A lot of people pass by all sorts of different things just noticing the general view of a garden or anything else. When I see flowers, plants, insects, trees, I like to get down in there with the life happening around it and capture the beautiful details of anything I can find.

Many of us already use the camera to see things we don't readily see with our own eyes. Even before I had a real macro lens, I often used my camera to help identify certain species that were differentiated only by the type of hairs that were on the leaves, for instance. Very handy.

I have a good macro lens now, although only for a micro 4/3 Olympus. The depth of field is incredibly thin, but I am very happy with what I can get without any special lighting.... even cell structure:

the black nubs at the bottom are millimeter marks.

I teach a class on macro photography. One point I make is that it opens up a whole 'nother world. Often when you cannot see or find anything beautiful in your yard (for example,) on a smaller scale there is probably something going on that is worthy of a pix. Gene

Stunning photos!

Yup, wow!

Most of those pix were not taken with a "real" macro lens. You do not need one to do macro photography. I do not use a flash. I do not use a tripod. Gene

My favorite photograpghy is macro!
Gene what lens did you use and at what settings?...the photos are stunning

All different lenses at different settings. Gene

Gene, you are truly a master of photography. Not only do you know how to use the equipment, you have an eye for interesting shots. That dragonfly photo was outstanding!!!

Thanks. Yes, I also teach a class on composition. Gene