The world of macro photography is intimate and fascinating. While classic “macro” means reproducing things at true life size, with a 1-to 1 ratio (the image on the camera sensor is the same size as the actual subject, which makes things like June bugs fairly terrifying), I’m using “macro” here in the more generic, “really close and incredibly detailed” sense, like the mushroom shot in the background. Sure, we’ll go full life-size often, but we don’t have to go that small to delight ourselves.

Macro is often painstaking work, demanding not only specific gear, but also specialized shooting and post-processing techniques. For example, our friendly mushroom shot in the background was actually five different images, stacked and blended for ultimate sharpness, and it took a couple of hours. And that’s just the beginning!

Join me in this huge little world full of giant tiny wonders!