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When I was learning photography around 22 years back, tried to explore all the genres of photography. Closeup or macro photography has always fascinated me, bringing out the fine details in a subject which our eyes fail to notice. Since I didn’t want to spend money on a macro lens, started using the closeup filters. The closeup filters, when mounted on a lens help in reducing the working distance between subject and camera. Most telephoto lenses are designed to focus on distant subjects, these are not meant to be used at shorter distance. Here Macro lenses come into play for for photographing subjects at shorter distances. 

Besides helping to go closer to the subject, macro lenses have another feature called “flat field” focus.The front element on non-macro lenses is generally slightly curved, which makes centre of the photo in focus but things will be little softer around the edges of the frame. It may not be noticeable in normal, non-macro photography but becomes obvious while you photographing objects that are close and tiny. Most of the macro lenses “flat field” focus, because of which the edges of the frame are all in the same focus as the centre and detectable curvature is reduced.

But macro lenses are expensive, the closeup lens is not a substitute but helps in clicking photographs as a very small distance and bring out the fine details. Basically the working distance is reduced when a closeup lens(filter) is mounted on a telephoto lens.

For my travel photography, I use Canon EOS RP with RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM lens since I do not want to carry too much equipment( means extra weight). This combination has really worked well and handling is much easy with one body & one lens. Here the closeup lens from NiSi comes handy, rather than carrying another lens for macro photography, this filter is compact and comfortably fits in my camera bag. A macro focussing rail is another accessory from NiSi for focus stacking where multiple photographs are taken at different focus points and merged together in an editing software to get overall sharpness( from front till end) in the subject as Depth of Field is shallow in closeup photography.

Sharing some photographs which I have taken with the above mentioned combination and close up lens. The detailing is extremely well captured images are quite sharp.

Abstract photography is one genre which I wish to explore more and this closeup lens will sure come to use in my upcoming projects, extreme closeup images of ordinary subjects which are not going to be definitive, identifiable but more fluid & flexible and surreal.

Happy Clicking!

© Text & Photographs Ravi Dhingra