Get In There

I do take a fair number of close-up photographs, not as many as other styles of images I take, but a few. The three here are a fair representation of the subjects I sometimes take when I get in close.

I do take flowers, both in colour and monochrome, but the latter are by far my favourite. With black and white flower or plant photography, you are excluding one of the main attributes that the flower uses to make itself attractive – colour. But I do believe that monochrome images of flowers can show that the plant has much more to offer the observant viewer than just colour. There are a myriad of shapes and – once converted to monochrome – tones that will draw the viewer into the frame and show just what beautiful shapes and detail there are beyond the colour.

The last photograph is of a door-knocker on an old door. Again being monochrome and a close-up engages the viewer to consider the shape, tones, detail and shadows of the ornament. These types of images can be so easy to take whilst you are out and about. Just get in close, frame it correctly and if necessary use a piece of paper or a magazine as a reflector to open up some of the denser shadows.