ThinkIng Outside The Box

You normally wouldn't think of using an effective focal length lens of 840mm as a close-up or macro lens.  Sometimes
it pays to think "Outside of the Box," so to speak.  Notice the sharpness and detail in the stamens.  (click to enlarge)
Olympus E-M1 Mark II; 300mm f/4 PRO lens + MC-14 1.4x tele-converter; 1/ 40th sec. @ f/11; ISO 200

During this time of closings, voluntary home confinement, stay-at-home orders and lock down directives mostly still in force around the world, to remain creative many of us are turning to photographing things we find around our homes.  Macro and close-up photography is one of the génres I see most.

Over time as we photograph, we develop our techniques and habits that serve us well for whatever types of photography we choose to practice.  However, we can become stale as we are creatures of habit and tend to do things pretty much the same way.  Maybe it’s time to toss aside our normal way of thinking and start thinking outside of our proverbial photographic boxes.  In other words, don't artificially restrict yourself.  Think differently and in new ways.

An example is using a dedicated macro lens for our close-up photography.  Those lenses are typically 30mm and 60mm for m4/3 format, 60mm and 90mm for APS-C format.  For full frame, typical macro lenses are 60mm, 90mm, 150mm and sometimes even 200mm.  But there are other focal lengths that can also serve as vessels to see the close-up world with a different perspective.  I don't know if you have ever seen macros done with an extremely wide-angle lens.  They look totally different than with a focal length that we normally would use.  

(click to enlarge)
Olympus E-M1 Mark II; 300mm f/4 PRO lens + MC-14 1.4x tele-converter; 1/ 160th sec. @ f/5.6; ISO 200

As an example of this, I shot some close-ups of some daylilies with my Olympus 300mm f/4 PRO lens and I added a 1.4x tele-converter to that.  That gave me an effective field of view of 840mm in full frame terms.  Also, I used a sturdy tripod as my shutter speeds would be relatively low due to keeping my ISO at 200.

The Olympus 300mm f/4 lens focuses down to 4.59 ft. (1.39m)  That provides a very large separation from any subject matter, like dragonflies, bees, etc., that might fly away if you were closer.  That 4.59 ft. distance also results in a magnification of about 1/4 life size for the lens alone.  Add the 1.4x tele-converter and you find yourself being able to photograph at about 1/3 life size.  Not too bad for such a super telephoto lens.

(click to enlarge)
Olympus E-M1 Mark II; 300mm f/4 PRO lens + MC-14 1.4x tele-converter; 1/ 200th sec. @ f/5.6; ISO 200

Sometimes using a different focal length from what you would normally choose for any particular subject can energize your vision and creativity and allow you to see and create in new ways.  Additionally, changing the position of your light source, say to backlight, can also give you a completely different effect.  The great Ted Grant, a celebrated Canadian photojournalist, once said he always tries to photograph "from the shadow side."  

Don't relegate your photography to what is "standard" practice or only use what would normally be called "recommended" lenses, shutter speeds, ISOs, etc.  Change things up.  Think differently.  If you do, you may surprise yourself and create something entirely different that what you normally do.


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Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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