Beauty in Biology ~ The fascinating world of macro photography

There is a new reality to be discovered in the fragments of living things.  At school I was always fascinated by the microscope and the way it could show us fragments of life at the cellular stage. The macro lens allows photographers a similar glimpse of that incredible inner world; a whole other universe of shape, colour, pattern and texture.
Theodore Roethke once famously said, "Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light." The goal of the macro photographer is to find that light and to use it to produce the vibrant, eye-catching images that typify the genre.

'Alien Bugs' ~ Macro image of Poinciana Stamens

The most artistic macro images are those where a very shallow depth of field is used to focus only on one small, but extremely important part of the image, and the background is blurred into a wash of colours. Most Digital SLR cameras and even some compact cameras have a setting for macro photography, usually indicated by the symbol of a flower. And of course, for the enthusiasts, there are the macro lenses, specifically designed to get in really close.

'Floral Explosion' ~ Centre of a Bohinia blossom

I love photographing on the macro level. I find it absolutely fascinating and so much of the Biology I learned at school has come to the fore again. A large portion of our fine art photography business involves macro images as wall art. They look amazing blown up into large prints and framed, printed onto clear glass, or printed onto canvas. Our macro floral images are also used on kitchen splashbacks, for fine art gift and greeting cards, calendars, glass paperweights, place mats, cushion covers, screens - pretty much anything to do with home decor.

Centre of a Blushing Bride Protea

Although I use many subjects to photograph in macro, I am drawn to the beauty and intricate design of flowers. As Jean Giraudoux so eloquently puts it: "The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is the example of the eternal seductiveness of life."

'Agapanthus Ballet'