Up Close and Personal
Back in September I allowed myself a bit of an extravagance and bought the Sony FE 90mm f2.8 Macro G OSS Lens. It was a little on the expensive side and so not something that I would do too often but, like they say, you get what you pay for.
I found myself becoming more and more interested in macro photography and, up until this point, had been managing with a set of filters that I screwed onto the front of my camera lens. They did the job but were fiddly and the pictures suffered from quite a lot of blurring and chromatic aberration around the edges. However, having tried out the new lens, the difference is incomparable. The lens is slightly on the heavy side but the quality and sharpness of the pictures is amazing and since getting the lens, I have been taking loads of incredible images of fungi, insects and wild flowers. I have found that it has opened up a whole new world of photo opportunities when perhaps you don’t have that fantastic sunset or sunrise to photograph, or that amazing panoramic view. Additionally, flat, undramatic light can actually be a bonus when doing close up shots as it means you don’t get harsh shadows. I also love the milky bokeh that the lens gives and never cease to be amazed how the slightest change of angle can totally change the background colours and so the look and feel of the image.
The down side of the lens however, is that you do get the odd ‘look’ from people walking past, wondering what on earth you are doing on your hands and knees in the middle of a patch of brambles. I have also noticed that our dog has this incredible knack of photo bombing and when I am back home editing the images on my computer, suddenly realise that there is a dark, dog shaped blur in the background. I am sure she does it on purpose!Living down here in the south east we do seem to be lucky and escape most of the extremes of the weather. The down side of this is that it means from a photographic point of view and even with the macro lens, things have been a little on the flat side since Christmas. Just a lot of grey days and lots of dead bracken and brambles. However, spring is finally here, things are coming to life and, much to my excitement, the bluebells are starting to appear!