‘Macro photography is a specialized form of extreme close-up photography that makes the subject appear life-size or larger on the camera’s sensor, allowing for extreme detail.’
This is one definition of macro photography, and it is of particular interest to camera club members this month as it the
topic of Round 2 of the NIPA competition.
In advance of the entry date, two club members gave an illustrated talk and demonstration of this genre of photography at last week’s meeting of Ballynahinch Camera Club. Terry Hanna and John McCullough handled this topic very well as they explained how it was possible to obtain good macro photographs using basic equipment. They also explained the concept of ‘depth of field’ and its relevance to macro images.
John showed many of his stunning images of insects, flowers and water droplets as he described how he had obtained the shots. Patience and imagination seemed to be the order of the day. Who knew you could superglue an individual dandelion seed to the end of a piece of wire!
Terry gave a demonstration of using a focusing rail to take multiple images of a subject, each focussed on a slightly different part. Computer software then performed a process known as focus stacking to blend the images together to form one image which was sharp from front to back.
This week’s meeting will follow on from last week’s topic of macro photography when members will get an opportunity to critique images which may be submitted for the macro competition. The results of a calendar competition will also be announced. New members are always welcome and if anyone with an interest in photography would like more details of joining the club they should visit the club website – www.ballynahinchcameraclub.co.uk.
Caption for photo:-
Close-up of a house fly. (John McCullough)
