After my adventure with black and white photography with my mentor Michelle Rainey, I decided to try macro photography. Before these photography classes, I had been taking pictures with an old iPad; I discovered that up close, the quality and crispness of the image increased with my device. Michelle suggested that I try macro photography, since it was basically what I was doing anyway. I agreed, and so began my venture with this photography, up close and personal.
Macro photography is the art of taking large pictures of small objects. This style of taking photos stole my heart when I began noticing small details around me, like rain-dappled leaves and sunshine shining through moss. I wanted to capture these tiny, yet beautiful moments, and (though I didn’t know it at the time) macro photography became my muse.
Michelle, my teacher, graciously let me borrow her specialized macro camera for our photography sessions. She taught me how to line up the photo to ensure it was focused on the correct places – here’s a trial and error sequence of me attempting to photograph a snail shell:
Macro photography is, if not my number one favourite, one of my favourite types of photography. It focuses on the smallest details, and brings to light so many missed intricacies in our lives. I am continuing my journey with it – we’ll see where it takes me next.
I can see why you love this style of photography. Thanks for taking us through the process. Beautiful work!
Your approach by observing the details follows Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s (1749-1832) method who was a a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, critic, and amateur artist, His approach of observation is called Goethean science explained by Sandra Wilson as stage 1 – observe the object; stage 2 -perceiving the whole object; stage 3 – seeing in beholding; stage 4 – being one with the object; stage 5 – seeing beyond.
Goethe believed that the outer physical world and the inner world of our senses were mirror images of each other, the inside view and the outside view of the same reality. Therefore, paying attention to the outer world leads to necessary inner responses in us that tell us directly about qualities of what we are observing. The science that Goethe advocated was also one of deep observation. The difference that Goethe brought was that the scientist, while observing the outside world, would pay attention to their own inner responses which would reveal essential elements of what was being observed. It was in a sense a science of subjectivity, or what you might see as a mystical approach to science.
Goethe believed that the outer physical world and the inner world of our senses were mirror images of each other, the inside view and the outside view of the same reality. Therefore, paying attention to the outer world leads to necessary inner responses in us that tell us directly about qualities of what we are observing. The science that Goethe advocated was also one of deep observation. The difference that Goethe brought was that the scientist, while observing the outside world, would pay attention to their own inner responses which would reveal essential elements of what was being observed. It was in a sense a science of subjectivity, or what you might see as a mystical approach to science.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe[a] (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, critic, and amateur artist.[3] His works include plays, poetry, literary and aesthetic criticism, and treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour. He is considered to be the greatest German literary figure of the modern era. Goethe’s way of science is highly unusual because it seeks to draw together the intuitive awareness of art with the rigorous observation and thinking of science.
In a Goethean sense, the detail of your photography makes me connect with what I am observing, creating a new reality! Thank you!