On an expedition to the beautiful and extreme barren lands of Nunavut (Canada), at some point I have become fascinated by the endless patterns, colors and texture of tundra lichens. So, an afternoon with overcast weather, perfect for macro photography, I set out on a journey to capture an image of the lichens that would hopefully do them justice and that would convey my aesthetics.
To me, macro photography can be spectacular and challenging at the same time. Spectacular because, if you succeed both technically and artistically in capturing the “right shot”, the results are extremely rewarding and lead the viewer to a trip to a mysterious and often overlooked miniature world. Challenging because macro photography confronts the photographer with several difficulties, from technical ones (e.g., attaining pleasing lighting as well as sufficient magnification while retaining enough sharpness and depth of field) to artistic ones (e.g., framing the subject so as to obtain a balanced and pleasing composition as well as convey a message that is immediately evident to viewers).
The answer to these challenges is patience, observation, method and experimentation. With my camera and macro lens on my tripod, I tried several different compositions and moved around to find just the right patch of lichens that would realize my vision. After several attempts, I found what I was looking for: a patch of lichens that were pristine in appearance, covered the entire field of view of my lens, leaving no empty spots, and conveyed a Zen-like “Yin & Yang” kind of message. In the above image, a slightly curved, strong diagonal line of neutral-toned white lichens visually separates the super-textured green plants and berries in the top left portion of the frame from a smaller reprise of colored and textured lichens in the bottom right corner of the frame.
In my view, quoting Mr Sting, this image reminds me of “the sacred geometry of chance“. 😉
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Clicks & Corks 
Stefano, it’s so great to see your photography skills really highlighted on your new blog. You definitely have an amazing talent and it’s fun to hear you talk about it a little more at length!
Thank you very much, Heather: too kind of you.
I am glad you liked the image and the commentary! 🙂
Stunning shot, Stefano! And a simply perfect caption . . . Salud!
Thank you so much, AS – should I call you AS??? 🙂
Much appreciated comment, although credit for the (IMO) brilliant expression goes to Sting 🙂
AS works . . . Kirsten, if you prefer! :o)
Your photography is brilliant! I am very pleased that we get to see more of it… Cheers Stefano!
Thank you very much, Kimberly: much too kind but much appreciated! 🙂
Glad you liked it!
Really magical–both writing and photography. A renaissance dabbler with many talents. C’est parfait!
Dear C, many thanks for stopping by, taking the time to comment and sharing the love: much appreciated!
As I told you several times already, I really like your style and your prose, along with the fact that, when it comes to wine, you pretend to know much less than you really do, although it is very clear to your attentive readers that there is much more to you than meets the eye! 🙂
I like it, very subtle and well played out: as you would probably put it, tres chic! 😉
I look forward to following your blog grow and develop and I am certain that, if you stick to it, you will go far 🙂
A bientot, C, and thanks again! 😉
I really enjoyed your photo, it is beautiful! And I identify with your challenges that your described above…but that is one reason why photography is so intriguing!
Thank you, Laila – and I absolutely agree: challenges make photography even more intriguing! 🙂
I love macro… Beautiful picture, Stefano, great color saturation…
Thank you, Anatoli: macro photography is fascinating, but requires a lot of patience and application (if you want to do it right)! 🙂
looking at the beauty of this image it just makes me think of al of the wonder held there. There are probably cures for cancer and the plants physically that we don’t know about, or maybe just being in their presence and being at one with the array of it all would make us as perfectly aligned as these plats are. Thank you for seeing this image and bringing it to us.
Thank you very much, Anna, for your kind and thoughtful comment!