Statement of intent Macro photography.

The photography that I have chosen to do is Macro.  I intend two produce 10 images of good quality.

I have been interested in Macro photography for some years now, and decided to do this on the course that I have enrolled on now.

The equipment that I will use is as follows A Nikon D200 body with a 50mm Macro lens.  Along with the flash unit for the macro lens that goes with it and can be attached to the camera and the lens.  I will also be using a small and large tripod for stability.  As well as a bean bag.  These items will allow me to get in close and stop any camera shake, this stopping blurred images.  I shell look at the light that will be available when taking the shots as this could determine the aperture and the ISO speed at the time the shots will be taken.

The photography thyme for this will be insects and flowers, so this is going to very close up photography.  I am thinking of getting eyes of a subject but this may alter depending on the subjects that I pick, but, I will go for the eyes of the subject.

Light could play a major part in this, I will try and get natural light were it is possible.  As I would rather work with natural light then artificially light.  I will play about with the ISO if the light fails along with the + and - compensator.  The flash unit that I will be using will be to close as I only have a 50mm Macro lens so this means me getting in close to the subject, so the flash will not work properly.  I intend to use the ISO more than the flash but, I will use photo shop to the minimum.

All heath and safety will be considered while taking photographs.  Also when entering conservations areas that I stick to the paths and observe the country code at all times.  If I set any hides up that I have permission and that it is put up in a safe way observing any plant life and anything of that nature.

The environment and the country side is to be respected, there are certain things that you cannot photograph without a licence if I come across anything like this I will seek advice and get the proper paper work put in place.  I shell seek the right authorities to gain the right licences.

Stuart Goodwin's Close-up Macro pictures.

Some selections of close-up and Macro photographs.  These are shots that I have taken while doing this course, some have not quite made the grade for the top ten , but some have.  I am trying to put a thyme together for the ten shot, which is eyes, but, this all depends on what I can do in the time scale that I have.

So some of these will be chosen but some will not but, I hope the ones that are not, are still very good photos.  The aim is to take  good quality photo's  and it is in the setting up of the camera and the actual shot that counts.  

These were taken at Calke Abbey in the Autumn, very pleased with the shots as they are nice and colourful.

Stuart Goodwin: Macro Close-up Photography.

Camera settings for the Toad ISO 100.  F2.8 Shutter Speed 1/10 Lens 50mm Macro.

This shot was taken at Calke Abby, it is a photograph of a toads eye.  The toad was very dormant, he was just lying in the peat.  I was able to get the lens within 20mm of the toad and this is the result.  There is no enhancement on this shot and very little as been done in photoshop as you will see if you look at the file.  A very pleasing shot.


I am going to try and get an assortment of pictures so this page could changed from week to week until the time comes that I have to choose the final 10.

Camera settings for Rose ISO 400.  F3.5 Shutter Speed 1/3200 Sec lens 50mm. 


This was taken in my back garden at the height of the severe winter that we have just had.  Some how this rose survived for as long as it did.  It looks so sad, but colourful in the snow.  I am very pleased with the shot of the rose, it was a crisp sharp morning when this shot was taken. I used a small tripod to hold the camera steady.

Camera settings for Fly ISO 200. F2.8 Shutter Speed 1/3 Sec lens 50mm.


This shot of a fly was taken at a friends house, the fly was very dormant and was just about to die.  So I put the fly on a flat surface placed some card behind the fly and took the photo.  I was very lucky to have the Macro lens with me as i just been out to do some landscape photography.  Please with the detail on the fly, I had to use a bean bag to keep the shot steady.

Camera settings for the crab ISO 100. F5.6 Shutter Speed 1/250 Sec lens 50mm.


This shot of the crab was taken at the back of my garden pond.  It was taken in daylight and I am pleased with the result.  The crab was brought at the market at Burton on Trent.  I took it home and set it up near my pond.  I used a tripod to keep the shot steady, you have to use a tripod when you are that close, but, very pleased with the outcome. 

Camera settings for the snow drops ISO 400 F 5.6 Shutter Speed 1/10 Sec lens 50mm.

This shot was taken at a place called Calke Abbey early one February morning.  These snow drops at Calke are beautiful when they are out, so I set my self up as close to the snow drops as possible.  I do like the droplets of water that are on the snowdrops.  The shot was set up using a bean bag, this was to stop camera shake.  I was looking to get the drew drops on the snow drop as well as the snow drop its self.

Camera settings for prawn ISO 100 F5.6 Shutter Speed 1/50 Sec Lens 50mm Macro.


This shot of a prawn was taken at a fish market at Burton On Trent one Saturday morning while doing this course at the college.  I had a word with the fish monger one Saturday morning, and he let me take the shot of one of his prawns.  He gave it to me after so I was able to take it home and do some more but, pleased with the first one. 

Camera settings for Eye ISO 400 F5.6 Shutter Speed 1/2 Sec. Lens 50mm Macro.


This is a shot of the wife's eye, I asked her to put some heavy mascara on around her eye.  Then setting the camera on the tripod for stability, was able to get this shot.  There was some work done in photoshop for this one but, overall very pleased with the shot as I don't normally do anything like this.

Camera settings for Lady bird ISO 400 F5.6 Shutter Speed 1/40 Lens 50mm Macro.

This shot of the lady bird was taken at Calke Abbey, the lady bird was just resting on a pot.  I was able to get close to it with out it flying away.  I have captured the eyes of the lady bird and I am pleased with the shot.  Again I had the bean bag with me for stability, these really are a must for Macro work.  As you can see by the settings of the ISO it was a dull day so I had to alter some settings to capture the shot .

Camera settings for Bee ISO 400 F5.6 Shutter Speed 1/8 Lens 50mm Macro.


This shot was taken at Stapenhill gardens on my way to the college.  The bee had been stunned by something and was laying on the ground.  So I placed the bee on a stone wall and took three shots of it before it recovered and flew off.

Camera settings for the wasp.  ISO 200 F2.8 Shutter Speed 1/160 Lens 50mm Macro Bean bag used.


This shot was taken at home, I set this shot up by my fish pond. The wasp was court in the office at work as Geoff does't like wasp he hit it.  Stunning the wasp.  So I collected it and placed it in a jar,  then at the end of the day I took it home and set the shot up.  It was still alive, so I managed to set it up by the pond and took the shot.  Pleased with the shot and the wasp survived the day. 

Camera settings for Eagle ISO 400 F6.3 Shutter Speed 1/1250 Lens 300mm Hand Held. 

This shot was taken at the Catton Estate at a game fair.  The bird was on a stand and is called a Red Linnet Eagle a beautiful looking bird. The man in charge said that I could get closer if I wanted, but I said no as I am alway a little bit weary of these sort of birds.  Beautiful but deadly. 

Camera settings for  Deer ISO 400 F6.3 Shutter speed1/80 Sec.Lens 300mm Mono pod. 

This shot was taken at Calke Abbey the deer was very close to the wire that surrounding  the enclosure.  Placed the camera on the Mono pod and got as close as possible.  They are used to people at Calke but this one didn't see me behind one of the posts at the top end of the site.

Camera settings for Winter Rose ISO 400 F5.6 Shutter Speed 1/1250 Lens 50mm. 
This is a shot of the same flower as above only on a different day, can't make my mind up on which to choose, but pleased with the shot.

Mick Durham Wildlife and Macro Photographer.

Mick Durham is a professional wildlife photographer living near Dumfries in South West Scotland. He has been taking pictures for over thirty years, at least ten of those on a professional basis. Being based in Scotland gives him access to some of Britain’s wildest landscapes – ideal for superb close encounters with our native wildlife. 

Mick Durham trained as an English and Outdoor Education teacher in the late seventies and began taking photographs as part of his work in the outdoors. His first SLR camera was an Olympus OM1 chosen for two reasons – it was small and light which made it easy to carry in to the mountains and one of Britain’s best know bird photographers, Eric Hoskins used them.  It was then that he made the change to autofocus and like many professional photographers chose to use Nikon cameras. He now shoots digitally and at the moment uses a Nikon D2x. His wildlife photography really started as an extension to bird watching, quickly developing in to a passion and a profession. He still enjoy watching birds but more often then not this is done through a camera lens rather than binoculars. 

Mick Durham tries to do most of his photography close to home, going back to locations time and time again. In this instance familiarity means greater success. He travels around Scotland for some subjects; the west coast and islands and Shetland for otters and occasionally go further afield for his photography. Norway is a favourite country.

Mick Durham has been a professional wildlife photographer for about ten years but he as been taking photographs for a lot longer. Mick bought his first SLR camera when he was still a student in the late seventies However, his passion for wildlife and in particular birdwatching soon began to influence what he photographed and slowly a wildlife photographer was born.

Like many keen birdwatchers he always keeps a diary of what birds he has seen, what trips he had undertaken and now, being a professional photographer he has turned this into much more of a working document.  He now records details of photographic trips, ideas about potential locations and any other information that might be useful to him. Thanks to the digital revolution he now no longer has to make notes of how he took particular photographs.   All this information is recorded within the digital files on the camera.

The digital revolution has brought with it the ability to produce exhibition quality prints at home. Mick use a MacPro computer and an Epson 2100 A3 printer for all his printing. He restricts digital manipulation to an absolute minimum – retouching of blemishes caused by dust in the camera, balancing colour and contrast to achieve natural looking images and the occasional removal of unsightly background elements. Mick never adds anything to his images that was not there when he took the photo.

The change to digital photography impacted on Mick’s business in a major way. Mick originally sold most of his work through a small picture agency but the owner chose the switch over to digital imaging as the time to retire. It was time for Mick to reassess how his photography should move forward. In 2005 he bought his first digital camera and set up his own web site. This original site, ‘Kinharvie Photographics’ was very much a home grown affair showcasing his work to family and friends and existing customers.