This week I picked up a Tamron 90mm macro lens and flash for my Nikon D850. A diffuser from Australia is en route. After all these years I figured it’s time to take the plunge and try my hand at macro photography. Gulp. I’m not a photographer; I take a lot of a photos, but I’d never classify myself as a photographer. There’s a chasm of difference right there, so humour me while I bumble my way through this stuff.

These last few years I’ve been relying exclusively on my Pixel 7 phone for the bulk of my photos – and hey, don’t knock it. People can be surprised and dismayed to hear I use a mere cellphone for my photographs, but it takes really decent pictures in a very convenient hand-held package. My main usage is functional identification shots of moths and nature, but I’ve known for some time that it just doesn’t do enough. I want to be able to take photographs of micromoths and tiny insects (1cm and less) and anything that small looks terrible with my phone. But beyond that, I want clearer, crisper shots all round. Let’s shoot for the moon here.

This morning I took my new gear out for a trial. Plenty of early thoughts.

Much crisper shots. Let’s start with the positive. As expected, I can get far clearer macro shots than using my cellphone – it doesn’t even come close. The tone and appearance of the photographs are noticeably different than what I’m used to, but when it’s good, it’s good. Wow, lichens sure look great with a macro lens!

Reduced depth of focus. This was something that always repelled me from macro photography in general. While one part of an insect is gloriously in focus, the rest is as blurry as heck. I don’t like the look. I tried getting focus stacking working this morning but no luck yet. That’s definitely an area I’ll keep looking into.

Vastly slower. Obviously I’ve had a lot of practice with the phone and over time I’ll get faster with the new camera setup, but I can see it’ll always be slower and more difficult. When the target happens to be moving – like a beetle I found under a rock today – speed is paramount. Having to physically move my entire body so I can peer through the eyepiece to take the photograph will be impractical for ever single specimen (and tiring too! Especially at my age when my body’s telling me to quit it already and head to the pub instead). A phone camera can be operated with a single hand on an outstretched arm.

Heavy. The camera body, lens and flash is much more cumbersome than a cellphone that fits neatly in your pocket. After an hour of taking photos I sure felt that weight. The size also made certain shots physically impossible, like a Stereum hirsutum (hairy curtain crust) growing on a felled log near the ground. I would’ve had to have physically lifted the log to take the shot with the camera. Phone? No problem.

The flash is bulky. I’ve never used a separate flash on a camera before and I’m surprised by how much more awkward it becomes with a giant appendage sticking off the top of it.

Need for light. It was a miserable grey morning and I was walking on a secluded trail in the trees. Because of the lack of light the auto-focus didn’t work once so I ended up taking a number of not-quite-in-focus manual shots. Tomorrow I’m going to go pick up a headlamp. I might look like a confused, lost caver wandering around in the daylight with a torch strapped to his head, but I parted ways with dignity years ago. I have birdwatching to thank for that.

Upfront impressions

I feel like this is going to be more of a niche tool; it certainly won’t replace my cellphone for most usages. Some summer mornings I can take over 1200 photographs with a very limited time to do it. Emptying the moth nets has to be done before the day heats up otherwise they become too active and can’t be photographed. From what I’ve seen today, there’s no possible way I could do that with a macro setup. But that’s ok. Some of my grotesquely inexperienced photographs taken today with the new macro lens already look better than anything I could have taken before, so I’ll keep working to find out where it excels and where it becomes impractical.

It’s warming up here in BC now, so when the rain’s finally gone the moths will be returning. I look forward to trying it out on my target quarry.