The Little Garden of Horrors


Back to Plant Photography	CPs lend themselves very well to macro photography or close-up photography, as a lot of their details are in minute intricacies. Most compact digitals have a macro function, but for best results you should use a SLR with a dedicated macro lens to achieve a 1:1 magnification. Also, the macro function of most compact digitals require you to get within 2-3cm or less of the subject, which can either end you up with a sticky camera if you accidentally stick it in some Drosera traps, or scare away a fly which was about to enter a Sarracenia pitcher. The more popular macro lenses are of fixed focal length and fixed aperture such as the 100mm f2/8 macro by Canon, and tend to deliver exceptionally sharp images. A cheaper alternative would be to purchase add-on lenses, or "close up" lenses/filters. These attach to the front of your existing camera lens and provide a few dioptre's worth of magnification. Unfortunately, any extra glass in front of your lens will invariably degrade the quality of your image. They also shorten the minimum working distance (ie you have to get closer to your subject). One very popular close up lens is the inexpensive Raynox DC 250, which fits both DSLR lenses and compact digitals, and has been known to produce magnifications larger than 1:1 especially if used in conjunction with a true macro lens. To obtain image magnifications of more than 1:1, you try stacking several closeup filters, which will unfortunately tend to degrade the image quality. A cheaper alternative would be to use the reverse lens technique. You will require 2 lenses for this - I use a 17-55mm zoom plus a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. I attach the 17-55mm on to the camera body as usual, and hold the 50mm lens the other way round so that the front elements of both lenses are facing each other. Set the camera to manual focus mode, and use manual zoom as well (walking nearer or further away from the object). The downsides to this technique include: 1. Focusing distance is extremely close. I mean EXTREMELY close, about 1cm or less, which increases the chances of you spooking a prey item or touching the plant/dew/substrate to your lens. 2. Plane of focus is extremely thin, which means that you will probably get many out of focus shots before you manage to nail it. 3. There is significant vignetting. To counter this, fully open the aperture manually on your reversed lens (the 50mm in this case). The aperture control is a small slider you can find at the lens attachment. You may still end up with some vignetting, but this can be cropped away later. Reverse lens coupling rings make the whole operation a lot easier. These are just screw-on rings that let you attach both lenses front-to-front, saving the need to continue grasping them or taping them together. As with all aspects of photography, experiment around, and practice, practice, practice! Some examples of reverse lens photography: Drosera intermedia - notice the extremely thin depth of field. Only 4 of the dew droplets are actually in focus. Extreme closeup of a Nepenthes rafflesiana flower. Drosera scorpioides gemmae - these are approximately 1-2mm in size in real life. N.x Rokko peristome in closeup