Close-Up and Macro Photography Its Art and Fieldcraft Techniques

About this book

Focusing on fieldcraft techniques for macro and close-up photography, Thompson covers the vital but often overlooked skills necessary to achieve consistent professional results in the field. Case studies covering a broad and often challenging group of subjects from the seashore to your back garden form the core of the lavishly illustrated book.

Biology, life history, subject behaviour and ethics along with best practice approaches are discussed in detail and underpinned with photographic tips. Close-up and Macro Photography is divided into four sections – Digital Fundamentals, Fieldcraft & Methodology, Portfolio Case Studies, Digital Workflow & Presentation – covering the full photographic process from capture through to editing, captioning, development and storage are discussed.

Moving beyond the surface-level approach to macro instruction, Close-up and Macro Photography provides readers with techniques that work in the field. Illustrated with over 250 of the author's own inspiring images, this publication is a must for photographers, naturalists and anyone interested in improving their macro skills in the field.

Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction

Part One: Digital fundamentals
Having a photographic roadmap
Digital cameras
Tripods & camera support devices
Exposure and metering modes
Understanding ISO
Aperture
Depth of field
Understanding white balance
File formats
Memory cards
Histograms
Lenses
Light
Understanding flash
Extended depth of field
Backgrounds
Custom-designed equipment

Part Two: Fieldcraft & methodology
Setting up your camera for macro
Composition & orientation
Ithe field
Wide-angle macro
Macro on the move
The outdoor field studio
Photographing further afield
Photographing in challenging conditions
Macro through the seasons
Beyond life-size
Accessories for macro
My field equipment
Filters

Part Three: Portfolio case studies
Jewels of the insect world (dragonflies & damselflies)
Meadow dancers (butterflies)
Nature’s nocturnal butterflies (moths)
Life in the foliage (the larval phase of butterflies & moths)
Nature’s floral garden (plants)
The kingdom of the underworld (fungi)
Life in freshwater (the aquatic environment)
Life on the shoreline (coastal creatures & rockpools)
Patterns on bark & stone (lichens)
Nature’s grand designs (patterns & abstracts)
Nature on your doorstep (macro in the garden)

Part Four: Digital workflow & presentation
Digital workflow & presentation
Contact displays & panels
Presenting & publishing your photographs

Additional resources
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Robert Thompson's interest in natural history began during his childhood explorations of a large parkland estate where he grew up. He is a highly accomplished freelance natural history photographer, writer and author with a number of well-known publications to his credit on natural history and photography. He is widely acknowledged as a specialist in close-up and macro photography and was awarded a direct Fellowship by the Royal Photographic Society in 2012. He is also a Fellow of the Irish Photographic Federation. As an active conservationist and entomologist, he has worked on a number of high-profile natural history projects in his own country in conjunction with various government organisations. He also has a particular interest in dragonflies, butterflies and moths for which he has specialist knowledge. His work is widely published in the UK, Ireland and internationally, with numerous photographic credits in a wide variety of publications. He is a frequent writer and contributor to the photographic press and other natural history publications and has had several solo exhibitions of his work including the aerial landscape collection from the highly acclaimed National History of Ulster. He has appeared on television and radio as a photographer, author and entomologist and been a contributor to other television programs relating to natural history and photography in Ireland. He lectures on photography and runs workshops in some of Ireland's most picturesque locations and further afield.