My wife and I usually spend some time somewhere in the warm sunny south over the course of our too long winters in Ontario Canada. Not so this year. We were however looking for some respite in late February so we booked a short overnight stay in Niagara Falls. One of the less sensational attractions …
Photographing a Butterfly Conservatory – Black and White, What Can’t It Do? Read More
The idea of trying to take macro shots on film came to me, when I was watching older illustrated books with all kinds of nature photography. I’m deeply impressed by what the nature image photographers in the 1970ies to 1990ies were able to take with the equipment of their era. I would never be able to do such wildlife photography with my analog equipment.
But trying some plant macros seemed possible.
There are great masters in the art of macro photography and perhaps some of them will smile if they read my article but these are the adventures of a simple amateur in this difficult specialty.
When I was given a Leica M3 in 1957, I was already attracted to macro photos but I needed a suitable accessory and bought the Visoflex. The set was very bulky, I don’t remember taking any macro photos, I also lacked the necessary skills.
Finally, I had time to test my macro lens. An old one a Vivitar 55mm, 2.8. The conditions for photographing were perfect. There was hoarfrost all over. So with Robert Capa’s quote in fresh in mind – “If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” I went out.
