Macro Photography

Allows immersion

Macro photography in nature introduces us to a whole new world, and enables us to see things we wouldn’t normally see. Diving into nature we are presented with incredible structure, geometry, patterns, colours and shapes. Suddenly we are immersed in a new existence, it’s almost like traveling to another universe which gifts us perspective and forces us to leave our current plane of awareness.

Sometimes I start with a thought, a story, an event, the good or bad experience of a friend or a concept I wish to create. And then I go about planning a way to bring it to life. Sometimes I simply find something nature has created (or it is miraculously placed in my path for me to find) and I just know there is a reason why, so I bring it into my studio and I work to find what this story may be.

I was wandering through a gorgeous store one morning, owned and run by a beautiful friend of mine. Bec is a florist and I love to go for a drive, grab a coffee and pop in to say ‘hi’ and see what happens to have caught her eye at the flower market earlier that morning.

I had the day clear to photograph and work on concepts and I was quickly searching for something there that would catch my eye, something that would call me to explore further. Today there was.

Colour Psychology

I loved the pale pink tone in this Hydrangea and spaces within the bunch. I was curious, picked them up and decided to see if a concept would develop further.

Pink, especially in this particular soft shade makes us feel unconditional love, calmness, understanding and makes us feel nurtured.

White makes us feel protected, independent, and offers a sense of space. White also encourages independence and simplicity.

I love natural light, I always, always use natural light in all of my work. Artificial light has never seemed to fit in with my work method and natural light just glows, it absolutely glows, complimenting ourselves and nature in the most flattering way.

I am a firm believer that concepts can come to me as I work. I am very open to this and allow space for this to happen. When I am in the right mind set, thoughts just simply pop into my head, ideas, things to try. They just come to me. I see this as the creation of a collective concept as I work with the universe’s guidance. When ideas simply come to me, what else could that possibly be?

The Story

I dive in with my macro lens as always, searching for her story. I know there is a photograph here, the Hydrangea wouldn’t have caught my attention and we wouldn’t have come this far otherwise. I just need to find it.

Finding a story this way can often present quite a challenge. It can take hours to find what I am looking for. And my standards are high. I spent time searching for the best way to light the Hydrangea, side light, back ligh, the best way to position it. I also need to find a section which provides a significant point of interest.

Light is Life

I put the hydrangea close by my window and watched as the light filtered right through, lighting hidden layers closer to the centre. The search is always done through my macro lens. What I see through my view finder with a macro lens attached to my camera body is very different to what I see with my eyes alone.

Keeping in mind the colours I have to work with, the search begins. It often takes a while but I know it as soon as I see it. I take test shots as I go and I know instantly whether I am in the right place or not. Sometimes this can take quite a bit of time. Sometimes I can even get to the point where I wonder if I misread the signs and there isn’t a story here after all.

After taking a few shots and trying a few angles, a gap in the bunch of Hydrangea catches my eye. I knew there was something here. I decided to play in this composition and work out what it was exactly that caught me. I actually started in a horizontal orientation but when I decide to shift to a vertical shot I could see the magic coming through.

The gap in the Hydrangea enabled a frame of such. A border. It was only partial but enough to recognise it as a space that seemed like it wanted to hold something, and it seemed to have a curling, wrapping shape that I loved. The gap of pure space was what I wanted to photograph, there was nothing in that space, but I knew that was where she kept her story.

Watching the concept form

As I shifted to a different angle the leaves in this composition almost appeared to be like two hands, protecting and enveloping the empty space. The fact that these two hands were so nurturing and inviting really caught my attention. It was almost as if the frame was offering an empty space seemingly set aside for me to be held safely in.

Finding the right depth of field was the next step, I wanted a shallow depth of field so the sharp edges in bokeh (soft areas of focus) would resemble a soft, safe space. Warm and inviting, surrounded by a firm, strong boundary that will protect you as you rest. Once this was fine tuned I was set.

I now knew her story. From here, writing it becomes my next favourite thing.

I consider myself a co-creator

I love how this photograph and story unfolded. I love how it started with a coffee and a chat in my lovely friends florist shop that morning. It’s a lengthy process but I am simply blown away by the way all of the details unravel in due course when the time is right.

I love the thought that all of this was already existing, it was just a matter of time and myself being led to use my skills and intuition to allow this photograph to come to life. I felt guided. I felt like I just had the honour to work with something greater than myself. I felt like a co-creator. I felt like the universe was working through me. I feel like I can’t take full credit for this creation and am honoured to have been invited to play a part.

It’s almost exactly like life, isn’t it.

The way we need to learn to hand over control of the how’s and when’s. How we need to learn to trust in the flow of life and allow magic to happen… if you can do this, it will.

And it is INCREDIBLE to be a part of.

Tumble, My Love reminds us to keep going. It reminds us that when things don’t go according to plan, it ok, it common, it happens to all of us. This photograph reminds us that we are part of a collective community of souls who fall, rise and try again. Who catch each other and are ready to assist. Who would rather just simply to have taken a chance.

Thank you so much for being here,

The Humble Hunter x

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