Spiky Love

Device Model/Make: Nikon D5100Focal Length: 55mmF number: 5.6Shutter: 1/200sISO: 100I recently discovered a set of 52mm Macro Filters of my dad's, who was a photo enthusiast in his time. Macro filters are a cheap way to open up a whole new world of photography for not a lot of money. Compared to a macro lens which can run you hundreds of dollars, macro filters can be had for about 30 dollars, more if you spring for quality. The set my dad had were single-coated, not bad for his time, but not nearly as good as the multi-coatings available today (these coatings cut back on glare, and other nasty reflections that might show up at odd angles).Basically, a macro filter is like a magnifying glass that allows you to put your lens closer to your subject. It also makes your depth of field shallower than usual. The drawback of this is that you lose the ability to focus to infinity. With the strongest filter in my dad's set, I could only focus out to about 10 feet. You can also stack filters for increased insanity...I got this picture walking around my backyard, testing out a filter. It was in my mom's garden, and these bees were about as preoccupied as could be. I got as close as I physically could to this guy... or girl... which was about an inch and a half (that's from the end of my lens to the flower). Any closer and I probably would have nudged the bee, or cast a shadow on the flower with the end of the lens. Neither would have been desirable. Note the depth of field, and then recall that I took this with f/5.6. Think about it for a second.