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| Werner Herzog - 140mm lens - my two 140s with Rosemary's Crambe maritima 27 July 2022 |
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| Hosta 'Dorset Blue' 27 July 2022 |
When I embarked as a magazine portrait photographer in Vancouver
I was aided by the fact that I had purchased in 1979, what was then deemed a new-fangled
camera, called a Mamiya RB-67. It used and uses (I have three of them) 120 film
(still being made) which was encased in a back that revolved its 6x7cm format
into vertical and horizontal. My photographs delighted art directors as my
verticals fit full page bleeds and the horizontals looked just fine as the two
page spreads that became the vogue in those days. Because I had many backs I shot both in b+w and colour giving those art directors more choices.
But most important for me was that I researched my subjects
and when I photographed them I never asked them to do something they did not
want to do. It was important to respect them. My Rosemary gave me breath mints and made sure I applied my Mitchum anti-perspiramt.
I believe I have the same approach to my plant scans (since 2001 and perhaps over 2000 of them). I respect my plants and I do my best to make them look exactly as they are and sometimes a tad better. When I tell folks that my plants talk to me, they laugh. But plants do communicate their need for water or sun or shade.
This brings me to the topic at hand – the macro lens. Few macro lenses are macro. Many are close-focusing lenses. A normal lens is sharp at infinity and the image begins to deteriorate as you get close. A true macro is sharp up close and the image begins to deteriorate as you focus to infinity.
There is one lens (there may be more) that is the exception. This is my Mamiya 140mm lens with floating elements. I believe I may have purchased my first one in 1981. The second one I bought when the first one had a shutter main spring break. I had it fixed but from then on I always had to 140s and two Mamiyas RB in my photo bag, just in case.
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| Hosta 'Dorset Blue' 27 July 2022 |
The macro setting of the 140mm lens enabled me to get close to people’s faces for dramatic portraits. That is all I used my macro lens for.
It is now fashionable in this 21st century to use close focusing or macro lenses (and even close focusing phones) to photograph flowers, particularly roses.
What follows is my personal opinion on the subject.
I believe that it is important to respect the beauty of a plant by showing it as if it were a portrait not as the detail of a nose, ear or lip.
When I started scanning my roses in 2001 I made sure that the scans were at 100% the size of the plant, that the colour was accurate and I always noted the date.
I call my plant scans, scanographs and I am a scanographer. I could add that I am a plant portrait scanographer.
And I might add (still a personal opinion) that all those macro photos of flowers are kind of dull.
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| Hosta 'Dorset Blue' 27 July 2022 |
