Shutter Sisters

macro

By

020308_600.jpg

 

A newborn fern reaches, twists to bask in the single beam of sun that penetrates the rainforest canopy, a spotlight.

Dew on leaf and nectar supped by butterfly. Sweat on the glass brim of a summer martini. With the macro lens on my 1970s-era Pentax I was dwarfed by worlds within worlds, transported hands-first into shimmering giantness, enveloped. Wrapped in more life and light and vividness than I’d ever known existed—that which could only be discerned by getting really. close. up.

Happily engulfed by the otherworld inside a macro lens, the big outside mattered less.

++++++

I don’t have so much diversity to offer these days. Not what’s botanical and artistic and profound aside from what lives and dances and giggles inside these four walls, this small house on the edge of a seasalty coast, these two boys, this mama’s life.

So week after week it’s the first kid, then the second. Then the first, then the second. And I’m sorry for that and feel entirely humbled by all of you and the gorgeousness in the pool but 1) there is an ice-storm outside, oppressive and bone-chilling and not so welcoming for baby-laden photo excursions; and 2) in the effort of capturing my boys I find the same vividness, the same meditation as before.

These days, I’m macro-less. But camera pointed at these faces, the wonder returns.

Wishing I could crawl in between those eyelashes, turn around and see from his vantage point how the world looks, as he studies it.

You don’t mind, do you?

++++++

This week, I’d love to see your favourite macro shots. Tide me over until light and weather and childcare and disposable income and a good deal on a lens conspire to set me loose among the dewy ferns again.

Gimme a dose, willya?

Comments

  7. I know how you feel about the weather – I live in close proximity to you. But I must admit that a world covered in ice was enchanting in a Narnia kind of way. Still, this is the time of year when I start dreaming of my garden and flowerbeds. I don’t have the best camera so I can’t get super up close but here are a couple dreamy shots to help escape February for a little while.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/15607464@N03/1809255802/in/set-72157602811204100/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/15607464@N03/1808407591/in/set-72157602811204100/

  11. it’s exactly as you describe it.. the outside world goes away and you are lost in the macro. i’m addicted for that reason alone. someone’s 6 year old kid asked me "how do you make it look so clean?" it’a all optical illusion! it’s me wearing blinders to my life outside the camera lens. my camera ssves me from reality on most days!

    have you see the macro of the water drops on the spiders web in the shutter sisters pool? they looked like cat’s eyes strung on a necklace, i can’t remember who posted it, but it’s amazing.

    here’s a little guy from my flickr, when i first tried to get small:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/1739376147/

    do you remember steve martin’s SNL skit about "i like to get small.." i always think of that when i’m laying with my belly on the floor or in the dirt or in the flowers.

  21. I do not have a macro lens myself, either. But I do have the gorgeous, up close and personal shot of my son that I took this summer. Sorry I’m using photos I’ve already taken, but I can’t keep up with these challenges right now. And I’m sitting on my D50 days away from getting my next camera. I’m thinking D80??? any suggestion on camera or lenses? =)

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/28987938@N00/2242267512/

  35. I have a flickr set featuring my favorite photos using my new macro lens, given to me by my sweet husband for my 40th birthday last fall.

    My favorites:

    My youngest son’s lovely mossy green eye:

    http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1328/1453050553_93661758d1_b.jpg

    A self portrait reflected in my bathroom sink faucet handle:

    http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2286/1678722958_2866f96d80_b.jpg

    The Elder Statesman:

    http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2018/1813690841_1126bb4165_b.jpg

    Detail, parakeet:

    http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2285/1813688653_c7d08a5f46_b.jpg

    Wild & Wooly:

    http://www.bighugelabs.com/flickr/onblack.php?id=1953935121

    Shades of Illinois in December:

    http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/onblack.php?id=2110550617

  38. Love this! I love shooting in the "macro" – that sounds so official, but I’m really not- just shooting up close and looking for those little precious shots. This is from this past Friday when I played hookie and went out photo hunting.

  51. Beauty is beauty Kate, no matter where it is or how up-close or far away it is. And that’s what we appreciate about your photography…the beauty and the things "we" don’t see that you do. Your children are a perfect testament to this beauty and so, no I don’t mind at all…quite the contrary actually. The way you manage to find such grace and perfection, all the time, even when using the same subjects just takes my breath away. Every. Single. Time. You could make a block of cheese look gorgeous. That’s how talented you are.
    I adore your work. Keep it up because it reminds me that beauty is everywhere and that you don’t have to necessarily look in "special" places to find it.