillar. Last year I planted Milkweed to attract Monarchs. So I have at least 4 of these guys. Taken with my Pentax K3, D FA 100mm2.8 Macro lens. 1/100s; f/100 and 200 ISO.

  55. Hi Darlene!

    First of all thanks for encouraging me to be a photographer. This is my second post in which I’m trying to show the mood and color of spring. Rebel T5i, 55-250 kit lense, ISO 100, f/5.6 and 1/800 sec.

  56. Seedpod of some weed next to the road, size about 2cm..
    Placed on green under/background with sidelight through the window and removed luminosity out of background green with LightZone (freeware editing software) so that it became black except the darker green, still visible, which was the shadow.
    Used Canon 50mm prime lens and 65mm Ext Tubes.
    Canon 70D f16, ISO 250, Tv 1/2 sec

  58. This was the perfect topic since I just got a used 150 macro lens this week. I love it! This is one of the few tulips in my garden that the squirrels did not get to last fall. Nikon 750, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8 macro lens. handheld.

  59. Just found this critter sitting on some flowers I was photographing after a nice rain. He was doing some close-up examination himself. Shot with a Nikon 750 with a Nikor 105 macro lens, ISO 250, handheld at 1/160 sec., at f14.

  61. An initial attempt at Macro photography – a blooming rhododendron bush in the front yard. Sony SLT-A58 with standard kit lens zoomed to 55mm. ISO100, f 5.6, 1/400 sec.

  62. Damsel en Dragon flies are great creatures for macros. When you approach them they normally fly away but more often than not they come back to excact the same location while you have settled nicely in meantime and able to approach them….

    Here a “dancing jewel” or platycypha caligata (female).
    Canon 70D with 100mm f2.8 USM. (f7, ISO 320, 1/100).

  65. Macro was my first love. When I saw how much of my work was macro, I decided to abstain for a while, and found myself without anything to show in this challenge! I had to go all the way back to February to find one! But that’s when the first strawberries arrived in the supermarket, and I decided I had to have a strawberry shoot before a strawberry sundae.

  66. Both shot this morning on iPhone6s with moment macro lense. On each made minor adjustments of mid-tones and contrast using Snapseed. The breeze was a challenge.

  67. I thought I would pick up the courage to post some of my images, as this challenge is about macro photography. The challenge inspired me to try a short series of shots on the stages of blossom on a crab apple tree opening up and of the leaves on an ornamental maple opening.
    My camera is a Sony Alpha 58. The lens is a 55-200 zoom, and 3 extension tubes. I used the P setting which fixed the aperture at F5 and shutter speed at 1/100. Focusing was done manually.

  69. Nothing like a caterpillar covered in morning dew to signal the start of spring. This macro shot was taken with a 100-400 mm lens. Some great macro images can be captured with a telephoto when you don’t have your macro lens available.

  70. Picked a few flowers on a morning walk (from a shrub, don’t know its name).
    Placed them at home on a shiny black underground against a matt black background, camera on tripod and this is what the Canon 70D+100mm f2.8 USM macro lens saw.

  72. Playing with the morning dew drops in the yard a few weeks ago. I have been on a sunburst fetish lately and thought to add it into my macro photography recently. The results have been interesting. This is Canon 6D w/Tamron 90mm 1:1 macro lens. F/13, ISO800, 1/400th sec shutter.

    • it looks like a small little world hanging on the grass. so very interesting. This would be neat to see in B&W except for the drop in the center.

          • Thank you! I have to be honest and say I love it much more that the first one. I was so focused on “green” theme because of spring happening. I took several shots that I had blinders on during processing and with that, I say thank you for opening my mind back up and helping me pull those blinders off 🙂

          • You’re most welcome 🙂 I wish I knew how to do the selective color technique – I sure love it. Maybe it’s because I have no idea what I’m doing and am still learning – you have obviously been doing this for a while, so perhaps my naivete came in handy – glad to be useful!

          • Consider that a blessing! The learning never ends. I am constantly reading on techniques, tips, and tricks ect. There are times I edit one image and am happy and other times I can have possibly 5 virtual copies with different edits and take a week or two in order to feel the direction I am going for before going any further. I am finally confident with using Lightroom (and still plenty to learn inside it), but Photoshop on the other hand gives me the “I have no idea what I’m doing and am still learning” feeling. Keep at it, take it in stride and you will get there. You were extremely useful 🙂 and you reminded me to remain open, because it is extremely easy to focus our minds on one single thought.

          • not really – I do have Photoshop Elements and have fooled around in it a bit. I can do very limited things because I haven’t had a chance to figure it all out. I have a book to help me by Scott Kelby but I am a hands-on type of learner so I just play ’til I like it

          • Cool. As I tell most of my students I usually recommend Lightroom. It’s made for photographers and may not be initially intuitive but doesn’t have stuff in it we don’t need. Photoshop and even ELements are made for graphic designers and 90% of the stuff in there you’ll never use so it just adds to the confusion.

  73. I went out this morning with my Canon 7D Mark II and 60mm macro lens (1.6 crop factor). Found a small group of fiddle heads and took some shots.

  74. I went out this morning with my Canon 7D Mark II and only 60mm macro lens (96mm on my crop sensor). Came across some fiddle heads near the lagoon.

  75. Canon T3i, 100mm Tokina Macro lens. This done in studio with natural (widow) light to camera right. It is a yellow variegated rose flowering. I’ve decided to title it “Kiss Me…”

  76. Canon T3i, 100mm Tokina Macro lens. Taken a few weeks ago in garden, diffused/open shade. I had just read an article concerning Fibonacci sequence… noticed that this was a prime example.

  77. Just joined the Photo Mentor…..looking forward to learning!…..So…..What I learned about Macro Photography. A lot. I dont have a macro lens yet but I do have extension tubes (3 sizes) that I can use and learn on.

    1. Bring the tripod or mono pole. Trying to get really close AND manual focus is challenging….made even more challenging when you forgot your tripod and trying to get the shot hand holding.
    2. Get comfortable reading glasses. I need reading glasses and typically its not an issue because I’m shooting auto focus however, it becomes an issue when you need to manual focus and see what the hell you’re shooting!
    3. Wind is your enemy. I decided to go shoot in a local park and what I learned is that even the smallest of wind can make your shot blurry……so I needed to develop Macro Patience 🙂

    4. Macro photography really opened my eyes to understanding depth of field and shutter speed.

    These are baby pine cones by the way 🙂

    Its great to learn……I love this stuff……thank you for allowing me to join!

    Steve
    Nikon D7100
    50mm lens with 12mm extension tube
    1/80
    f5.6
    ISO200

  78. Dear Darlene,

    About 6 month ago I read your article for beginners at digital photography school. I’m very new in photography. You inspire and force me to buy a new DSLR, I just bought canon 700D last month. I gain so much confidence by your articles that directly start shooting in Manual mode. The image I’m sharing is one of my very first click and having the sense of “Spring into macro”. I edited it little bit in LR (learnt from your youtube videos). Please critique my image, so that I improve further.

    Details:

    Lens – 18-55 mm IS II (kit lens)

    ISO – 200

    Aperture – f/5.6

    Shutter speed – 1/160

  80. I’d like to share with you some of my last year’s favorite spring macros. My 100 mm 2.8 macro lens allows me to achieve a shallow depth of field which is my preferred method of shooting. I hope you enjoy these pics as much as I do. (Sorry, couldn’t quite decide which ones to post…)

    • Great shots, really like shot numbers 3 & 9 because they are very sharp and so different. I don’t have a macro/micro lens myself but when I see photos like these … well, I might just review the budget or try to borrow one when I return from my holiday mid June. I suspect Darlene would say ‘don’t wait, just get out there and practice, practice, practice’. Already I’ve learnt so much from her tips but for now this challenge isn’t one I feel ready for or … shhh have time for. I like to check the contributions of you guys though.

  81. This is a wildflower called Bloodroot, one of the first to bloom in springtime. f 2.7, 90mm Tamron macro lens, Canon T4i camera, manual settings, ISO 100

  82. Here is a tiny bouquet I call “A Shot of Wildflowers”> The little blooms are all spring wildflowers picked in our yard and put into a shot glass. I thought I posted this but it doesn’t appear to be here. If I double-post, Darlene, would you please remove one? I’ve looked twice.

    The Camera is a Sony DSC-H9 set to macro. f 2.7, focal length 5.2 mm

    • Carol, the “macro” setting on your camera just sets up different things in the camera to expose for macro. It can’t help the lens focus any closer. For that you either need a camera or lens that has the ability to focus in close.

  87. Detail of a small flower from the garden.
    Taken with Canon 70D plus Canon 100mm f2.8 USM Macro lens + Raynox DCR-250.
    f16 did not give enough DoF, so took 5 shots, stacked with CombineZP.
    Aphid serves as scale (only saw him/her later on the screen)

  88. Looking deep into a pansy flower heart, where great beauty can be found.
    Taken with Canon SX40 and Raynox DCR-250 macrolens attached.
    Shallow DoF, so took 40 shots and stacked with CombineZP.

  92. April showers bring…..waterdrops on a screen door.All day rain kept camera indoors. The rest of April has been all snow. The brown tinge in many of the drops is from the Muskoka chair on my front deck
    Canon 6D Sigma 105mm 2.8 Aperture Priority, Manual focus.

  93. Thanks, Darlene for getting me outside on a spring day, camera in hand. Here is a very tiny bud on our pine tree – photographed with a Nikon d610 & 105mm macro, straight from the camera.

  94. These wet dandelion seeds pod were taken on a rainy springtime walk. My Nikon Coolpix L830 has an amazing array of semi automatic settings, including macro, and a 34X wide optical zoon lens. Kind of like cheating 🙂

  98. This is a sewing kit tape measure. I turned my lens around and held it against the camera body. Saw this cool tutorial on Pinterest so I had to try it out.
    Canon Rebel T5, f/0, ISO 800, 50mm

  99. I am a brand new photographer, if you can call me that….I love taking photos of beautiful and interesting things. I am drawn to Macro photography and I can’t wait to learn how to ‘really do it’!
    I got a Canon Rebel T5 for Christmas this past year and I literally got my Macro lens in the mail yesterday – happy birthday to me!
    I would love to sell some stock images and figure those of you in this community would be the best place to get constructive feedback, so lay it on me!
    First image is a dandelion, natch. Unedited except to resize
    Canon Rebel T5, f/5.6, ISO 1600, 60mm

    • Ariel – doing photography for stock is getting increasingly difficult. The kinds of images that sell, ones that the stock agencies want – are NOT pretty photos of flowers and mountains. They literally have 1000s or millions of those already. They want lifestyle shots – people doing things, stuff like a person in a wheelchair using a laptop, a cowboy on a horse using a cell phone, a guy in a green shirt holding a balloon, and other odd stuff like that. Stock is not what you think and isn’t a way to make a lot of money in photography any more. It’s difficult to get accepted, and difficult to get your images to sell, and when they do you get maybe 50 cents from each sale as most stock is now royalty free. Buyers can get like 100 images for $10.

  102. African Violet, window light and I tried to keep the light soft so I think it was just out of direct sunlight. F4 at 1/250th, ISO 400, 65mm on my 24-70 with as close as I could crop. Just love the richness of the purple against the lush green. Just getting started with the weekend coming up, the macro lens is coming out as the trees have started budding in our area. So excited….

  103. A purple flower in my backyard after it rained not sure of the name of the flower. it opens up in the morning and closes up at night. A dandelion that has been wind blown.

  104. I am relatively new to macro photography, and I love it. I went on a wildflower shoot this week and these were shot with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera. The lens is an M. Zukio 60mm macro. The orange flower is a California Poppy.

    • I LOVE that orange poppy shot! WOW. It fills the frame nicely and that color is spectacular! I also love the image of the single yellow flower.

  108. These pink shamrock flowers were taken with a Tamron 60mm F/2 Macro 1:1 lens earlier this week, mounted on my Nikon D5500. The settings were aperture mode, f/16, 1/60, ISO 2800.

    What I did was to move as close to the flowers as I could get and still be in focus, about 3.5″ away.

  112. I just love macro (and close-up) photography, especially in spring when nature is waking up from a long winter and surprizes us with all these amazing colors! I took these photos some four weeks ago when winter made one last feeble attempt to stay a bit longer. Canon 70D with 100 mm 2.8 macro lens.

    • Great shot. I just wonder … Is the flash a little too harsh though? I’m just a novice amateur but I believe there are ways to bring more light on the subject that are better than direct fill in flash. I am sure Darlene can help out with advice on that.

  118. shot this with a Nikon 40mm macro lens on a Nikon D7100. I love the detail in the dogwood bloom and the narrow depth of field the lens gives.

  119. This is a milkweed leaf in its current horizontal position. “Grow Up!” The Monarchs need you!
    Difficulty with depth of field. Maybe time to experiment with Focus Stacking.

    Anyway, it has been a very slow spring in Manitoba and this is what greets my view of my garden so far.
    Canon 6D with Sigma l05mm 2.8 Macro lens.

  120. Here’s one I was trying out with my new Nifty Fifty. Wow! Looks great through the view finder. BTW. It’s a Daffodil bud getting ready to open up.

  121. I just took this pic at Easter. It was a gift from my son and family for Easter. A hanging basket of Violas. i like to call it “Voila Viola.”

    • Hi Rick – as a very novice amateur I struggled with uploading images when I did the tripod challenge. I got around it by first dragging photos onto desktop then just dragging them off into the discussion space – you will probably have to reduce their size first because if file too big it will take forever and then might not load. I have very limited tools to do all this but you’ll find it’s quite easy once you play around with the process a little. Good luck!

    • Hi Rick – I did the ‘Love your tripod’ challenge a couple of months ago. I’m very much an amateur and novice photographer and struggled with uploading the images in the beginning. I uploaded them by first dragging them onto my desktop and then just dragging them off into the discussion space. One thing to take note of though – it is often necessary to reduce the size first because if file is too big it takes forever to upload into space and then perhaps doesn’t load at all. I have very basic tools at my disposal but it’s fairly easy to reduce size of image when you save it to desk top … Good luck!

    • Hi, have a look at the reply I sent to Rick (above), that is how I did it for the tripod challenge – think,it’s the same. I am sure Darlene will confirm, She is really helpful.

      • I posted a separate thread but now I’m not sure if it really posted – I uploaded several images this morning and they are gone – what happened?
        I started a comment, like this one, and clicked on the picture icon at the bottom to upload an image. Please help.

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