Ron Leach

We often refer to French optical specialist Mathieu as a “weird Lens guru” because he always has a few oddball tricks up his sleeve. Sometimes his videos are about adapting cheap vintage lenses to modern digital cameras, while other times he reveals a fun-and-wacky DYI project.

There are two basic genres of macro photography. One is shooting tiny subject like jewelry and stamps with supplemental light indoors. Perhaps more popular, especially this time of year, is capturing outdoor close-up photos of both inanimate and living subjects.

We’ve all marveled at long-exposure landscape photos with soft feather-like clouds and cotton-candy water. The challenge when shooting during the day, is that light levels are usually too high to permit using the slow shutter speeds necessary,

Independence day is right around the corner, and with it comes a great opportunity to capture spectacular images of fireworks—whether you’re shooting in a stadium, astride a lake or river, or in the comfort of your own backyard.