“That’s gorgeous, but what is it?”

The first macro image I produced myself was of frost on a window, with a pale blue sky and the rising sun glinting through the ice crystals. When people saw it they loved it but didn’t know what it was. When I told them it was frost they couldn’t believe it. I’ve heard every guess about this image: birds, pine needles, dust, glass, you name it but very few get it right. Having people get so engaged about this piece excited the heck out of me.

 I was hooked.

To be a macro artist is to see things differently. It’s natural for me. It’s just how I see the world. It’s how I naturally gravitate. It’s where my natural fascination rests.

It started as a natural fascination before I knew how to wield it. I’d go out and shoot and process the images and think, that’s cool. I didn’t really understand what I was doing but it was fun!  After 10 years of study and practice the fun factor has risen sharply. Now I can read light better and I know the look my macro lens is going to give me before I make the image.

Macro photography is playtime. When I’m making images, it’s the closest thing to that childlike feeling I had when I’d go off and play in the woods of Canada as a six-year-old. No limits. No restrictions. It’s all imagination. It’s all moments of joy.

It’s a type of photography that allows more engagement with the viewer. It’s so fun when someone looks at my image and they say, “Oh, Monica, that’s gorgeous! But what is it?” And then I tell them it’s a stick, or a drop of oil floating in water in a margarita glass, or a torn piece of plastic, and they’re truly amazed that something beautiful can be created out of nothing.  You can find beauty in everything around you, it just may take a little time to see it. All you have to do it learn to see.

Cheers,

Monica