50mm trips

When I shoot close-up in the most cases I choose plants as an object. Sometimes some little critters come closer and ask: "Can you take me a picture, please?" And I never say "no". 

Tonight the temperature was negative. When I saw frost in the morning I thought we need some sunny colors today. And here they are, the summer yellow close-up photos to make the winter days a little bit warmer.

I'm not going to write about this one of the world's largest flower gardens. Everyone know it's beautiful.  There are mostly bulbous flowers so I couldn't find my favorite plants: sunflowers and calla lilies.  I'm just curious what are your favorite flowers? 

Today close-up photos from 2006 and some questions: Does taking a photos relax you? Does it give you an energy? What do you think about photography as a kind of meditation?

Today I would like to write something about close-up and macro. Macro photography is my favorite photography technique. In 2005 I took my first close-up photos with a compact camera, using macro mode. The results you can see below. I like to shoot close-up and macro and I like to look at the macro photos. I like the flora the most. For me almost every plant is a real beauty. In a plant world you can find so many shapes and colors. Hardly any picture is the same. It's very exciting that we can come close to the object and see details which are not visible to the naked eye. If you want to shoot macro you need to slow down, focus, prepare and think about the setting. Taking macro requires patience, but it can be very relaxing. It can be even a kind of meditation. Unfortunately I don't have a macro lens for my reflex camera. If I wanted to have a new objective, I would definitely buy a macro lens. And one day I will...