Tags
bees, close-up photography, flower photography, flowers, macro photography, micro photography, photo essay, photography
It’s like looking into another world, a miniature cosmos I’ve not seen before. I see unexpected, new, different things. I collapse into a fantasy, a universe where anything is possible, a world where I hardly even know what I’ve captured until later, and even then don’t fully understand, often not even able to give it a name.
Still, it’s better without a label. The simple beauty is enough.
A while back my friend Lynn, who blogs at bluebrightly introduced me to a sweet little macro lens she’s been using, and wonder of wonders it just happened to be compatible with my camera so I bought one and have been having fun with it ever since.
The photos here are mostly flowers, but you’ll notice a dandelion puffball in there, and a very close-up shot of moss spread over a rock, and bees of course.
Taking pictures is savouring life intensely every hundredth of a second. – Mark Riboud
The question is not what you look at, but what you see. – Henry Thoreau
Photography is a love affair with life. – Burk Uzzle
A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know. – Diane Arbus
Photography helps people to see. – Berenice Abbott
If your pictures are not good enough then you’re not close enough. – Robert Capa
A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera. – Dorothea Lange
Photography . . . . . has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. – Elliott Erwitt
The two most engaging powers of a photograph are to make new things familiar and familiar things new. – William Thackeray
Photography is the story I fail to put into words. – Destin Sparks
Next post: the fourth in the Travel Highlights Series – Bali, Varanasi, and Venice.
All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2021.
Macro photography. Used to enjoy that SO much when I had a “real” camera. I keep looking at lens sets for my iphone but haven’t committed to getting one. This post has given me the itch again.
Your images are beautiful, your subjects well chosen. As are the quotes you’ve included.
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Thanks so much Kate. Had so much fun taking the photos and putting this post together. Glad to have given you the itch 😀
Alison
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That was stunning, each photo more mesmerizing than the next … I needed to see this right at this moment too. Nature can take your breath away and the quotes perfectly added to the story. Thank you. You made my day.
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Thank you so much. I’m so happy it arrived right at the right time for you. There’s nothing like nature to help lift our spirits.
Alison
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These photographs are amazing. They take you into another world.
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Thank you so much Darlene. It’s a world I’ve been really enjoying exploring with the help of my camera.
Alison
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I love how your quotes match the photos! I love macro photography too. It makes me think of the wildlife photography the BBC does
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Thanks so much winterose. I enjoyed searching for the right quotes – there are so many good ones out there. The BBC makes such amazing nature docs. I need to watch more!
Alison
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Superb macro photography, Alison. Nature at its’ close-up best. Simply stunning.
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Thank you so much Izzy 🙏
Alison
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Fantastic views. I love seeing the small things around us.
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Thanks so much Peggy. I love miniature things so this was a kind of extension of that. Fun exploration!
Alison
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Fabulous floral close ups, Alison.
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Thanks so much Jo. 🙏
Alison
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Love them all!
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Thanks Cindy. I’m glad you enjoyed them. I loved taking them – such an engaging exploration
Alison xo
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Stunning images and very beautifully composed.
If you’re a beginner at macro photography, these images are even more beautiful and creative. Am wondering what lens you and Lynn used?
Are these handheld or from a tripod, Alison?
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Thanks so much Vicki. 🙏
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Yes, I’m very much a beginner at macro.
They are all handheld. I don’t have the patience for a tripod 😂
The lens is an Olympus 60mm 1:2.8 Macro
Alison
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You did very well handheld, Alison. I used to have a Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens but traded it in for a new lightweight mirrorless Sony camera in 2015. I think your Macro images are far sharper than any I took in the past, althought I did get a few good ones.
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Mine’s a mirrorless Panasonic. I like it, tho it’s a micro 4/3. I’ve heard they’re coming out with a full frame. I might upgrade to that eventually.
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Fabulous! 🙂 xox
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Thank you 🙏 💕
Alison xo
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Stunning photographs Alison and thought-provoking quotes. When I look at your photos, the William Thackeray quote really resonates with me. You have made familiar things look completely new.
Impossible for me to select a favourite. I stared at the one with the perfectly formed water droplets clinging on the stems for a long time. The reflections within the droplets are amazing.
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Wow i think this article, is really amazing😁
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Thank you so much! 🙏
Alison
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Thanks so much Caroline 🙏 I so appreciate your kind words. I feel like I’ve achieved something! I tried to see what was reflected in those water drops. Probably part of me taking the photo lol, also I looked closer and there’s definitely leaves in there.
Alison
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You’ve got some really nice shots here, Alison. I’ve wanted to have a macro lens for a long time because I’m interested in taking photos exactly like yours. That quote by Elliott Erwitt resonates with me the most as photography is a highly subjective matter.
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Thanks so much Bama 🙏 I had a lot of fun taking these photos. Get yourself a macro lens – it’s quite amazing what you see.
And I agree re the Erwitt quote – we all see things differently.
Alison
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Simply beautiful, Alison! Perfect for Sunday 😀 May I ask which kind of flower in the 2nd photo is? It has such a nice color.
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Thanks so much Len 🙏 I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I’m pretty sure the 2nd photo is a rhododendron. I had a look back at the original photo and it’s actually a deep magenta colour. Clearly I changed it quite a lot in Lightroom, 😂 though rhododendrons do exist that are pretty close to that light salmon colour.
Alison
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Haha I suspected it to be rhododendron but the color is so different. I have 4 types of rhododendron at home (orange, magenta, white, and red). Sometimes, magenta mix with white to create pale pink. But none have that beautiful salmon colour 😛
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These are exquisite.
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Thank you so much Gayle. 🙏
I’m glad you like them.
Alison
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Oh my these are amazing Alison. I see your incredible photography at skills have transferred beautifully to macro. Such excellent quotes too.
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Thanks so much Sue. 🙏 I’ve been having so much fun with this new lens!
Alison
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These are wonderful works of art, Alison! Kudos to you.
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Thank you so much Ruth. 🙏
Alison
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I see human body parts, sea creatures, and fantastical foodstuffs! And flowers, of course. As you allude to in your intro, I also found myself in a fantasy world, “a universe where anything is possible, a world where I hardly even know …” Beyond the sharpness of the tiny details, that’s what’s fun about macro photography – seeing things in totally different scales and perspectives that render them almost unrecognizable.
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Oh I do love your imagination Lexie! And yes – fun! Often I don’t know what I’ve captured, and of course have dozens that didn’t turn out, but I’ve been really enjoying exploring with this lens.
Alison
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As always, the images are stunning; do you find that you learn a lot about a plant, animal, insect, etc when examining it in close detail?
Brining up the rear of the comments, I was surprised that no one inquired about the horrific flooding. I hope that things are better, the infrastructure back in place, but most likely where those landslides happened, there will be a lot of work before things are stable again.
I hope that nature’s baptisms are finished with your area of the world.
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Thanks so much Lisa 🙏 The short answer to your question is no, except in a kind of “wow, I didn’t know they liked like that” kind of way. I just like the colours/patterns/shapes/secrets.
There was little damage in Vancouver (some small flooding here and there) and we were not affected at all. The worst of it was inland from us, out in the Fraser Valley and beyond. But yes, the infrastructure is back in place, and the supply chain rolling along if a bit slower than usual. One of the major freeways inland will be under repair for months to come but there’s ways around it.
We’re in the middle of another baptism but it is more in the way of a regular winter storm.
Hope all is well where you are, and that you are safe.
Alison 💕
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When that first torrent of rain/water hit your area, I thought, at least it’s not bitter cold – and with power out many would suffer… I keep my home base on the equator because my health is not too great in cold weather.
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No, it’s not bitter cold, but we’re getting more and more rain. Out in the valley they’re wondering if the latest sandbagging efforts to shore up and heighten the dykes will survive the next onslaught due tonight. It always rains here – all winter – just not this much 😦
Alison
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I hope that the heavens finish purging the tears, and you get back to normal balance. Am admiring all of those lovely photos of ‘had me at Hello’ right now!
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I loved this! So cool to focus in on “small” details and make them the whole world. The quotes were awesome, too – going back and forth between visual fantasy and philosophical contemplation. 😀
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Thank you so much 🙏 This post was a great joy for me – taking, then editing, the photos, and researching and choosing the quotes. I for sure will be playing more with that macro lens.
Alison
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Wonderful, Alison! What an explosion of color on a gray and rainy November morning. Your bees are fantastic. The 5th, 6th, and 11th photos jumped out at me but on another day it would be other images. I’m glad you’re having fun with the 60mm and thanks for the mention. I appreciate it.
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Thanks so much Lynn. Grey and rainy here too of course. Fun with bees; it’s always a challenge to be quick enough! The 6th is one of my favourites too, and I love the 11th. It’s one of many shots of those leaves in that particular light. I wanted to share about 6 of them 😂
I’m so glad I learned about this lens from you. I rarely do any camera/lens research so would not have known of it otherwise.
Alison
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