I was not sure what kind of turnout I would have for Assignment 12: Close Up Photography.  I am thrilled to report there was 22 submissions.  Wait, make that 23 (Thanks, Tracy!)  Ready to get small?

As I mentioned, I was a little worried about this assignment so I went out and did some recruiting.  Like Simone from Ireland and her greeneyedspirit blog who posted a close up photo of an old camera.  She later submitted a wild photo of an owl’s eye.  Both are filled with detail most people miss unless it is in a photo.

My flickr friend, Barry Wallis, got even closer with a photo of a worker bee collecting sweet nectar from a flower.  One of the comments exclaimed you could see the hair on the bee’s legs even though this photo was taken with a non-macro zoom lens.

A newcomer to my assignments, Anna, made a splash with her macro flower photos and her explanation and examples of how depth of field, even at the macro level, can make a big difference in the look of a photo.

Nye took out her 70-200mm zoom and came back with colorful flower close up photos and stellar bokeh.

A new photo blogger from the Netherlands, Chris Benstein,  used a macro filter on his lens to create a 3-D looking photo looking straight down on purple and yellow flower.

While he commented on the wrong post, my favorite London street photographer, YesButs, got down and dirty in the litter bin for his close up photograph.

For photography with a handicapped camera, Gerry persevered to share with us intricate ice formations on the trees of northern Michigan.

Amy used her camera’s macro setting to show us an almost unbelievable sight: A winter butterfly found by a 5 year old boy who did not know it was something unbelievable. 🙂

Debbie Littlejohn, a fellow New Yorker, found an early sign of Spring in some pussy willows on the Cornell University campus.  To bad Spring hasn’t gotten the hint yet.

Katherine, from flickr, got up close and down low to present us with an ice beach sculpture of delicate beauty.

Isa, visiting the Alps, took a walk on a mountain path and, instead of looking at the immense outer beauty, she focused on the beauty of the small treasures.

Chris Cafferkey is another newcomer and one who I recruited.  I found his fabulous macro flower photos using extension tubes post on Freshly Pressed, WordPress’ version of flickr’s Explore.  Thanks Chris for sharing!

Karma took us on a tour, a close up tour, of bright flowers.  Something a few of us all needed as the winter continues to hold on in the northeastern US.  She is also getting great results with her use of extension tubes and the Raynox magnifying attachment.

Kanniduba took a class in flash techniques earlier this year and she put it to use for interesting and stunning results on more Spring flowers.

Jennifer A took the same trip to the same flowers with her sister, Karma, and came back with her own views using a P&S camera set in Macro mode.  She even found a cat or maybe a bat in the center of an iris.

I thoroughly enjoyed traveling during my food photography assignment so Robin coming back from vacation with close up photos from a tropical beach was exciting to see.  Thank you for taking time on your trip to do so!

Mary joins us with a series of macro photos using my new favorite lens lust, the Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro (macro) lens.

Birgitte treated us to a new twist on one of her fabulous collages.  The background used set off all the neat close up photos featured.

I am almost embarrassed to follow Birgitte with my own collage which features each of the ways I learned to create close up photographs for this assignment.

Carsten, after teasing us with a goofy photo, takes us on a fantastic voyage from close up down to the macro level. Can anyone guess what ties them all together?

I have always admired BM’s use of flash and post processing in his macro photography. His submission for this assignment just pops off the screen.

Deanna, the girl who is always last (well, not this time), astounds us with her selection of macro photos.  I think she should use that lens more often, don’t you?

Tracy, along with Michaela and Karma, helped me a lot over the last month.  So, how could I not let Tracy slide in late.  I feel she even outdid herself.

As it turned out, I should not have worried one bit as you all continue to amaze me with your talents and willingness to try something new or improve on what you enjoy.  After a couple of assignments of inside work, May’s will get out us outside.  Let’s hope the weather will be Spring-like when we do.