The Beauty of Nothing

5D Mk IV – EF 100mm Macro – Einstein 640W Strobes – 1/125, f/11, ISO 100, Evaluative Meter

Today’s Photo of the Day stemmed from my drive back from the grocery store. As I was pondering what the Photo of the Day would be (I ponder about that subject more and more every day…), I began to listen to a song from a group called Crack the Sky. The song is called ‘The Beauty of Nothing’. It really is a beautiful song and I thought, why not take a picture of something so mundane, so routine, so simple, so ‘nothing’, to see if it could be beautiful. My original thought was to take a picture of a woodpile, but as I pulled into the garage, I realized I had a new subject; and, it was going to be a macro shot!

About the shot: I used the trusty 100mm prime Macro lens with three extension tubes. I initially had one Einstein strobe sitting off to my left with a 10 degree grid attached, but I didn’t like how the light just felt wrong so I added a second Einstein with barn doors to the right. This was used as a secondary fill light. I experimented with various apertures but liked the f/11 setting the best. This was a tethered shot to help me focus, and I used a remote control to prevent any motion blur.

So you be the judge. I suppose beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder. If you haven’t guessed, the subject is nylon weed whipper line wrapped around a spool. It’s a little dusty, but does it represent ‘The Beauty of Nothing’?