The topic of the week was shallow depth of field. Even though I own a 75mm f1.2 lens I decided to opt for the 90mm f2.8 macro lens. The two focal lengths are close enough but the macro lens allows to focus much closer than the 75mm and as a result the depth of field can be much shallower.

The weather in the morning wasn’t very promising with patches of dark clouds still covering the sky. Spring being just around the corner, I was looking for blossoming and flowers. And blossoming and flowers I found. Just a few steps away from my doorstep I noticed a small bush with tiny buds starting to open up. In general when using a macro lens and in particular when photographing such small objects getting the focus right it’s no simple task.

Not much further down the road I came across some green leaves gently unfurling. The leaves were still close together and not fully spread out yet, I looked for a leaf with good light and texture and snapped this picture.

In the meantime the weather could not make up his mind. Clouds, rains, sunshines kept rapidly taking turns. Just when the sun broke through the layer of clouds I noticed some red tulips sprinkled with droplets from the rain that was falling just a few moments before. In the first picture I put the full flower in the frame.

Then a specific drop of rain of a petal facing the sun caught my eye and I focus on this detail.

*Raindrops on petal - f5.6, 1/160, ISO 100*

After a bit more walking I saw a bright, funny-looking hedge delimiting the garden of a house. What made it stand out was its bright yellow color. I looked for a small branch popping up from the top and took a photo. I wanted to shoot wide open to achieve the most subject separation possible but the scene was so bright I had to set the ISO to 50.

And when I was ready to head back home, my mind already thinking about what to cook for lunch, I kneeled down next to a patch of Grape Hyacinth and took what turned out to be the best photo of the day. I was very looking forward to finding some of these flowers because they look very interesting. But don’t be fooled by their candy-like aspect, as I later found out they are actually mildly toxic to humans.

For me going out with a macro lens sparks a sense of wonder and child-like curiosity for the smallest details, textures and objects. It’s really a tool that enables to look at usual scenes and objects with new eyes.

A spring walk with a macro lens

A week in Oman