Why macro?

For many reasons. It is unexpected, it is impressive, but most of all, it is quiet. For me, getting lost in the world of macro photography is like diving into the sea. Surrounded by the absence of earthly noise. Distant. Alone.

It is a brave new world, if I might borrow the title from Aldous Huxley, though on a much more optimistic note. When I look through the lens, everything else fades away. The noise of the town, the restlessness of people, even the time of day. What remains is the small universe in front of me, a petal, a spider's web, a curve of a stem. The camera becomes less of a tool and more like a window into a world we pass by every single day, but rarely stop to see.

Macro photography teaches patience. You can’t rush it. The slightest wind can ruin a frame. The smallest movement changes the result completely. Focusing becomes a risky business. And the light turns out to be much more complex than you originally thought. Sometimes I wait for minutes for a moment that lasts a second. And when it happens, it feels like catching a glimpse of something secret, something that exists only for those who care to look closely.

It also changes the way you see things. After spending some time with macro photography, you start noticing details you had ignored before. The lines on a petal, the rough texture of a stem, the small insects that live quietly around us. You start paying attention to how light behaves, how it moves, how it changes everything. And even when you’re not holding a camera, that way of seeing stays with you.

You walk a bit slower, you look a bit closer, and you start realising how much you’ve missed while passing by. Not only in nature, but in people too. You begin to notice expressions, gestures, small things that say more than words. And without staring, of course, I still end up seeing a lot more than I used to.

Maybe that’s what fascinates me most. That in a world obsessed with the big and the loud, macro brings me back to the small and the silent. It reminds me that wonder doesn’t always shout, sometimes it whispers.

When I return home and go through the photos, there’s a sense of calm. Α quiet confirmation that even the simplest things can look different when you actually take the time to notice them.

The first picture is my entry for @qurator's Photo Quest with the them Macro which was impossible not to respond to! If you want to enter you can find all the details in this post.