Macro photography - Part 14: Passion. Why I love macro photography.

Orchard Mason Bee approaching grape hyacinth.  Nikon D70, 105 mm, f/29, macro flash used.

Insects have always been something that has fascinated me.  They are everywhere; it's hard to go a day without seeing them, with the possible exception of winter time.  As a child, I used to catch all sorts of invertebrates, both terrestrial and aquatic.  I read books on them and was filled with an insatiable curiosity.  Then, after graduating high school, I decided to follow my passion and did a degree in zoology.

It was as a young adult that everything came together for me.  School cemented my great passion for living creatures.  I also joined a school newspaper as a photographer and my love affair with cameras grew exponentially.  This was in the early 80's when computing was still in its infancy; I found that I could work with codes and became handy at working with them.  The combined interests of creatures, cameras, and code was the exact elixir needed to propel me into macro digital photography some twenty years later.

Passion.  Life should really be about following your passions.  I still get excited when finding interesting insects and am even more thrilled if I can get a few good photos of them.  I used to wonder what I would do with the many thousands of images I have collected over the years, and my computer, camera, and creature skills have led me into the world of publishing books and blogs.  My books are really course books that I use for the courses I teach and my blogs are what you read here.  And I do these because of that one word.  Passion.

Macro photography is a part of who I am.  I use my skills to inform and instruct others in the things that I love and hope to pass on some of that passion to them, and to you.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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