Sometimes you just don't see the miracles that surround us everyday,everywhere.We are too busy looking but not seeing. Macros aren't for everyone but sometimes I stop, look around, and some days I see the little things around me crying out to be shot.(you know what I mean)
Usually when I haven't taken a camera with me!
Luckily I always have my trusty mobile for if those shots pop up, and nowadays these phones can offer pretty good Macro resolution images. The images in this post have been resized so they can be posted but even so you can get an idea of their detail and resolution. I'm no pro but I'm pretty happy with some of them. When the word macro pops up most people think of flowers and insects-blooms and bugs-but if you look around there are more than just these two areas to explore.
4 or so years back I invested in a Huawei P10 phone with Leica lenses(two back then, one mono, one colour)after doing some research on mobile phone lenses on-line and talking with friends who used them for photos. The big two mobile brands weren't up to producing acceptable images(for me anyway)Of course now things have changed - everybody is on the mobile camera bandwagon with all big brands pumping out 8K video,TOF sensors, dedicated macro and enough camera lenses sticking out their phones to use them in the next Star Wars sequel-and the progress in image capture and resolution quality has followed suite.
Call me old fashioned but to me Leica has been doing R and D on their lenses for over150 years so no matter how big a budget you have to throw at mobile camera lens development you aren't going to catch up to that sort of research and quality for a few more years no matter what your brand is. I've stuck with Huaweis ever since-now on a P30Pro-and these are a few macros from the last year or two. This is not an endorsement-whatever mobile works for you, and you're spoilt with good choices. It just works for me.
The first image is of a piece of rust off a shipwreck that had been partially submerged for over a hundred years.I found it by accident on a day hike round a volcano,Rangitoto,in the Waitemata harbour of Auckland New Zealand, where I live(in Auckland,not the volcano)The rust due to the salt water reacting with the metal for so long is like a living thing-amazing!
Having a big volcano in the harbour 10 mins from downtown is cool-not so cool is that it is dormant not extinct so if she blows it's goodnight nurse for Auckland!
This is a flower in my Mother's garden. Don't ask me what type-I'm more of a picture taker than a botanist-but I know beauty when I see it.
A rare lichen found on Rangitoto volcano in the Waitemata harbour Auckland New Zealand.
You can actually get physically closer to some subjects with a phone than with a standard camera macro lens. The problem you have is vibration with no tripod so you just have to take a deep breath, shoot and hope for a good image.
A dahlia flower with an ant on it-I didn't even see the ant when I was taking the picture because the flower was waving around in the breeze which is the curse of flower Macros, and I was busy trying to hold the stem and also to focus-which is another curse with a mobile phone macro lens. Busy little creature!
A tidal rockpool at low tide. The sides are coated with algae that is almost fluorescent in colour and leaves have fallen into it.
Another rockpool-this really illustrates why supermacro option on my Huawei can really bring something the size of your thumbnail to life-a whole microcosmos.
One problem with getting so close to a subject is your shadow and others can ruin things-here is an example of a rockpool with my shadow blotting out half the image.The other problem is you're dealing with the water reflecting as well-so this image is a bit of a beautiful mess.
Spider's webs just blow me away with their complexity and beauty-lucky I'm not a fly I would be caught getting too close pretty quickly. This one is a few months old and shows what a crap housecleaner I am.I just tell people I love the webs too much to destroy them!
Another flower image that to me could be something else-what it is is in the eye of the beholder.
Auckland has many beaches and many types of seaweed wash up-good enough to eat!
This little fella was quite happy for me to get this close and he or she posed beautifully.
You can get creative with macros-even everyday things like a lock and a cushion can create cool shots.
And finally being a New Zealander I am known to the rest of the world as a Kiwi-named after our flightless national bird.Here is my Kiwi key-ring.
Hope you enjoyed some of these images that explore the world right under our noses.Grab your mobile find the macro lense or macro setting and get out there !
