All Aglow

This picture right here is one of the reasons I bought a macro lens. I have always enjoyed taking pictures of flowers with a set of close-up filters on my 50mm lens (longtime Weekly Fifty readers probably know this already) but to be able to get shots of flowers with an actual macro lens is a whole other experience entirely. Some of the first pictures I took with my close-up filters looked similar to this one, but they were much more difficult to shoot due to the fussy nature of filters compared to a true macro lens. Now I’m able to frame my shot and focus on whatever I want, without trying to move my camera back and forth with a +10 or +4 filter attached to the front and hope that the thing I want to be in focus actually resides within the narrow plane of focus allowed by the filter.

I know it sounds a little odd to describe, but if you have ever used a set of close-up filters you know what I’m talking about. To be fair, they are a great way to experience macro photography without spending a lot of money, but it is nice to have a real macro lens :)

I shot this at our neighbor’s house on the recommendation of my wife, who suggested we go down to our neighbor’s house to take some macro pictures when she saw that their flower garden next to the sidewalk was in full bloom. It was sunny and a bit breezy when we walked over there but we got some great results through teamwork: she blocked the wind as much as she could, and held the flower steady while I took some pictures. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going for and neither was my wife, but both of us knew that we didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to photograph these flowers up close. I tried some that were straight-on and some from the side, and this ended up being my favorite of the bunch. I like that it’s kind of a three-quarters view so you get a sense of depth and dimension, and the yellows and reds just explode off the screen with a sense of life and vibrancy that you can only get at this time of year. I had a great time taking this picture and I’m looking forward to many more like it :)