Living large in a small world
WITH A MACRO LENS, THE ORDINARY IS TRULY AMAZING, WRITES NATHAN EDWARDS
IT’S a strange world full of bizarre creatures. Life-size, they’d bug anybody out. Some of them are killers. Others just look like it. Yet we walk among them every day. These are the regular residents of the ordinary Aussie backyard, made extraordinary with the right camera lens. By pointing the Canon MP-65 macro lens, set at 5mm f/2.8 1-5x macro, at a honey bee, details such as its tongue and eyes can be seen in exquisite detail and the insect becomes a complete character. An uninteresting huntsman spider evolves into something from the world of Harry Potter. The annoying blowfly looks like a sleek little spaceship, caterpillars look weirdly cuddly and ants take on a frightening appearance. To capture the talent I recruited my two children to go hunting in Port Macquarie in the early morning and late afternoon. But keeping the bugs still was tough, so I’d put them in the fridge to chill out, then photograph them as they woke up. If you look at it closely, the everyday world is an extraordinary place.