Macro photography provides a new take on everyday subjects. The art of creating close-up images that render subjects life-size or even larger give us a glimpse of the fascinating micro-worlds all around us. We can magnify a spider’s web, snowflakes, or dew drops to see intricacies we don’t see with the naked eye. And all that’s really needed for macro photography is a means of getting very close to subjects.
The closer the lens gets to a subject, the larger the subject comes out in the photograph. With a macro lens, we’re able to focus mere inches from a subject. And extension tubes, which are placed between the camera body and the lens, let us get even closer for a larger-than-life subject.
There are endless subjects to be photographed on a large scale. See some of the possibilities with these 20 examples of macro photography:
The innards of musical instruments are fun to investigate with a macro lens.

Piano strings by Kevin Dooley
Seeds blowing in the wind take on humanlike qualities.

HAND IN HAND IS THE ONLY WAY TO LAND by Neal Fowler
This photographer took a self-portrait in a tiny drop of water.

Caution: objects in the water drop are closer than they appear by LASZLO ILYES
The peculiar behaviours of flies can be seen with macro photography.

Bubble Blowing Fly by Gerald Yuvallos
This cricket appears to be looking right into the lens.

Speckled bush cricket by Johan J. Ingles-Le Nobel
Macro photography isn’t just for sunny days.

Raindrops by Felipe Gabaldón
Reflecting light looks beautiful from a close distance.

Sparkly Treasure by D. Sharon Pruitt
The intricacies of spider web are best photographed at a close range.

Dewey Spider Web by Darren Johnson
White paint droplets make up this luscious macro image.

Untitled by Burcu Avci
Art supplies provide a rainbow for macro photographers.

Macro of sharpened colored pencils arranged in a circle by Horia Varlan
We often take pictures of the grandeur–oceans, cityscapes, mountains–we see in our lives. Photographing the planet’s smaller phenomena can be just as monumental. What’s your favorite macro photography subject? Let us know in the comments below!
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