Special Interest Groups

The Macro SIG is composed of Viewfinders members who are interested in exchanging information and tips about close-up and macro photography, related events, articles, publications, and websites.

One of the main reasons to do macro and close-up photography is to admire nature’s beauty: bugs, animals, flowers, minerals, gems, etc, by bringing out their hidden details that are not readily visible to the naked eye. It is also used for product and food photography and to document small archival objects such as artifacts.

In 2018, Richard Sylvester and Bob Taylor organized a day long workshop covering the difference between close-up and macro photography, the photographic equipment and camera techniques for shooting close-ups and macros, focus bracketing, and computer software for focus stacking.

The November 2020 Viewfinders newsletter provided a short tutorial on close-up and macro photography.

A number of good references exist, including videos on YouTube, books such as “The complete guide to macro and close-up photography” by Cyrill Harnischmacher, 2016, Rockynook, and websites such as Extreme Macro.

Macro photography takes some patience to learn and practice to perfect, but its rewards can be tremendous when you see the photos that can be achieved.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Macro SIG, please use the Contact Us form.

Richard Sylvester