Ordinary things, extraordinary photos

Many ordinary objects that we meet every day take on another dimension thanks to macro photography. Take the tiny ladies watch, unused for years, lying in the drawer. I guess nobody would be interested in it, but since I have the right equipment I would take a few shots of it. In the picture you can see how small depth of field is at such extreme magnification. The yellow gear can be situated about 1 or 2 mm deeper than the silver one, and it is no longer sharp, although the f-number is set to 18 (the maximum for this lens).

Canon 50d, Canon MP-E 65 mm 1-5 x Macro Photo, Macro Twin Lite MT-24 EX flash
It is the same with the broken mobile phone. It is worth to see what's inside.

Canon 50d, Canon MP-E 65 mm 1-5 x Macro Photo, Macro Twin Lite MT-24 EX flash
The small DOF can be noticed also in the photo of the scattered beads.

Canon 50d, Canon MP-E 65 mm 1-5 x Macro Photo, Macro Twin Lite MT-24 EX flash
Sometimes a thing that seems to be quite dull and ugly, in macro shot turns out to be very interesting.

Canon 50d, Canon 100 mm L IS Macro, Macro Twin Lite MT-24 EX flash
Rust on an old shovel.

And when we add a peacock feather to it – exceptional!

As you probably noticed, peacock feathers often appear in my photos. It is because of my passion for beauty. It seems to me that the peacocks are among the crowning achievements of evolution in this field. No wonder that they were regarded as divine birds by ancient Greeks and Hindus. Here are a few photos of peacock feathers.

Canon 50d, Canon 100 mm L IS Macro

Canon 50d, Canon MP-E 65 mm 1-5 x Macro Photo, Macro Twin Lite MT-24 EX flash

Coins are also graceful subjects. In macro photos we can have a closer look on them, and if they are old, we can recollect what they looked like. Do you remember? Not that long ago we were all millionaires.

Canon 50d, Canon 100 mm L IS Macro, Macro Twin Lite MT-24 EX flash
You may recall times of the People's Republic of Poland.

If you want to photograph coins for documentary purposes, you have to make sure that all the details are clearly visible. It can be achieved using diffused side lighting, both artificial and natural. Placing your subjects on a homogenous black background (e.g. dark velvet) in the proximity of not so big window is a good solution. The daylight falling at a large angle (but not directly) allows you to better bring out the image that is struck on the coin thanks to the shadows that are cast by mini convexities. You may, as well, use artificial lighting from a source of light or external flash that are placed on the side at a slight angle. You always have to remember to scatter the light using a diffuser which softens the contrasts.

Canon 50d, Canon 100 mm L IS Macro, Macro Twin Lite MT-24 EX flash

The old radio is also worth photographing. I remember such valve radios. When I was a kid, my parents used such a radio to listen to Radio Free Europe. You had to toil a lot to make any sense of it as the people’s government did everything possible to prevent people from listening. The special transmitters were constructed whose objective was to disrupt this broadcasting station.