Macro photography diffusion is the key to accomplishing great macro imagery. I mean we can have all the best camera gear in the world but manufacturers cater to the mean common denominator and thus don’t look to make things more complex than maybe they need to be. In this regard that is fully understandable. I mean no one wants to have to open a piece of equipment straight off the shelf and then have to take a degree in how to use it! For the most part we’re aware of what we are getting, a tool to simplify the task. In imaging though, and especially when dealing with macro photography diffusion, the day we get the gear is only the first step.
If you look at any established macro photographer I’d bey you a pound to a penny that when you take a look through their garage or workspace that you’d find a pretty wild array of past present and potentially future ideas for flash diffusion. And there is a common denominator! For some reason, and I don’t know why but toiletries and office equipment seem to make up a large component of the DIY photographers macro photography diffusion inventions.
In the past I’ve used tupperware boxes and containers. I’ve used my Dremel Tools to cut and fashion concave contraptions, convex monsters and a whole assortment of other wonderful ideas. Especially as I tend to use dual flash units, previously the Canon MT24EX and now the Laowa KX800 I end up with things that look somewhat wild and complex. But it all works and it tends to boil down to one thing, 3ply kitchen roll or indeed loo paper! Yep, we spend a whole shed load of cash, some of it ours mostly the banks, on gear, the latest awesome drop dead wonderful camera and flash system, the best lenses for the job and then finally, two rolls of $2 loo roll to get the job done, in a photographic sense that is.
Beyond the hygiene paper are the utensils that we also employ. Macro Photographers cannot walk around a hardware store and see a trash can, a toothpaste shelf or plastic barbecue plates. Instead we walk around in a constant state of appraisal, in the context of diffusion. I see a plate, slightly opaque, I wonder on it’s diffusing capabilities. I see a container, I wonder the best way to cut it up so that it fits snugly over my favoured super macro lens the Canon MPE65mm f2.8 5:1. Whether it’s a blessing or a curse it is a constant for many of us.
Diffusion wise the image used in this blog entry for example was accomplished with my recently developed macro photography diffusion masterpiece painstakingly reincarnated from an office trash can, or as us Brits call it, a bin. Hence the title of this entry, I knew I was going to have to validate that somehow!
Macro photography diffusion will never be an easy beast to master, but as long as it is then it’s comforting to know that 3ply is your best friend, in every sense!
PS – If you want to see a cool shot using a tupperware diffusion system I made simply scroll to the top of the page and click that circular Icon in the top right corner. Click it again to return to the standard view. Creepy stuff right?
