I received a comment on one of my photos and was wondering if anyone else felt that macro shots are a tired genre? I would like to think that Imogene Cunningham was a genius when it came to the macro shots... I'm ready for my close-up,Mr. DeMille...

I have to confess my ignorance again & go off on a google search!! I don't know Cunningham... I"m nearly always in macro mode, I just love exploring the different view of the world it gives me but different isn't always interesting. i definitely wouldn't call it a tired genre, maybe misunderstood...? Doing it just because it's possible without any creative motive maybe.

I found her, wonderful stuff, must go & look some more : D

she is the reason i do the shots i take.... her work is so sensual! She and Georgia O'Keefe were great friends,which is aparaent from both of their works. I agree Bev with you on the without creative motive, you can see the difference like night and day,lol

I hope it's not tired! I just got my longevity check and
intend to blow it on some new (used) lenses. One of them
is a 100mm macro lens.

I'm not sure how to define macro though. The recent shot
of water drops on leaves (honeysuckle, in case anyone was
curious) was done in "macro focus" mode with my Canon G2,
with it's point-n-shoot lens. Just the bare lens though.
No macro adapters or anything.

I guess the trick is to find something unusual or particularly
good looking to shoot, no matter what the angle.

I agree with Bev, too, in that it's fun to explore the world
in close-up. I have a theory about photography in general
that goes something like: If you were to take a picture of
Earth from outer space that had fine enough detail to allow
you to crop and enlarge infinately, you would keep finding
more and more interesting and beautiful images, right down
to the sub-atomic level. Or something like that; I'm tired..

Saying a macro shot is a tired genre seems a lot like saying a tripod is outdated, or light meters are not in style. Depends what you do with it. >I'm not sure how to define macro though. I know what you mean. It has turned into a Marketing word. Used to mean at least a 1:1 image size. [Image on the film plane same size as subject.] What I find really new and exciting are the very detailed images folks have been posting of objects placed directly on a flatbed scanner. Like a 10:1 macro! With incredible depth of field. Bonbon -I do see Imogene Cunningham influence in your work. Keep it up.

I love Macro and the new worlds one can discover with it, Full stop. To me macro is either little seen big or something not normally seen in a certain context seen, for example in a crop, in at least a 1:1 repro...I think... :-)>

Oh jeepers. Fill in the blank: Is _________________ dead? Examples of answers I have seen in the last few months in various places: Film Digital Landscape photography Flower photography Photography (!!!!???) People are SO eager to kill off other people's loves. Why is that?

a pyschological need to make themselves feel better by disparaging someone has been going on for ages... haves versus have nots kind of thing. Another person here in Renderosity has received the same comment and has grown tired of it. I suggested that they something to an admin. if it continues.. we will talk to someone about this as commenting in such a manner is not constructive, no matter how veiled it is. thanks everybody for the wonderful insights you have given!! Misha... thanks, i think i will,lol

bonbon go do some indoor macros & see how much cat hair gets everywhere, & don't forget to dust first ; D

hehe maybe i will catch a few fleas too in the shots... hmmm come here you dust bunny you!!! :D

LOL! even harder than flies, do they ever move ; )

Large format cameras have been in use for over 100 years.
Although they produce images with extremely fine detail --
much better than 35mm, objectively speaking -- I have
determined that they are over-used, and are therefore
largely cliche' and for beginners and the naive.

See? It's easy to sound like an authority, even if what's
being said makes no sense at all.

Although nay-saying self-proclaimed authorities can be
irritating, I'd just ignore them. Their opinions do more
damage to their own credability than to anyone else's.

My favorite quote of all time comes from Thomas Jefferson,
who said, "The right of the people to freedom of speech
does not include the right to be taken seriously."

Bonbon says : "a pyschological need to make themselves feel better by disparaging someone has been going on for ages... " true, but you'd miss me if I wasn't here.... lol (",) btw, if macro is going out of style why are we constantly trying to look further inside our own universe? ie. dna etc? isn't looking at that just an extreme form of macro photography? ask me anyone who knocks yer pics is just jealous coz they either didn't think of it first or haven't got the tools/skill/knowledge to do it themselves.

The moon is blue. AND I agree with Jordy LOL.

oh Jordy what would we do without your pearl's of wisdom?? hmm , probably be extremely bored since your remarks are delightfully humorous. ASalina.... you are so right! Bev.... im calling my new pet dustbunny bev after you,hehe

I love macro images and have taken enough of them myself, only yesterday as a matter of fact...... off to look up Cunningham.

LOL! thanks ; ) I couldn't agree more with what Jordy & ASalina say.

hi ppl. never posted in osity forums bfore, but since im in part way with bonbon on this, due to our recent flood of flower shots ;), so id thought id put in a couple words. i just recently started into photography, went and got a nice digital camera packed with features( primarly all the manual exposure, manual focus, manual WB, manual everything u can imagine, i am not an auto-type guy and there is no macro-mode)so its a whole new hobby that i must explore and it surely isnt a worn-out, tired genre for me....it goes like the age old saying "if you dont like it, dont look at it". just as i create whole new worlds in bryce, im creating a view to a whole different world that most of us dont give a second thought, the finer details of life if you will. my latest macro shotis the final for the moment. i recently made a infrared-pass filter which blocks all visable light but not ir light... my sony DC is highly sensitive to ir light... im going to open yet a another view to a world not detectable to human eyes,but fully visable to my camera....for anyone that does ir photos, i made the filter somewhere around 850nm. this concludes our public broadcast. :) :P

Hi & welcome ; ) I think some people are just so tired & jaded themselves they forget how much there is to explore in photography or any other field!! Your ir ideas sound cool, look forward to seeing some of those...

Being a beginner at this "PHOTO" thing, I happen to find macro/closeup photography REAL interesting and DOWNRIGHT FUN. Isn't that the point!?!?! I look to you guys for INSPIRATION and many times, try to RECREATE the pix I've seen. This has helped me learn quite alot(If I do say so myself) The world is FULL of such wonderful "stuff"! BUT, so much of it is not accessible to many of us. I feel photography allows us to view things in different ways, capture that particular moment in time, that will never repeat itself in quite the same way. This enables us to share it so others can "relive" the experience! Just my 2 cents! L8r!

wow, thanks guys for all the input... this really makes me feel so much better...

w0oh0o... macro for me babeeeeee !!! nice shot i must add ... and that is one nice stinger u gots there!! I did'nt say that...Michelle did!!

Very cool shot Jordy! bonbon in the end I just think it's sad when someone is unable to respond to an image on it's own merits & feels the need to put it in a box ; )

Coooool shot Jordy, and I think everyone here is right!! Except when they're wrong...ummm what was the question? ;-)>

Oh yeah bonbon.....just get me into more trouble than I already am!!! ;~p

(negative comments like 'macros are a tired genre' are only said by those that can't get the hang of something and are jealous)

Generally this Forum does exceptionally well with posting only helpful, constructive comments. The folks are very supportive of one another. [Not like other places I have seen, where the comments can be much harsher, and not very helpful or anatomically possible...] However, we have to keep valuing diverse opinions if they challenge our thinking, or cause us to consider different creative directions. This thread opened up whole new worlds for people; from Imogene Cunningham to Jordy's stinger. Judging from some of the macro work showing up, the creative interest has been renewed.

heehee.... sorry... um ok, wanna cookie?? The forum is full of very helpful people.... its the gallery that seems to draw the trolls like flies... and im all out of anti-troll spray,dammit. When I started this thread, i wanted to see what the consensus was and you guys just jumped right in and re-affirmed my thoughts to a tee. I don't let harsh criticism bother me, but when it starts to affect others, then i have to say something. does the toughbird dance