When people talk about macro photography, they generally mean taking extreme close-up photos of an object. Typically, macro photography subjects tend to be flora or insects. This is hardly surprising though, because much finer details can be seen on these subjects through macro photography.
Photography purist define true macro photography as capturing an image where the subject is projected onto the camera’s sensor close to its actual size.
I’m not a purist when it comes to macro photography, and generally I define macro photography as extreme close-ups of the subject.
In August’s Digital Camera Magazine (Malaysian Edition), there’s a feature article about macro photography. A section of that article introduces macro photography of things you find in the kitchen.
I find this particular section interesting because I’ve never considered doing macro photography of things you can find indoors, let alone in the kitchen… so I decided to have a go at this!
The humble gas hood supplies controlled flame for us to cook our food; be it gourmet dishes or even a packet of instant noodles. It largely remains under-appreciated even though it’s a vital equipment in the kitchen.
An important partner to the gas hood is it’s control mechanism: the gas knob. It’s simple design belies the amazing texture on its surface. The finish has been worn through years of service, yet projects an abstract beauty I can’t put into words. Thanks to macro photography, I can now appreciate the years of service this knob has provided my family over that period (and hopefully many more).
What’s the use of even the most modern kitchen equipment without cooking utensils… not much I would say. The most basic of utensils created by mankind to handle boiling hot liquids is the ladle. Its simple engineering belies the beauty of the materials used to construct it.
All of the shots I capture above was taken with my trusty Sony Alpha A200 paired with a Tamron 70-300 Di LD lens. The Tamron has a built in macro switch that allows for closer focusing distance from the 210-300 focal ranges.
As a budget lens (I bought mine for RM400 from a fellow Alphanatics.com forum member), it has produces decent quality images and I must say that it’s a purchase that gives good value for money.