My Macro Lens and Me

As I've mentioned before, I'm no landscaper. I grow plants not designs. Now don't get me wrong; I love well-designed gardens. I can enjoy a beautiful swath of colors and textures shaped by a meandering path that moves the eye in and out of the shadows. But the moment I pull my camera up to my eye, the scene flattens and even becomes a little sterile. Perhaps the camera comes between me and nature at that point. However, if I lean in, kneel down, and get intimate with one particular plant, the magic comes alive, and I get to see in a different way.

For example, right now it's Tulip time in the Northwest. Skagit county in particular has field upon field of crayon-colored flowers, waving in the breezes (when it isn't raining). Stunning, breath-taking, and all my wide-angle shots look like home-made postcards. The experience just isn't there.  

So when I shoot tulips, they look like this:

When I photograph daffodils, they look like this:

  

And, seriously, when I look through my lens at a plum tree in blossom, I see this:

Or, if I go really wild and take one step back, it will look like this:

I guess I shoot the way I garden:  one plant at a time.