Seal

Nikon D3000, Lensbaby Scout single glass optic with bellows, 1/100, no f-stop, ISO 100.

I first worked with a macro lens many years ago, shooting pictures of a friend getting a tattoo. I fell instantly in love with the ability to shoot extremely close-up shots. Sadly, I haven’t had many occasions to do much macro work since then.

One of the toys I got for Christmas was a bellows attachment. It looks like this:

The bellows works with any lens (though some work better than others). It increases the focal length (the distance between the lens and the image-recording chip in the camera), which permits close-up work.

I took the shot at the top of this post with the bellows and a Lensbaby Scout with a single-glass optic in place. The lens produces the soft focus effect and allows in enough light to get a good exposure even with the bellows in use.

For size reference, the subject – a small seal made of yellow glass – is around the size of a thumbnail.