Today I went on a hike at Jordan Lake on the New Hope trail. Oddly enough, although I've lived in the area for many years I've never made it out to the Jordan Lake trails in the past. The weather has been beautiful this past weekend and I just got acquainted with my Meike Macro Extension Tubes as well as new tripod (Manfrotto BeFree) so naturally I figured a lazy Sunday afternoon would be the best time to get in some shooting practice.
In addition to some pretty cool (in my beginner's opinion) macro shots of bugs, I also got some more traditional landscape shots. My goal for the day was to work on my framing and composition for nature photography and to be more intentional about framing shots in the viewfinder. I even pulled up my grid for "rule of thirds"-ing my way through the trail!
Macro photography can be super awkward if you aren't prepared ahead of time. From my experience today, I would suggest bringing shoes with good grips and a backpack with lots of pockets to put stuff away while switching lenses, getting the tripod set up, or other related tasks. Also, given that my lens is 85mm prior to extension, I had to get really up close and personal with my subjects. This meant working in somewhat cramped areas or shuffling gear in my hands. One time I left my lens cap on the ground trying to get the perfect shot and had to backtrack half a mile to find it again!
Additional things to keep in mind - bugs are panicky and you have to be very patient to find something interesting to photograph. Today I had this thought over and over again that photography is a lot like fishing - lots of waiting and patience. (Disclaimer: I've never actually been fishing, but growing up in America you learn a lot from pop culture…) Anyways, my suggestions here are to find a good area to set up with tripod and lens, scout out possible subjects in the vicinity, and be respectful of other people on the trail when setting up and packing up.
Finally, I found a clearing a little that was a bit past the trail which looked out onto the lake. It also had a great view of a few boats out on the water enjoying the beautiful fall-summer day. A note here about the photographer's elusive “perfect shot” - as soon as I decided I had taken all the photos I could I packed up all my gear and walked back onto the trail only to turn around and see golden sunshine reflecting off the water, helicopter perfectly framed overhead, and a boat right in the middle of the water. Oh well, there's always next time, or the time after that, or the time after that, or ... well - you get the idea.
As usual, the entire gallery is available as well here: Jordan Lake - New Hope Trail