Macro photography

I bought a cheap macro lens (RM450) and I have been playing around with it. I have found it nice because you can always find something to take a picture of and it is easier to control the lighting. However, I realized that I need to change my thinking when shooting macro. For example, when shooting birds I often use ISO400 or even ISO800 because I need to take pictures in poor light or just OK light but the bird is jumping around. Also, I am taking pictures at 450mm and so shake is magnified. The third factor is my 300mm zoom is not very sharp at f/4.5 so I usually use f/9 or f/10 so the pictures are sharper but it means the light has to be better.

Yesterday I was looking at pictures of flowers on Flickr and saw that some of them were using ISO100. I almost slapped myself because I should be taking macro shots in the lower ISO ratings but I had completely forgotten because I am used to taking bird/people pictures. So, I am hoping that alone will improve my quality next time out.

I am hoping to head out to Sungai Sedim in Kedah on Saturday morning to do some more photography and take swim in the river. I'll post the best from my outing next week. Ciao.

One of my first macro shots

A palm leaf in the Botanical Gardens makes interesting patterns