David LaMason

Macro fan David has broadened his repertoire to capture bigger creatures

I got into photography totally by chance, when I discovered I could take some decent shots using my old phone. I’d never thought about getting a ‘real’ camera before that. My wife bought me a Nikon D5100 [1] for my birthday, and from then on I became obsessed. I started out with a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens, and found that I could use macro extension tubes and a reversing ring to get really close macro shots. Gradually I moved over to my Nikon AF-S 105mm f/2.8G VR Macro [2] for macro shots, but I still use extension tubes on occasion.

I still love macro photography, but I’ve also started taking more shots of birds and other larger animals, in zoos and in the wild, using my Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF ED VR [3], or a Nikon AF-S 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II, which I’ll often hire to shoot bald eagles. There are a couple of areas within an hour’s drive of my home where I like to capture wildlife. There’s a fantastic nesting spot for bald eagles in the autumn and winter months along the Conowingo Dam, on the Susquehanna River in Maryland, and great blue herons nest there in the spring. I also like to shoot coastal scenes, and I live near a harbour, so there’s no shortage of interesting sailing vessels to photograph – boats and tall ships make great subjects, and the light reflecting off the water at sunrise can be magical!