When you think of nature, what’s the most impressive thing that strikes you about it? Is it the grandeur of the landscapes? Is it the minutia of the small components that make up the world? For me, it’s definitely the scale of nature that always strikes me as majestic. I can climb a mountain that towers above the plains; but even on the peak of this mountain, I can find the tiniest flowers. In focusing on the small elements of nature, I’ve found some fascinating photographs.
While climbing Mount Bierstadt, I came across this grass covered in frost.
Even before I had my DSLR camera, I found a setting on my point-and-shoot digital camera that could be used for macro photography. Being able to get close to something and capture it in a picture felt like I had the world under a microscope, even if the capabilities of the camera were limited.
Ice is fascinating to photograph, especially with the right lighting.
One of the first lenses I had to purchase once I bought my DSLR was a macro lens. The kit lens just couldn’t get close enough to focus on the small details of nature that I wanted. Of course, once I got this macro lens, I found that taking pictures with it wasn’t as easy as it once was. Maintaining focus on my subject proved to be difficult without a steady hand. I could open up the f-stop to increase the depth of field, but then I’d lose the sharp focus of whatever I was taking a picture of.
Finding the right balance of focus and depth of field is important.
In the end, I enjoy the small details present in nature, and I’m willing to “smell the roses” as it were. I wouldn’t consider it shoegazing as much as appreciating the things in life that help paint the mosaic of a landscape. We may not be able to see each individual leaf on every single plant when we look at a landscape, but knowing that they’re down there and have their own, intrinsic beauty just adds to the picture.
Sometimes the small parts of nature reflect its perfection.
I would encourage you to kneel down sometime and take a closer look at the nature around you. You might be surprised at what you find!
As always, have fun!
– Benjamin M. Weilert
Very nice macro photography, Benjamin. Frosted grass was good in B & W in your book, Fourteener Father, but better in color IMO.
Truly enjoyed “Fourteener Father”. Don’t usually finish a book as quickly as I finished your book. I’ve done 22 14’ers but only 7 with my son. Your book helped me to understand that I don’t have the fire in my belly to do them all. Very important and good for me to know. Thanks!
Also thought it interesting that we have Christianity in common and also nature photography and going up 14’ers. I’ve taken a pretty good picture of Mt. Humboldt in addition to about 50 other pictures of nature that I think are pretty good. Some of Garden of the Gods, some of Cheyenne Canyon. I’ve loved living in the Springs since 1962 with a few short breaks.
If you’re interested in looking at some of the nature pictures I’ve taken, send me an email and I’ll attach jpg’s or send you a link to my Dropbox account. Definitely know there’s not enough time to do everything that we’d like to do, so no worries if you can’t carve out the time to do that. Either way, I liked your book and shared my review on Amazon. Hope to put my review on Google soon.
Happy trails!
Rick