5D Mk IV – EF 100mm Macro – MT-24 EX Macro Twin Lite – 1/200, f/6.3, ISO 100, Evaluative Metering

It was a very nice day today; sunny and a high of 72. The Photo of the Day is a macro image that I took handheld and outside. Right outside the studio window is a small area enclosed by the upper and lower decks with the deck stairs on one side, and the house on the other. In the center of this space is a young Lilac bush that we planted two years ago. It is actually a transplant of what we call the Augie Bush, but this one is the Bella bush.

I noticed the tiny buds on the Bella bush were beginning to open so I thought that would make a nice macro shot. The challenge was holding it steady enough while being very close (about 6 inches) to the buds. I kept the ISO very low, and closed the aperture to 6.3. This helped keep down the ambient light so that the Macro Twin Lite flash would actually stop any movement I was causing with it being handheld. Another benefit of these choices is that it kept the background intentionally dark; remember there was little ambient light entering the sensor. Since I was so close, you can see that the depth of field is still very small. I do like the shot though!