Hobby: Macro Photography | HouseTreeBeast

For this post I wanted to to something different. Chances are you don’t know this about me, but I’m a curious person and I usually have lot of hobbies.

Some hobbies I’ve had for a while and some are new, but my hobbies are always changing and evolving. I can be completely overwhelmingly happy with a hobby and talk your ears off one month and the next month i’m into something else entirely.

Weird? Maybe, but I like it.

So for this post I wanted to alk a bit about my latest endeavours.

My interest in photography

Photography is one of those hobbies that just pops up every now and then. During holidays and city trips mostly.

Last year I did a short photography course because I had no clue what I was doing. Learned a lot, but somehow lost interest again.

Making somewhat decent pictures is a practical skill to have, but I’m just no good really. I often dread bringing my bulky camera and I’m just to lazy to do a proper setup.

For the blog I take most pictures with my phone unless I have the time and motivation to make nice(r) pictures. For instance when we finished a room or something.

For the photography course we went outside a lot. And this is all great if you’re on holiday, but during the week I’m just not always up for roaming the streets and bringing all my gear. Especially when it’s typically Dutch weather (think pooring rain).

Macro photography

Patrick was the one to buy me a new macro lense for my camera. It’s for shooting things very close up usually. I always felt I didn’t have the right lense for what I liked to photograph, but the steep price of a macro lense held me back. Plus, I’m not known for sticking with hobbies long so I didn’t dare buy one.

Like I said, Patrick gave me one and I started taking some shots. I immediately noticed this to be very different from my normal lense. (Sorry guys I’m not into the technical stuff and specs at all.)

The thing I like best is that I can do this indoors more easily. I do have to take my time with it, because pointing and clicking is no longer an option. But I can just work in peace at my own pace if I have a spare hour. Great for me! And I must say the results are a lot better than any picture I have taken previously.

So I wanted to show off some of the pictures I shot. Quick reminder: I’m a beginner. There will be all kinds of things wrong with my technique and my subjects may be super cliché (flower for instance…really?!). But hey, I’m proud of it and this is my corner of the internet.

My best shots so far

Flowers

Florals may be super boring, but they do have a lot going for them: they sit very still and the most of them have great colors. Great for practice!

flower close up — This is a flower that is not fully open yet. I really liked the tentacle-type-petals and the great rubarb colors.

gerbera up close — This flower may be cliche and colorful all by itself, but I was particularly pleased with the way the depth and sharpness turned out.

Macro photography: a wilted lily — This is another wilted flower. I mostly choose it for the abstract feel.

Macro photograph of a dead hydrangea flower — This is a dead hydrangea. I shot it at night, but I do love the colors and the spiderweb-like-leaves.

Macro photo of a lily. — The inside of a lily flower heavily backlit.

Animals

I love animals. My favorites are (but not limited to) manatees, hippo’s and pigs. But since I live in the Netherlands most of these are not readily available for a practice shoot.

So I expect to shoot a lot more animals and these are the ones so far worth the effort I think.

wasp laying on it's side — I found a dead wasp but it was dark and I needed some indirect lighting. So I put my phone to flashlight and put the phone in an empty peanut butter jar. #protip

Close-up of a squirrel. — Last summer in Fuerteventura shot this squirrel. I am actually reflected in his eye! It was a bit of a lucky shot, but totally awesome.

Other

I only brought my macro lense to Fuerteventura. And boy, this took some time getting used to. At first I felt I couldn’t get nice landscapes with this lense. But I was so wrong.

During the week there I learned a lot about my lense and the functionality of my camera. One of the ones I was proud of was the one on top of this post and this one:

Fuerteventura fisherman on a rock formation — Happy with this, in my original I can even see the color of the trim of his trousers!

How to continue

So I’m basically just photographing what comes to mind. It’s all very exploratory and that is part of the fun. I have a feeling this lense suits my needs very well and I’m curious to see how I will use it in the coming years.

This post was mostly me showing some form of progress, but I’d be interested to know what your favorite photo of this bunch is. Leave your favorite in the comments!