iPhoneography Challenge: Macro Photography

08 April 2013

Lens:

1. White Hybrid Lily, Longwood Gardens, iPhone 4s, December 2012; © Sally W. Donatello and Lens and Pens by Sally, 2013

1. Dried Dill, iPhone 4s, April 2013; © Sally W. Donatello and Lens and Pens by Sally, 2013

3. Dried Dill, iPhone 4s, April 2013; © Sally W. Donatello and Lens and Pens by Sally, 2013

4, Dried Rose Hip, iPhone 4s, April 2013; © Sally W. Donatello and Lens and Pens by Sally, 2013

Let me know which you prefer and why.

Pens:

Last month Gracie (http://graciebinoya.com), Polly (http://watchingthephotoreels.com) and I began an iPhoneography Monday Challenge. If you’d like to join the fun, please click here for details. This week’s theme is macro, which always helps me push the boundaries of what is a worthy subject.

The macro world produces the small, and, mostly, unseen by the naked eye. At times this universe seems fantastical and intriguingly bursting with nuances and surprises.

The normal becomes a sorcerer with hidden secrets, which sometimes are unimaginably splendid. I cannot get enough of this magic. More often than not it stuns my sensibilities, and rocks my visual landscape.

In the Lens section are four examples of macros using my iPhone 4s. The first image was shot with the camera’s lens. The second and third were captured with the app Hipstamatic. Luminance, which is a relatively new app for my camera bag, is one of my latest favorite apps and was used for the last photograph.

Tip Of the Week: Regardless of whether you use a DSLR or the iPhone, macro photography requires some very specific rules. But here we are concerned with the iPhone. Most importantly, you must be able with or without a tripod to still the cellphone. I usually hold the camera steady or support it, but I do occasionally use a tripod. Unless you seek an abstract of your subject, camera shake is a very real issue with a close-up. Since the depth of field is shallow, the background becomes blurred and the subject magnified. The range of the cellphone is limited and cropping (at least for me) is not the answer. Finding just the right distance is the key–too close and the image is out of focus. The zoom on the camera increases the chances of the blur. Another critical source of success or not is the light. Often as you move closer to the subject, we get in the way of the light. Sometimes it takes gymnastics to get it right. Macro is tricky. The best results come from the right balance of distance, light and steadiness.

Check out these entries;

http://ayearinmyshoes.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/iphonography-monday-macro

http://watchingthephotoreels.com

http://graciebinoya.com

http://acrossthebored.com/2013/04/08/iphoneography-monday-macro-2/

http://nosteptooloose.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/iphoneography-challenge-macro-photography/

http://angelinem.wordpress.com

http://rfljenksy.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/iphoneography-challenge-macro-photography/

http://foundroundandabout.com/2013/04/12/macro-photography-iphoneography-challenge

Note: As always I welcome comments about this post or any part of my blog. The following is a reminder of the weekly schedule and themes for upcoming challenges. 

1st Monday: Nature

2nd Monday: Macro

3rd Monday: Black-and-White

4th and 5th Mondays: Challenger’s Choice (Pick One: Abstraction, Architecture, Food Photography, Night Photography, Portraiture, Still Life, Street Photography, and Travel).