The Beauty in Tiny Things

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Story ID:	2812
Written by:	Virginia Allain
Organization:	none
Story type:	Things to do
Location:	East Wakefield NH USA
Year:	2007
Person:	macro photography

Last week I discovered the macro feature on our digital camera. It was there all along, but I'd skipped past most of the manual. Taking photographs of people and scenery didn't usually require special buttons.
Now as the summer in New Hampshire eased into fall, I had some time to explore and amuse myself. Getting our cottage situated, a sunroom and decks added, furnishings found, and a garden planted consumed most of the summer.
Our garden was an adventure in learning. Would it be too shady with the tall trees looming over our site? What would grow best in New England's short growing season? I delighted in each blossom that validated our choices.
Even though we'd worked hard all summer, I'd soaked up the atmosphere of this new place. I fell in love with the wildflowers, the plush mosses and odd lichens and the textures of pine needles and birch bark.
I wanted to capture these visual delights that made my summer special. That's when I pulled out the digital camera and read the instructions for the macro photo taking. It didn't sound that hard; just click on the button with the flower symbol, get within a foot to 2 inches of the subject, and don't wobble while pushing the shutter. Surely I could manage that.
The results exceeded my expectations. The close up photographs revealed even greater beauty in the flowers than I could see from my normal viewpoint. I wanted to capture everything with this small box in my hands, put it onto my computer and view it six times larger than life.
Now I could see the velvety texture of the petals and the shadings of color. Whenever I have a few minutes, I take the camera for a walk. Who knows what I might find; a blue jay's feather, red berries on a bush, clover in an open meadow... My eye is drawn to the minute and usually overlooked details in the landscape. Macro photography has opened my eyes to the beauty of tiny things.

Photos:
fern pattern
pine tree detail
pink geranium
red begonia
white begonia

You can see more of my photos on the Webshots site at http://community.webshots.com/user/vallain
They are best viewed in the SLIDESHOW mode.

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