If you have been following Weekly Fifty for a while, you know how much I enjoy doing close-up shots of…well, pretty much anything. I got a set of close-up filters way back in…2015? 2016? I can’t remember anymore but my goodness I have used those things a lot over the years. It’s so fun to discover the beauty in everything around us that is often overlooked simply because aren’t looking close enough. Ordinary objects like pencils and toys and flowers become works of art when viewed up close, and a cheapo set of screw-on filters can help you unlock this magical world just waiting to be discovered.
But you know what’s even better? An actual macro lens :)
In October I finally got a lens I have been looking at for a long, long time: The Nikon 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED. I know there are newer F-mount macro lenses with similar focal lengths from third parties like Sigma and Tamron, but I have had my heart set on this particular lens and was glad to finally pick it up when Nikon had a sale recently. And my goodness, this thing is incredible. What you’re seeing here is the first of many close-up shots you are likely to see over the coming weeks and months, all thanks to this lens. This was actually one of the first pictures I took with it, and it showed me how incredible this lens is but also how much I have to learn. And when it comes to photography, I sure do enjoy learning.
A couple of things to note here: First, this was shot at f/19. Seriously. That just goes to show just how insane things like depth of field are when working at close distances. This piece of candy is less than an inch from front to back and yet, only about half of it is in focus. Maybe a third. And that’s at f/19! I used a tripod, ISO 100, and a 3-second exposure to get this shot and it hopefully gives you an idea of how little the margin of error is when working at such close distances. This is just an ordinary piece of candy, but it could almost be a work of art just because we are seeing it so close.
Yeah…I’m looking forward to learning more about this lens :)
Tom J Frye says
Ah, when I read “Kiss,” I thought you were talking about the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation kind, not chocolate goodness!
Linda Allen says
Wow, that candy looks good enough to eat! LOL!!! Looking forward to seeing more of your macro shots.
Simon says
Thank you Linda! I’m having a ton of fun with this macro lens, and you’re going to see lots of pictures from it here on my blog in the coming weeks :)
Carolana says
Eager to see what you do with that lens. I have the Canon Macro 100 2.8. I’m just learning how to use it.
Simon says
That Canon lens is amazing! I’m sure you will be able to get some outstanding shots with it Carolana!