As the Black and White Book Club is winding down, I was thinking about trying to do another month-long theme for push and inspiration. "Macro March" has a good ring to it, and I thought it might fit well especially for those with a possibility of spring arriving to provide new subjects. (Here in Wisconsin, USA I am skeptical about spring ever showing up, but there are indoor macro subjects aplenty too.)
You do not need any specialized lenses or equipment to participate. Many point-and-shoot cameras have a macro mode (picture of a tulip usually), and there are lots of ways to take great macro shots on a DSLR without a pricey macro lens. (You can read about some of those methods here, http://www.boostyourphotography.com/2013/04/cheap-and-easy-macro-comparisons-and.html, if you are curious.) No need to get into technicalities about the difference between macro vs. close-up either. If it is a zoomed in detail of something small, it works.
Leave a comment below to get tagged in future Macro March posts. If you do participate, tag your photos macro-march so we can find them!
@archaeofrog Hi Katie. I've absolutely loved the book club challenge, even though I didn't have the book!
I've just posted an idea for numbers for March but maybe I could incorporate some of this as well! Who knows, the world is our oyster! Se please tag me as well.
The book reference for Black and White February I liked and admired greatly, although some reviews on Amazon were not so positive. There is so much in its 200 pages. Thank you so much for the effort to pull that together. I could play along with Macro for a month, on and off. It will give me a chance to put my f/2.8 105mm to work.
A good switch that doesn't preclude b&w, but nice to have a new focus. Please include me in the tags. I love macro and haven't been doing much with it lately so this is a great idea.
I'm not sure I want to do a macro month in March - although later on it could be fun. There are not enough hours of daylight after getting home from work, and not sure how much macro I'm going to find around where I work in the East End of London.
I love close ups! I'll be traveling for almost two weeks in early March and may or may not be able to keep up then, but I'm definately in for as much as I'm able!
Yes, it would be good to have a dedicated month of macro work. If you are looking at using a book for this project, I would suggest Bryan Peterson's book "Macro and Close-Up Photography."
@chapjohn Hmm, thanks for the suggestion! My library only seems to have his Understanding close-up photography : creative close encounters with or without a macro Lens but will check it out.
I might do a macro March. I love Macro. I have other things I want/need to do, but I have three albums, so I may try it. My issue is TIME! Or the lack thereof.
Hi, Katie. The bw bookclub has been a very stimulating experience...I couldn't finish the book but will keep reading and learning.
I'd like to try the macro March, maybe not every day. Please count me in.
@archaeofrog Katie, that i the bokk. I am sorry I got the title wrong. The reason I suggested this book is because it sounds like you want to do with the March. He not strict about 1:1 macro, but is mostly interested in getting good details.
Hi Katie, please tag me in!! This would be a perfect challenge for me as I just got my 105 f2.8 micro lens, and have been dying to put it to use! I was actually thinking of doing a month of flower shots, macro or otherwise, so this would fit right in!! Thanks for organizing the challenge!
Please tag me in Katie, I have a macro lens that i haven't put to much use yet. I will try to do the whole month as I have really enjoyed the challenge of the Black and White Book Club. Thank you for organising that.
I was wondering about what to do in March. The weather here can be wintry or can be springlike (and sometimes both in the same day). I can do macro shots indoors and indoors. Count me in! Thank you for organizing this.
That sounds sa great idea and I'd like to join in. I love macro. I started with a little p&s camera and it seemed to do macro better than anything and I got hooked.
I love macro so I'm in. I have an infrared filter coming that I'm planning to mess with but its probably going to take a while to get that to work out.
@archaeofrog I would love to try it, Katie! It sounds fun and might get me out shooting each day. :) Thanks so much for doing the b/w bookclub! I learned a lot about photography--and myself. :P
Wow, excited about all the interest! My thought had simply been to try macro for a month, but I am open to doing something a little more "directed" too (like a weekly focus).
@chapjohn recommended Bryan Peterson's book Understanding close-up photography : creative close encounters with or without a macro Lens, which I have on-order from the library and looks like exactly what I had in mind - a focus on closeup without fancy lens requirements. If you want to check it out, I put an Amazon link to it on my cheap macro overview post : http://www.boostyourphotography.com/2013/04/cheap-and-easy-macro-comparisons-and.html. (And yes, if you buy it through that link, I get a small, very small percentage from Amazon.)
Share your thoughts below about how you might like the month to work: just try macro, do something like a weekly focus, try to do a whole 'nother book club, etc ...
I was quite keen on this but having read your post here, your article and looked on Amazon inside Bryan Peterson's book I think it sounds all too technical for me - I use a Fuji X20 and don't have (and don't want) a DSLR and all the paraphernalia. Nice idea though...........
@quietpurplehaze Hi Hazel, it isn't meant to "be" anything other than an encouragement to shoot macro and get feedback from others doing the same. Everyone can choose to participate in their own way. A DSLR isn't required to think about things like backgrounds or focus or composition, etc. But it's totally up to you.
@quietpurplehaze Hi Hazel - I have a little Canon point and shoot that I use for all my macro shots. I'm not going to be using the book - just having fun with macro.
Sadly, no time to do the book part now but wish I could! But I will participate in macro march .... Guided might be good with very general themes. Maybe a theme a week... Like machines, living things, pattern, and free week. Just an idea. For busy people it is tough when each day there is one specific thing to shoot and then add that it has to be macro. :0) but I will try anything people decide
@archaeofrog I think a theme for each week might be a good idea to keep us focused. Some might want to take the idea further and read more on macro photography during the month; others will have less time or less inclination to do that.
@hippiechick13 I would not think you must have the book. It may not be the best book on macro/close-up photography, but it is full of images with the settings used to get that image. Bryan explains things well and is fun to read. I have no reservastions recomending books or videos by Bryan Peterson.
@chapjohn Thank you John - that's good to know. Right now I have a little Canon point and shoot - my only option is to hit the macro setting or don't. But I do love it.
@quietpurplehaze@archaeofrog I am glad you are talking about how it can be a p and s camera. I started this project with a Canon Power shot p and s and it had that macro setting "the tulip icon." If I set the camera on that, it let me focus much more close up and do some macros. It doesn't take a DSLR...another option is that there are cheap macro lens that will stick on your smart phone, so if it has a pretty good camera, you can take macros that way. They cost $20. I love my iphone macro lens!
The subject matter may not be some people's cup of tea, but the iphone macro lens I ordered on the internet really does a good job. Here is a pic of a ladybug larva eating aphids. @quietpurplehaze@archaeofrog
Sounds interesting :)
The problem is, my birthday is on March 3 and if I'm lucky I'll get a macro filter then, so I could participate, but I'm not sure I will :/
But please keep me tagged :)
@quietpurplehaze Hazel, if you have a smartphone with a camera, many of them take marvelous close-ups. My big revelation for the decade is that a primary reason cellphones HAVE cameras is so that you can scan bar codes, so of course they'll focus close!
I often use my cellphone (a three-year-old Android) to get close-ups I can't get with my point and shoot or my DSLR.
@archaeofrog I like the "pretty macro" idea! I spent a week photographing cicada husks when the darn things emerged - my friends got tired of them before I did!
I'll probably be "on again, off again" - I have a long (for me) trip scheculed for Spring Break and I'm taking a "brick and mortar" photo class, Close ups tend to come pretty easy to me but I may not be able to juggle it and I may get behind on the posting and am pretty sure to fall behind on comments again. So theme or not theme is fine for me either way.
I don't have a mobile (only an ancient old thing that Ray, my husband, insists I have in case I break down whilst out in the car alone!) But thank you for thinking of me. I'll probably have a go as I love taking macro shots. It's just that it all seemed to be getting very technical.
I would like to give this a go so count me in as I have yet to use my recently purchased macro lens. I am hoping this will give me the push I need to get out there and do it!
@archaeofrog I like the idea of using a book (or another source) to kind of give us some ideas to work with and an opportunity to put into play what we have learned. After spending the past 3 weeks in black and white I don't want to commit to a full month of nothing but macros but I would totally like some weekly themes or techniques that I could do 2 or 3 pics per week. I just don't want to be tied to macro every day for my 365...at least not right after a being tired to only b&w for a month. Thank you for putting these monthly things together, they really do help give some focus in doing a 365 project. One of my goals in doing a 365 project is to learn and this really helps.
I don't know if I want to get tied down to something too directed, Katie, but I would still like to do some macro and be able to tag it for the march macro theme. Is that okay?
Looks like there will be a lot of macro shots coming up. Count me in too. Tag me!
And thank you so much for that boostyourphoto link. I have been meaning to order one or all of these, so I went ahead and went for the cheapies to see what they can do before investing in more expensive options. Bought the extension tubes for my canon for about $19, the close up filters (+1,+2,+4?,+10) for about $20, and went ahead and got the 52mm reverse mount for my 50mm f/1.8 ($11) I have no idea when they will be here because of Amazon (said 5-8 business days .. but when I checked out it said sometime around the end of April... so we'll see).
At any rate, I'll keep doing it the old fashioned way, setting the aperture on my 18-55mm lens, then detaching it, flipping it around, and holding it in place while I take the shot. It's worked ok so far.
$50 or so for some fun attachments for the summer at any rate.
Ok. I'm in. It was hard doing bw/selective color this month as my personal challenge but I need focus to keep going. Spring weather should help as it slowly emerges, right? ;)
@adambralston Hope you are having fun with your new purchases (and that your shipping stuff got sorted out)! I have found that I use my close-up lenses the most, but the extension tubes definitely make a big difference in how close you can get. Fun!
@jaynspain Everyone can join when/however. Asking to be tagged just means you'll get a notification when I post a new discussion, which some people find a helpful reminder.
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I'll get the last Book Club post up tomorrow. Just tagging you all in case anyone is interested in trying macro for March.
I've just posted an idea for numbers for March but maybe I could incorporate some of this as well! Who knows, the world is our oyster! Se please tag me as well.
http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/21291/numbers-theme-for-march
please tag me
I'd like to try the macro March, maybe not every day. Please count me in.
That sounds sa great idea and I'd like to join in. I love macro. I started with a little p&s camera and it seemed to do macro better than anything and I got hooked.
@chapjohn recommended Bryan Peterson's book Understanding close-up photography : creative close encounters with or without a macro Lens, which I have on-order from the library and looks like exactly what I had in mind - a focus on closeup without fancy lens requirements. If you want to check it out, I put an Amazon link to it on my cheap macro overview post : http://www.boostyourphotography.com/2013/04/cheap-and-easy-macro-comparisons-and.html. (And yes, if you buy it through that link, I get a small, very small percentage from Amazon.)
Share your thoughts below about how you might like the month to work: just try macro, do something like a weekly focus, try to do a whole 'nother book club, etc ...
@dibzgreasley @stephomy @barneyone @lynnb @frankhymus @pandorasecho @mace508 @nadaa @mzzhope @hippiechick13 @tahoemb @mittens @caroline11820 @hollandcrew @elsbels @dlaxton @taffy @lisatork @stimuloog @therubysusan @kanelipulla @jocasta @paulam @livealittle @chapjohn @beckys @vignouse @ourrube @silverhorn @espyetta @pennyp @mara19500 @trudio @sminersphotos @jlindros @chloejackson @nanderson @panthora @elaine55 @daisymiller @kimshawball @quietpurplehaze @aponi @obmcreations @jo13 @wanabe @daffodill @suebarni @unfolding @cindy_k @teachntravel @susn824 @miata2u @raisethebarjudy @homeschoolmom @pitasmum @olivetreeann @neakwagener @summerfield @gratefulness @lesleyallen @nookie72 @dolphin @yvonneknitsknots @linnypinny (Let me know if I missed you in the tagging, that was a long list!)
I was quite keen on this but having read your post here, your article and looked on Amazon inside Bryan Peterson's book I think it sounds all too technical for me - I use a Fuji X20 and don't have (and don't want) a DSLR and all the paraphernalia. Nice idea though...........
@quietpurplehaze Hi Hazel, it isn't meant to "be" anything other than an encouragement to shoot macro and get feedback from others doing the same. Everyone can choose to participate in their own way. A DSLR isn't required to think about things like backgrounds or focus or composition, etc. But it's totally up to you.
Maybe I'll just get out my old p&s again - thanks for the encouragement!
:-)
@quietpurplehaze @archaeofrog
The problem is, my birthday is on March 3 and if I'm lucky I'll get a macro filter then, so I could participate, but I'm not sure I will :/
But please keep me tagged :)
I often use my cellphone (a three-year-old Android) to get close-ups I can't get with my point and shoot or my DSLR.
I'll probably be "on again, off again" - I have a long (for me) trip scheculed for Spring Break and I'm taking a "brick and mortar" photo class, Close ups tend to come pretty easy to me but I may not be able to juggle it and I may get behind on the posting and am pretty sure to fall behind on comments again. So theme or not theme is fine for me either way.
I don't have a mobile (only an ancient old thing that Ray, my husband, insists I have in case I break down whilst out in the car alone!) But thank you for thinking of me. I'll probably have a go as I love taking macro shots. It's just that it all seemed to be getting very technical.
I don't know if I want to get tied down to something too directed, Katie, but I would still like to do some macro and be able to tag it for the march macro theme. Is that okay?
And thank you so much for that boostyourphoto link. I have been meaning to order one or all of these, so I went ahead and went for the cheapies to see what they can do before investing in more expensive options. Bought the extension tubes for my canon for about $19, the close up filters (+1,+2,+4?,+10) for about $20, and went ahead and got the 52mm reverse mount for my 50mm f/1.8 ($11) I have no idea when they will be here because of Amazon (said 5-8 business days .. but when I checked out it said sometime around the end of April... so we'll see).
At any rate, I'll keep doing it the old fashioned way, setting the aperture on my 18-55mm lens, then detaching it, flipping it around, and holding it in place while I take the shot. It's worked ok so far.
$50 or so for some fun attachments for the summer at any rate.