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Peter Burgess - Close-up and Macro Photography

Pollinator

Husk

Corolla

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Capturing intricate details in nature through close-up photography requires precision and patience. One of the most crucial techniques is mastering manual focus to ensure sharpness on the subject, particularly when working with small depths of field. Using a tripod can greatly enhance stability, reducing any camera shake that might blur your image. Additionally, natural lighting plays a key role; shooting during the golden hour or using diffusers can soften harsh shadows and highlight textures beautifully.<h3>Enhancing Depth and Texture in Macro Shots</h3>Experimenting with aperture settings allows you to control the depth of field, which is vital in macro photography. A smaller aperture (higher f-number) increases the depth of field, capturing more of your subject in sharp detail, while a larger aperture blurs the background, isolating the subject for dramatic effect. Don't hesitate to explore different angles and perspectives to reveal new textures and patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Mastering Focus: Essential Tips for Close-Up Nature Photography

The photography world is witnessing a significant shift as mirrorless cameras gain popularity among nature photographers. These cameras offer a lighter, more compact alternative to traditional DSLRs without compromising on image quality. Their electronic viewfinders provide real-time exposure previews, which is a game-changer for close-up and macro photography where lighting and depth of field are critical. Many leading brands are now prioritizing mirrorless models with enhanced autofocus systems tailored for capturing wildlife and nature scenes.<h3>How Mirrorless Technology is Transforming Fieldwork</h3>With faster shooting speeds and better video capabilities, mirrorless cameras empower photographers to capture fleeting moments in nature more effectively. Battery life has improved, and the availability of specialized lenses for close-up work continues to expand. This trend is influencing how photographers plan their shoots and process images, offering greater creative flexibility and efficiency in the field.

The Rise of Mirrorless Cameras in Nature Photography

Spending a day as a nature photographer in Wales involves early mornings, scouting locations, and patiently waiting for the perfect shot. The diverse landscapes—from misty mountains to lush forests—offer endless opportunities for close-up and macro photography. Equipment preparation is meticulous; lenses are cleaned, batteries charged, and weather conditions checked to ensure nothing is left to chance. Patience is key as you may spend hours observing a single flower or insect to capture its essence.<h3>Challenges and Rewards of Capturing Nature’s Small Wonders</h3>Weather unpredictability and the delicate nature of subjects require adaptability and respect for the environment. Each shoot is a unique experience that combines technical skill with a deep appreciation for nature’s details. The satisfaction of revealing hidden beauty through your lens makes every challenge worthwhile, inspiring continuous exploration and creativity.

Behind the Lens: A Day in the Life of a Nature Photographer in Wales

A grain of sand builds a mountain, a seed grows a forest, a raindrop fills a river. It is the tiny things that make the big things possible.

<h4>By the end of November most plants and trees have completed their autumnal senescence. The ground is covered in dead and decaying leaves; the hedgerows and margins populated by the skeletal remains of flowering plants and the desiccated husks of seed heads.</h4>My objective with this project has been to take the tiny autumn discards and by photographing them in a particular way reveal their structural beauty and elevate them from invisible to undeniable. To confront the viewer with a complexity that one would normally associate with a piece of sculpture, or jewellery. But unlike a Fabergé egg or a Giacometti figure, the material itself is worthless; the form is extraordinary.In botany, a husk (or hull) is the outer shell or coating of a seed. The other botanical term for a seed casing is Calyx, from the Latin calix which itself comes from the Ancient Greek κάλυξ (kálux) meaning "husk" or "pod".Husk can also refer to the exuvia of insects or other small animals left behind after moulting.<a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/husk#gallery-1">Photographs</a><a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/">THE SLOW QUIET PROCESS</a> | <a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/pollinator">POLLINATOR</a> | <a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/corolla">COROLLA</a>

Husk is probably based on a Middle Dutch word huusken meaning 'little house’

<h4>The American photographer <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/eliot-porter">Eliot Porter</a> wrote of the slow, quiet, processes that pass almost unnoticed from season to season. His photographs of a woodland floor in winter inspired me to look more closely at what was around and under my feet.</h4>The natural landscape of forest, mountain or moor begins in or on the ground. These slow, quiet, processes underlie and support all that we simplistically describe as landscape - and this realisation caused me to think seriously about what I was trying to achieve with my camera. I began to spend more time looking down than up, drawn to the granular detail and patterns evident at macro or close-up level rather than the broader landscape.Eliot Furness Porter (December 6, 1901 – November 2, 1990) was an American photographer best known for his colour photographs of nature.<a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/husk">HUSK</a> | <a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/pollinator">POLLINATOR</a> | <a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/corolla">COROLLA</a>

The slow, quiet, process

<h4>Being so close to an insect that you can count the hairs on its back is an enormous thrill. To photograph the insect successfully so that at least its head is in focus is a study in patience. The reward is a vision of life beyond the human frame.</h4>There are thousands of pollinating insect species, from the most well-known honeybees to bumblebees, solitary bees, flies, hoverflies, butterflies, moths, beetles and wasps. Beetles are in fact the oldest group of pollinators.Tragically all are under pressure from several converging threats. Habitat loss, pesticides, climate change, disease and parasites. The critical point is that these pressures don't operate in isolation — they interact and compound each other. A pesticide-weakened bee is far more vulnerable to disease. A habitat-stressed butterfly has less resilience against a late frost. It is the combination that makes the decline so rapid and so difficult to reverse.To find out more about pollinators, the huge contribution they make to human food security, and how to help them, visit the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/insect-pollination.html">Natural History Museum website</a>. <a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/pollinator#gallery-1">Photographs</a><a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/">THE SLOW QUIET PROCESS</a> | <a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/husk">HUSK</a> | <a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/corolla">COROLLA</a>

The intimacy of 1:1 

<h4>Corolla, from the Latin for "small wreath," is the collective term for a flower's petals, forming the second whorl within the calyx.</h4>The stamen, carpel, and corolla constitute the core functional and aesthetic components of flowers, balancing reproductive necessity with intricate structural beauty. These parts work together to ensure pollination, often featuring specialised shapes, vibrant colours, and unique textures evolved to attract specific pollinators. Scent also plays a crucial, often primary, role in insect pollination. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.jic.ac.uk/blog/how-plants-use-scent-to-attract-pollinators/#:~:text=12th%20August%202020,in%20different%20flowering%20plant%20species">John Innes Centre</a>The German photographer Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932) pioneered macrophotography using a camera of his own design with a metre-long accordion-like bellows that connected the lens to the camera. Increasing the distance between the lens and the photographic plate inside the camera made it possible to capture extreme close-ups of his subjects.My favourite lens for plant photography is a very small and sharp 35mm prime coupled with a 14mm extension tube — same principle as the bellows but only 15mm long. It is lightweight and fast so can be used handheld. Without the extension tube I get context, and with the extension tube fitted I get the intimacy of the stamen and carpel selectively in focus whilst the surrounding corolla is abstracted.Blossfeldt amassed over 6,000 photographs before bringing his work to public attention in 1928 with his seminal publication, Urformen der Kunst (Art Forms in Nature). <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/karl-blossfeldt ">International Center of Photography</a><a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/corolla#gallery-1">Photographs</a><a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/">THE SLOW QUIET PROCESS</a> | <a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/husk">HUSK</a> | <a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/pollinator">POLLINATOR</a> | <a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="/corolla">COROLLA</a>

Corolla - a small wreath

Like what you see? Buy you own digital prints or a physical poster or canvas print from my Etsy store. https://balesphotographydesi.etsy.com

Macro photo of a plant found in Alberta Please credit https://www.repcalgaryhomes.ca with the anchor text (Calgary Real Estate) if you enjoyed this work it means a lot to us!

Macro photo of a luminous hard coral at the Cairns Aquarium.

Close up photo of the external limestone structure of a coral. Bioluminescent corals produce light from a protein, and for deep sea species, where the light is low due to the depth, this additional light helps with photosynthesis for the symbiotic algae which lives within the coral polyp (animal). The algae uses light to produce carbohydrate which provides food for itself and for the polyp, while waste from the polyp feeds the algae. Cairns Aquarium.

Spotted this wee pollinator at work outside my art studio window. 

A grain of sand builds a mountain, a seed grows a forest, a raindrop fills a river. It is the tiny things that make the big things possible.

The slow, quiet, process

The American photographer Eliot Porter wrote of the slow, quiet, processes that pass almost unnoticed from season to season. His photographs of a woodland floor in winter inspired me to look more closely at what was around and under my feet.