I've Got MoxieI’ve enjoyed photography for as long as I can remember. In high school, I took a photography class. You know, back before digital cameras. We made our own rolls of film, shot 36 exposures, developed the film ourselves, and then made prints from the negatives using enlargers and other tools (and lots of chemicals). It was great fun, though I had NO idea how to take a proper photo.

It’s still more experimentation than art for me now, but I have a good time with it. Last year, I got a macro lens for my DSLR camera (thanks, Mom!). I love it. It’s my favorite lens. It takes fantastic close-up pictures, showing detail in whatever you shoot. It has a narrow range of focus when you’re close up, which allows for some cool effects. You really see the details of nature, isolating the subject of your attention.

My macro lens also takes fantastic shots of non-close-up things. It keeps the subject in focus while blurring the background, to great effect. This is especially helpful when you have a cluttered scene. Just be sure to get the camera to focus on the right thing.

Here are some photos I’ve taken with my macro lens (a Nikon AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G):

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