Macro Photography

Original

The Perfect Two - Texture

This is my first macro photograph. It is entitled "The Perfect Two" because dandelions are a primary source of nectar and pollen for bees during the spring season so they're always near each other. When I saw the bee land on the head of the dandelion, I thought it was such a perfect opportunity to get a clear, detailed shot of an interesting insect with a bright plant. I didn't want to use the zoom function on my camera because I felt it would ruin the quality of the photo, so I got as close as I could for all my photos to get the best results. To begin my post-production process, I cropped the image from the sides and the top, which makes the dandelion seem taller with more grass space underneath. I enhanced the image in numerous ways, including hue & saturation, shadows & highlights and colour adjustment. The focal point is definitely the radiant dandelion, and the bee catches you off guard so you will notice it quickly as well.

Original

Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Colour

For my second image, I experimented with changing the dandelion from one colour, to a kaleidoscope of colours. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is the chosen title because I used a rainbow stripped gradient on a new layer over the dandelion. Before I made the gradient, I converted the image to black and white, making the gradient would be more visible against the white petals rather than the yellow ones. I also had to adjust the shadows & highlights so the tiny details in the dandelion would be seen through the gradient. I also cropped the photo tight on the bottom and right side, while leaving the rest open, making the dandelion in the corner of the frame. The multicolored dandelion stands out against the grey grass, which shows that it is the focal point.

A Rose Without its Thorns - Balance

Original

Here is my final macro image. I chose the title "A Rose Without its Thorns" because the original flower is not a rose and has no thorns, but after the editing process the flower transformed into a rose-like beauty. For the post-production process, I cropped all four sides slightly to take out extra background space. I then revised the hue to embrace the green of the leaves, and change the soft pink petals to red ones. As always, I played around the the saturation and highlights to bring life to the photo. As most of the small flowers were changed to red with the hue enhancement, one of them that begun to bloom chose to stay its light blush colour. Either the red flowers or the light pink one could be the focal point of this photo.