Sometimes don’t you just like to get up close to nature and zoom in on the small things in life? Macro photography is just that. Getting a close up view of nature and seeing things just a little bit differently than you normally do. Many years ago (too many to want to count) I remember the fascination I had with the microscope. Small details that the eye doesn’t notice just jump off the screen (or once printed “off the paper”). This dragonfly that I noticed in my back yard is such an example. I’ll have to thank the little critter for staying so perfectly still and long enough for me to capture its image. Once I downloaded the digital image onto my computer, the once unnoticed colors and shapes came into view. The golden browns, the blues, the minute veins in its wings; all the way down to the invisible hairs on its body and legs. Things you would not notice if you just saw it flying bye. I did not even have time to go get my regular camera (Digital SLR), I just had my “carry where-ever I go” point and shoot Sony Cybershot 8.1 mega pixel camera. Just shows you that you can capture very good images with many of the newer simple to use cameras.
Photography is not always about the camera (although quality and great lenses really do help); most of the creative part of photography comes from the person behind the lens. Angle, lighting, focus, patience, and often time’s just plain old luck play a big part in taking good photos. I was fortunate this time to have all those elements. I don’t know if having my Digital SLR and macro-lens would have made a difference with this one photo as time was a factor that I just could not risk. Shoot with what I have, or risk loosing the shot all-together by going for the high end camera. I think I made the best choice.