Macro photography presents some challenges. Most of the things I’m interested in photographing are inside the woods. Right now that includes things like mushrooms, and acorns, and bugs. The thing is, the forest is rather dark, but photography needs light. The etymology of photography comes from two Greek roots: photos, meaning light, and graphe, meaning drawing. Light is a key ingredient. So how does one get more light in the dark forest? Well, you could use a flash, which makes the lighting rather harsh. You can decrease your f-stop, which lets in more light by opening up the aperture, but then your field of focus is smaller. Another option is to slow the shutter speed, so that more light can come in. But if you’re holding the camera, this gets tricky.
You see, humans have this habit of breathing. And that shakes the camera, which causes the photo to blur. That’s not what you want in a good macro shot. I realized I had to control my breathing in order to stop shaking the camera. And it reminded me of the time my Papa Luke taught my how to shoot a gun. I was about 14 years old. We were in an empty heavy breeder hen house. Hen houses are perfect for target practice, because they’re nice and long, and the floor is flat. It’s a straight shot. Anway, he set up a target for me on some empty egg boxes. He let me use his .22 rifle and showed me how to look through the scope to the center of the target. Then he taught me the most important part: when you’re almost done lining up your shot, let all your breath out and don’t breathe back in. Get your crosshairs on the the bullseye, and smoothly pull the trigger. I had a blast learning how to shoot that day. And now, when I’m in the woods trying to get a good macro shot, I remind myself of his instructions. Let your breath out. Hold it. Finish lining up your shot. Squeeze the trigger.