Macro At Higher Magnifications

Years ago, when I was using film, I always wanted to buy a macro lens but could never afford one.  Around 1990 I gave up on film and photography in general, instead buying a video camera to film my children growing up.  Years later I bought my first digital pocket camera and was immediately impressed with the ability to shoot closeup.  When I finally got a DSLR the macro lens was the first addition.  Once I got started shooting macro I was amazed how much detail was present in bugs and flowers and could see that with a bit more magnification more could be revealed.

The pictures here where made using bench mounted setup using bellows, some strange lenses and a microscope stage to adjust focus.  At this magnification the depth of field is very small and focus stacking is essential.  Each of these examples consists of between 100 and 300 frames assembled in software to get an in focus shot.

The first picture is of a match head, it looks so very different from what we see with the naked eye.

Insects are difficult to set up for photography but also rewarding.  This next shot is of an earwig antenna and you can just see it's eye in the corner.

Finally we have the corner of a beetle's head and pretty unfriendly it looks too!


I would be happy to explain more about technique and equipment if anyone is curious.