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Macrophotography, as the name suggests, is a branch of photography. Specifically, it involves the closeness of the subject, ratio of the shooting, and the limited depth of focus. Macrophotography is a precarious artform that requires rapid shots taken of the subject at an extreme close-up. A specialized camera lens and controls, beyond the abilities of commercially available smart phones, is needed for this work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The key aspect of macrophotography is called \u201cfocus merging,\u201d where the crispest, most focused parts of various, but ideally identical, photos are combined into a hopefully fully focused picture, and the blurry areas of the image are discarded. This is more easily done with stationary objects such as plants or figurines, but considerably more difficult with insects, which are notoriously difficult to keep still for a camera so as to get the multiple pictures needed for this process. The audience was shown a microphotographed picture of a horned caterpillar for reference, which still had some blur to it, but was largely crisp. When this was commented on, Coomer admitted that the caterpillar wouldn\u2019t sit still, so a section of his photograph couldn\u2019t be focused.<\/p>\n\n\n
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and combined to create a clearer image.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Coomer set up a brief participation exercise with the audience: They were to hold their hands in front of their faces at various distances and notice the difference in focus. One can\u2019t focus on his or her own hand and the background of one\u2019s vision at the same time, as visual focus is limited, especially as one ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked about his journey as a macrophotographer, Coomer said that the camera is now two or three years old, and that he started by photographing his Star Wars figurines, \u201ckinda like crawling through bushes and stuff.\u201d Coomer plans to minor in photography but is unsure about which scientific field he\u2019d like to pursue further. As a freshman at Miami, Coomer mostly attends Oxford, and he was assured by an audience member that he has time to figure that out.<\/p>\n\n\n
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When asked if macrophotography has changed his perspective on anything, Coomer responded, \u201cIt helps you notice things, obviously, like when you look at plants, you see more and you want to capture the unique adaptations that each of them have, as opposed to before, you photograph and you don\u2019t know.\u201d When asked about his favorite subject to photograph, Coomer said jumping spiders were, because their eyes were so visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the camera on one\u2019s phone is not as powerful or as precise as the camera demonstrated, Coomer did have a piece of advice if one wanted to try macrophotography with his or her phone. He recommends not zooming in until the image has been taken. \u201cZooming just kind of blows up the pixels, so it\u2019s more grainy. If you take an image and then zoom in, you\u2019ll see more details.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clearly, macrophotography is a unique skill and process, one that uses extreme close ups and merges images together to create a clearer picture than is otherwise possible. This also helps to increase interest in the world around us. Additionally, for those interested in plant life, the Conservatory is free to enter and sits behind Mosler Hall and beside Phelps.<\/p>\n\n\n
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