MACRO
PHOTOGRAPHY
28
No.
Kiawah’s Miniature World of Nature
Article and photos by Pamela Cohen
I peer out the window and assess the light, the wind,
the humidity. The temperature is rising fast enough to
make the mercury pop the top of an old-fashioned bulb
thermometer, even though the sun is not especially
bright. This day the wind is behaving. My photographic
instincts tell me conditions are optimal to capture macro
images today, a task that can be technically daunting. I
am excited to photograph the world the human eye usually
cannot see.
Outfitted with enough gear to open a photographic supply
store, I venture into the field. As I begin my search, I
am on the lookout for one of my favorite subjects, the
green tree frog. I stand near the pond’s edge and my eyes
focus on the sun-worshipping marshmallow plants whose
cotton-candy pink blossoms are displayed in the diffused
morning light, their sweet nectar enticing a kaleidoscope
of butterflies. Of course, I want to photograph them, yet I
know these images are not going to be the highlight of the
day.
My eyes begin to survey the lush greenery
and, sure enough, I think I have spotted
a nocturnal frog, dozing
comfortably. To make certain,
I quickly raise binoculars to
my eyes without changing
my position. I could easily
lose its location if I am not
careful because green tree
frogs are only about half
the size of my thumb.
Wait! Something just
jumped and it
is not a frog.
It is a huge
grasshopper
that vertically
perched itself on a thin
blade of grass. Now I am challenged because I know I
must photograph both.
People are going by. They see my cameras are not aimed
at the pond water, yet they ask if I am shooting alligators.
I tell them the gators are not my subject today. Surely,
they must wonder if I am possessed. Who, in their right
mind, would be standing with two cameras mounted
on tripods attempting to photograph an object that isn’t
there—something they can’t see? Hours later they come
back again and I am planted in the same spot. Little do
they know they are missing out on an entire world—a
miniature world that I can capture with my macro lenses.
My obsession persisted for two weeks as
I was repeatedly drawn to the pond.
My eyes became expert froglocating tools, binoculars were
optional. I lost the fear of everpresent stinging insects. My
much-dreaded nightly editing
sessions revealed amazing
objects even I wasn’t aware of
at the time
the cameras’
shutters closed
and documented
their existence.
I witnessed
nature at its finest.
I was rewarded with some
of my favorite images ever
made on Kiawah Island.