Beginners Macro Book

[GolfBlogger.Com]

Can the group recommend a good book or two on macro photography? I've got a Canon Rebel XSi and a 100mm Canon macro lens ... TIA

[brecklundin]

I am not so sure a book is the best option...I am new to Marco also and find a lot of info online and especially here on POTN. Try some creative google searches with the word macro...like

macro technique
macro tips
macro styles
macro themes

You get the idea...there is a TON of info from some amazing macro shooters out there. In fact here is a bunch of macro tutorials from a POTN irregular:
dalantech's tips here:
http://dalantech.deviantart.com/gallery/?loggedin=1#Tutorials
http://nocroppingzone.blogspot.com/

Lord_V's stuff here:
http://www.wonderfulphotos.com/articles/macro/

I think you might need to create a free account at deviantArt to be able to view the tutorials, but no biggie doing that...

Great tips here too:
http://www.mplonsky.com/photo/index.htm
http://naturalimagery.blogspot.com/2008/05/top-10-macro-photography-blogs-and.html

I think that and searching here along with a lot of practice will get ya going. Of course if you were looking for something to carry with you when ya have no web access.....um....I dunno... ;p

[GolfBlogger.Com]

Thanks for the links. I've been reading through them and they're good.

I'm a book guy, generally speaking. Love the things. Have thousands.

[brecklundin]

Glad ya like 'em...I too am a book guy...I have so many shelves of reference books it's become comical. I can't wait for the next Kindle or whatever device that is not only color but also larger format. I'll prolly gain 40% of my useable living space back! hehehehe...

Not sure about you but I am discovering that photography books are a lot like programming reference books. It takes time to learn to recognize the books which are just a rehash of the basics you should already know by the time ya get to the point of wanting to learn more. That is where these web references and tutorials really do help me a lot. I can get a grip on enough info to make better choices in a book.

I do love how Amazon has a good portion, if not all, of a book available as a preview now too.

BTW, nice golf blog site...I miss being able to play. Of course one of my favorite books is Harvey Penick's Little Red Book. I re-read it at least once a year. I have been lucky enough to have been able to play almost every major course on the west coast as well as some quite wonderful lesser known courses like La Purisima near where I live. I better stop before I keep going...I can talk about golf all day long if "they" let me...and "they" don't...hehehehe...

[DQE]

Lord V has some excellent tutorials, including the ones at the URL below:

http://flickr.com/groups/macroviewers/discuss/

I also enjoy books and have enjoyed the macro photography books listed below enough to reread them repeatedly as I attempt to go up the learning curve(s). Some of the older books mostly use film photography but the basic principles of good macro photography are reasonably common to film and digital IMO.

John Shaw's Closeups in Nature (Practical Photography Books) by John Shaw

The Complete Guide to Close Up & Macro Photography by Paul Harcourt Davies

Macrophotography: Learning from a Master by Ronan Loaec and Gilles Martin

Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting (Paperback)
by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua - this is very helpful about lighting and flash in photography, even though it isn't specialized to macro photography. It was recommended by the Strobist fairly recently. It covers topics that are hard to find elsewhere, such as getting rid of specular (aka "hard") lighting in favor of diffuse lighting, etc, etc.

I hope this info is helpful. Perhaps others will recommend additional titles.

[GuywithCamera]

Don't forget to check your local library. I found lots of books on digital photography and four specific to macrophotography. It's free and you can gain some good information.

By and large I find the web to be more up to date and of greater depth as far as information goes.

Bob

[brecklundin]

GuywithCamera:

huh, you know I never think of our library. It is sort of sad because once it was a pretty decent library but I guess over the 30-yrs since I last used it for anything, they have actually reduced the number of books. That is something I really don't understand...???

But, ya know I might just do that and see what they have, or don't...this is not exactly a Phi Beta Kappa kinda town...more so it's a paper napkin & spork set kinda town, hence not many tax dollars to keep things improving. There is a reason we used to think of it as where the sewer meets the sea...oh, great, now I am depressed...hehehehehe....

[unclokie]

I agree with the suggestion of John shaw's "Closeups in Nature". It is dated now but Shaw does a great job of explaining magnification characteristics and getting your creative juices flowing toward experimentation and gadget techniques.

[prattw]

There are a couple of Kodak Technical Publications that you will find useful if you like to get into the technicalities and basic principles.

N-12A Closeup Photography
N-12B Photomacrography

(Back then we were taught to be very "High Church" about it being Photomacrography: "Macrophotography" was making very big prints.)

I bought my copies in 1972 or '73, but they are still available used on Amazon.com Some of my younger colleagues here at UNLV have found them very useful in understanding what they are doing. If you don't like going over the algebraic equations behind a technique, though, you won't like them.

Will

Will Pratt
Curator of Invertbrates
Barrick Museum, UNLV