It’s week 9 for 52 Wednesdays and this week’s theme is Close Up.  I was kind of excited for this week, but kind of dreading it at the same time because I actually love close up/macro photography (that might seem like a hugely contradicting sentence, but I’ll explain).  I LOVE investigating the world and all it’s intricacies from a highly magnified vantage point.  However, I’ve been seriously missing my previous ownership of a macro lens lately, and this assignment only strengthened those feelings.
I actually fell in love with my camera and photography because of macro photography.  Before Simply Splendid existed in my life I was a jewelry designer (I still am technically).  I created custom jewelry pieces with gemstones and fine metals and hated that the photographers I hired to photograph my art couldn’t seem to catch my vision of what I wanted.  So, I invested in a DSLR so that I could learn to do it myself.  Along the way, I found how much I loved photographing people and developed my capabilities  over time to where they are now.
I own a 50mm lens and an 85mm lens, which are fantastic focal lengths for photographing people; but unfortunately, I must remain at least 1.5 feet away from my subject for my camera to focus.  This means macro photography isn’t in my cards these days.  I managed this week’s project with a special magnifying filter and this is what I came up with:
I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce Ms. Amy as the next photographer in this photo circle!  She is an amazing photographer from Southern California and is the owner of A Beautiful Life Photo.  She has such a brilliant photojournalistic style, I can’t wait to see what she’s come up with this week.  You can find her here.  http://www.abeautifullifephoto.com/blog
Marla, you truly are a talented woman! True artist. I love getting to know everyone’s background from these little blog snippets.
This week your image just takes my breath away! Stunning.
Thank you Traca for all your lovely compliments today!
first of all, this is a thing of beauty…my goodness, marla, what would you be doing with a great macro lens? every week, you seem to offer something so lush, sometimes abstract, always stunning and perfect. while i am drawn to people, you make me want to stare into this beautiful “eye” all day. AMAZING photo. you are an artist in so many ways.
Thank you so, so much Amy! I so appreciate your encouragement. =)
This is magnificent Marla. Your images always leave me inspired. Awesome.
Thank you so much Karen!
speechless…absolutely gorgeous! …thanks for sharing part of your story, journey with us too! It’s so fun to hear your beginnings and gives me hope to one day be where you are! This lighting and color, and composition…everything about it, is perfect!
Thank you for your kind words Laurie! One of the great things about photography is that it is a very technical art form and there are so many resources to learn those technical aspects. I can attribute my capabilities to a lot of study and a lot of practice. I have atrocious images from way back when, but I learned from them. So keep practicing and learning. As long as you don’t give up, you will continue to get better and better!!
Marla, this is amazing. You photography inspires me!