Macro photography is not about having a macro lens

Note: Good photos of things like razors don't require macro techniques

but ...

Macros are all about tripods for the camera, a stage for the subject, lighting, problems with focus and very shallow depth of field etc ...

Search the internet for the techniques that are used to overcome these problems.

To illustrate that having a "macro" lens is not the issue see pics below.

[all these are resized and compressed for posting here on B&B - quality is better than it looks here]

The first 3 shots of my grandfathers silver match box were taken with a low cost (under $100 3.0 mpx) digital camera. Shots 2 & 3 added the use of a $1.00 glass magnifier with a diamater of about 1.5 inches.

The magnifying glass is placed in between the camera and the subject for 2x increase in magnification.

The last 2 pics (stamp & dollar bill) are taken with a slightly better camera (under $300 6.0 mpx) with no added magnification.

Macro photos are all about technique ...

here are 2 tricks to get you "ahead of the pack" ...

Trick 1 - focus by moving the subject in relation to the camera.

Note:
Due to the very limited depth of field you usually can't see squat in the view screen of the digital cameras so Trick 1 is nearly impossible!

What to do ...?

Trick 2 - take your camera to the Dollar store and try using various strengths (1.25 to 3.5 diopter) of those ($1 / pair) reading glasses so you can see clearly the image in the camera screen when you are moving the subject (closer/farther) relative to the camera lens.

Pick the reading glass strength that best helps you see to focus at a reasonable (but much closer distance to the viewer).

(I must leave it to you to get details on the lighting and staging techniques - but at least you will have a chance of seeing what you are trying to do - while you're doin' it.)

[These tricks were taught to me by a fellow who was sight-disabled and specialized in macros of flowers and insects. It seems when you must always use a magnifying glass to see small things it is natural to assume you would also use them when photographing small things.]

Good luck

2bits

Nice work.

Wow!

Great pics.

I love this kind of stuff. I just love it. Congratulations both on the ideas and your application of them. Technique is always more important than equipment and you've perfected your technique with some creative use of equipment. Wonderful, just wonderful.

I once read about a "do it yourself" macro lens. Take a 50mm manual lens, make sure it can be used at any aperture manually. Using black electrical tape, tape it to a tennis ball tube. Wrap black electrical tape around the tube to make sure light can't get it, then tape the tube to the camera. Voila: a macro lens.

Here's a macro shot using non-macro equipment: a K-Mart 135 mm lens ($30) on a 2x teleconverter. The film was el-cheapo dime-store brand. They say that one shouldn't even try this kind of thing because the results won't be any good. The flower is about the size of a thumbnail.

A footnote to "Trick 1" is getting macro focusing rails for your tripod. Great little invention, even though they can be WILDLY (and I mean WILDLY, in bold and caps) expensive for a really good one.

You encounter two problems in close-up photography. You need the ability to focus up close; that can be solved with magnifiers, or by moving the lens farther out from the camera with extension tubes or whatever. The second problem is harder...depth of field. Your shots came out great because all of your subject is pretty much the same distance from the lens. But if you were trying to shoot a razor, say, in three-quarter view, you would probably not be able to get both ends in focus. Reducing the aperture of the lens extends depth of field. With my old film camera, I drilled a tiny hole in the center of a lens cap and used that for a lens. Probably had an F-stop of 500 or so. Got everything from four inches to infinity in focus! I don't know if that is appplicable with a digital camera. But I don't see why it wouldn't be.

Glad you guys liked the pics and especially glad we share the interest.
This is a great time to have decent eyesight and have a camera.

The depth of field thing is an "artifact" of using a lens. If you focus on a particular plane all points not on that plane are de-focused or blurred by the lens.

While the flower is focused by the lens, the (distant) background in the great flower shot by Ontario is blurred by that same lens. This results in an isolated subject - making a better image.

Roman414's point about using a very small f stop approaches a "pinhole" and will give greater depth of field (apparent sharp range) with any lens or camera (film or digital).

If you eliminate the glass lens and use of just the "pinhole" you get "theoretically" infinite depth of field (and no focusing is required or possible).

I didn't take this pic but it illustrates the pinhole's strength ...



See how the hinges on the distant door, the newspaper in the midrange and the glass near the camera all seem sharp (or equally soft).

The irony is that
No lens can create the image you get when
you use NO lens.

Of course, hand held pinhole pics are impossible with the 1 sec - 1 hour exposures required.

So ...
Keep holdin' those cameras steady guys. There's no lens can correct for not knowing how to trip a shutter without jigglin' the camera.

Right, 2bits. Theoretically there is only one point of focus, but with a small enough aperture the "circles of confusion" are so small they make no difference. Better than a tripod for macro stuff, in my opinion is a couple of home-made bean bags. You can position and support the camera just right, and go ahead and shoot those long exposures. Cheaper than a tripod, too!

Bean bags! You're so right, sir.

The one's I made I heat in the microwave and help with a chronic stiff neck
and for camera use ... rock solid!

After a while you see or make or become the tripod:
One foot forward,
feet at 45 degrees,
legs apart,
lean on something,
elbows tight to sides,
forehead firm to camera,
exhale slow . . .
at breath's bottom - click

Good ideas and techniques. While you don't need a macro lens, they certainly make it easier!

I've made a TON of pinhole "lenses" for my DSLR and have had a ton of fun with them.

MCsommerreid said:

A footnote to "Trick 1" is getting macro focusing rails for your tripod. Great little invention, even though they can be WILDLY (and I mean WILDLY, in bold and caps) expensive for a really good one.

Click to expand...

I mount my camera on an old bellows track.