My macro photograph of a lobster trap Christmas ornament from Bar Harbor, Maine. Sony FE 90mm lens, 1/5 second at f7.1, ISO 800.
I recently added a macro focusing rail to my assortment of photography gear and tried it out for the first time on a souvenir lobster trap ornament and a mineral specimen. If you’ve never tried macro photography, it is challenging because the depth of field can be so shallow that there is very little of the subject in focus. Additionally, it’s hard to see on the small details on the camera’s live view screen.
I also failed to notice the cotton. Yep, the azurite specimen has been sitting on a shelf for some time collecting dust, so I attempted to clean it with a Q-tip so that I wouldn’t damage the fragile crystals, but dragging a cotton swab across a rough, rocky surface wasn’t the brightest idea that I’ve had. Of course, I didn’t see the strings of cotton until after I’d taken the photos and was reviewing them on my computer monitor. Derp.
Well, these shots are experiments. Live and learn, right?
Macro photo of an azurite specimen from Blue Ball Mine, Arizona. Sony FE90mm lens, 1/5 second at f7.1, ISO 800.
What did I learn? Well, I experimented with different background elements and lighting. I didn’t have photography lighting, so I had overhead room lights plus a flashlight. The flashlight is one of those bluish LED lights, which is pretty ugly for taking photos. So to “fix” that, I have a sample book of colored gels and I tried using one in front of the flashlight to change the color of the light. It worked fairly well, enough that I can decide whether to buy some full-size gels and get some decent photography lights. $$$
The background is a sheet of art paper. I buy those 12 x 12 inch sheets of paper from a local hobby store and I have a very cheap background stand that is basically a horizontal plastic arm with clips, kind of like a coat hanger on a stand. It’s enough to hold paper but not very sturdy, although for what I’m doing it works for the moment. The lobster trap ornament and the azurite are sitting on top of a burlap canvas because I needed to raise up the subjects. Yes, yes — I could have adjusted the tripod. But once it was set I didn’t want to move it, and I wanted to see how the texture of the canvas “tabletop” would look. I think it works for these subjects.
My aim is to try some food photography, mostly spices and utensils to get started. I don’t know how deep I want to get with it, but having small items to start with is getting me back into photography.
Gear used: Sony a7 camera, Sony 2.8/90 macro G OSS lens, Oben macro focusing rail, Manfrotto tripod
Focal Plane 