MICROPHOTOGRAPHY
Strange new worlds are revealed under a microscope. Amy Davies talks to three photographers taking macro photography to the next level
While we typically think of macro photography as having a 1x magnification, microphotography can reach the scales of 20x magnification, showing off not just small objects like we might see with typical macro work, but subjects with details that are generally invisible to the naked eye. Beyond that you’ve also got microscope photography, which can go even further.
It’s a niche area of close-up photography, but produces stunning results. Getting that close can offer up extraordinary points of view – scenes which look like alien planets, with striking colours and patterns you’d never know existed.
Here, photographers Jan Martinek, Don Komarechka and Marek Mis all explain why they love the subject, and offer some tips for those brave enough to give it a go themselves. If you’ve tried everything there is to try with macro photography, it’s something you might consider, too.
Don Komarechka
Don is a nature, macro and landscape photographer originally from Ontario, Canada. He teaches workshops on macro and microphotography, and his work has been featured on the BBC and Discovery. He has also written books on the subject, including his latest Macro Photography: The Universe at Our Feet and Sky Crystals: Unraveling the Mysteries of Snowflakes.
AP: Why do you photograph such small subjects?
DK: The more you can magnify something interesting, the more it feels otherworldly. We don’t have a strong connection to these elements of the world through our own eyes. Make them the size of a dinner plate, however, and they can feel like an unexplored alien world. And the beauty of this is that it’s often in your own backyard.
AP: What is particularly appealing about cold subjects?
DK: I detest the cold. However, photographing its beauty makes it much more tolerable. For more than a decade in Canada (I now live in Bulgaria) I found peace with the frigid winters via photography. The subjects themselves are fleeting – breathe on them and they disappear. The photograph remains the only record of their existence and each one is unique. There is something valuable about recording this, as is the search for the perfect snowflake. It doesn’t exist, but you keep searching every snowfall in the hope of finding it. It can be addictive!
AP: Talk us through a typical snowflake shot
DK: For snowflakes, high magnification is key, as is being able to freely move around your subject to find the perfect angle. If you can get the snowflake at a slight angle to the camera, then a ring flash can reflect off the surface of the crystal like glare on a window; this reveals the magic. Getting surface reflections on snowflakes will not only yield the
