My lens life felt banal this week, so I moved in and went macro. Super macro. I call it my “bug lens” but it’s actually a set of two lenses which go by the names of Raynox DCR-150 and Raynox DCR-250. They’re $40 gifts from macro heaven that snap on to the lens of my FZ50 or my 70-300 zoom both. Instantly, the microscopic underworld of leaves, petals, and flower buds bursts into life with aphids, weevils, honey bees and dew drops.
The tricky part of photographing with a Raynox closeup lens is the need for a steady hand and perfect focusing distance. There’s a very small margin for error — smallest with the 250 — and the depth-of-field requires intent. Moving objects like honey bees aren’t so easy, although I’ve encountered a few that didn’t notice me much in their focused zeal for pollen.
So here, in celebration of a Bay Area spring, is my mini-series of budding, seasonal life.
Left to right . . . most taken at Berkeley Rose Garden after the rains:
Row 1: Raindrop on rose leaf, raindrops on rose petal, raindrops on spider web
Row 2: Milk snail shell, rose weevil on rose bud, honey bee
Row 3: Raindrops on blade of grass, raindrops on roses, rose aphids on rose petal
Row 4: Rose thorns, Cream Cup wildflower (Platystemon californicus), bycatch in a spider’s web
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Been browsing your blog. These macro shots are great. I’ll have to look into those Raynox gizmos. I don’t have a macro and this might be a good solution.