Small Subjects

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Small Subjects

I’ve always been fascinated by intricate detail to be found in small objects magnified to human scale. The images here are minimalist close-ups of shells collected years ago along the Texas coast. Given my lack of experience with small subjects they came out much better than expected. Sometimes luck smiles on a poor camera jockey.

Shoestring Photography

Times being as uncertain as they are it seemed a good idea to spend as little money as possible to do indoor photography. I found some instructions on YouTube for a close-up / macro cage that is perfectly adaptable to just about any kind of close-up work. It was easy to build with simple materials and a few old tripod parts.

Unfortunately my camera gear did not include a close focusing lens. So I bought a 50mm enlarging lens and helicoid extension. Together they cost about $50.00. The combination turned out to work very well indeed. The lens is old but extremely sharp and the helicoid is just right for close standard focus well into macro of more than 1:1.

With just enough gear to be dangerous and not enough experience to know better more small subjects may pop up in the blog from time to time. These photos were great fun to make.