Fujifilm X-T4 + XF80mmF/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro: 1/250s, f/11, ISO160

Years ago I made one of my larger gear purchase mistakes. I sold one of my favorite portrait lenses (the Fujifilm XF 90mmF/2 R LM WR) to budget for the Fujifilm XF 80mmF/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro lens. Don’t get me wrong, the 80mm lens is a very great lens, but when I purchased it I had anticipated that because the focal lengths were so similar, it would do well enough at the portrait stuff and grant me the added benefits of macro capability and image stabilization. While it is definitely AMAZING with the macro and image stabilization features, it severely lacks in rendering bokeh when used at standard portrait focusing distances. Being that I very rarely photograph macro subjects the lack of smooth bokeh rendering was a big letdown for me.

Fast-forward to today… Hawaii is under even stricter “lockdown” orders now so I haven’t been able to photograph landscapes in the traditional sense. Beaches, parks, hiking trails, and the like remain closed to the public and the police department is aggressive in their citation enforcement. A few photography friends of mine have taken to sharing macro photos from around their houses on their social media feeds and the “janky” lighting setups they use. The closer the camera’s sensor gets to the photographic subject, the smaller the area of acceptable focus (also known as sharpness) is in the photo. For this reason macro photography often requires the aperture to be very small to increase the area of acceptable focus, but the trade-off is that less light is able to reach the sensor which results in exposures that are very dark without additional light being applied to the subject.

So after my photography friends shared their janky lighting setups which, as a non-handy type, was way too involved to attempt on my own, another photography friend shared this YouTube video and I thought “I can do that!” This is the result. The cover photo was from my first tests using my sister’s garage succulent collection since the yard is lacking in blooming flowers at the moment. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of light! Perhaps be prepared to see more macro images in the near future. Eventually, I hope to add the XF90mmF/2 R WR LM lens back into the kit.

08.25.2020