Here is Hoya picta at 3x the size of the Camera’s image sensor.

Here is Hoya picta at a magnification of 2x.  Tomorrow I will post the last photo of picta at 3x.

A macro photograph is one in which the size of the subject on the negative or image sensor is life size or greater. Here is a photo taken over the weekend of Hoya picta at 1x or exactly the size of the Canon 60D’s image sensor (28.20mm) with absolutely no cropping.  Tomorrow I will post a photo of picta at 2x.  Photos are taken with Canon’s MP-E 65mm f2.8 Manual Focus Lens.

I spent far too much time trying to get this close up.  Between getting the camera all set up, and setting up the plant material, and trying to remember all of the little steps to get a good shot, I spent close to two hours to get a usable close up of an H. brevialata.  This shot was taken with the MP-E 65mm lens at around 3 times the size of the camera’s sensor.  It is completely uncropped or touched up in any way.

Spent the morning photographing more dried coronas and uploading them here.  It takes considerable time.  Two of them did not come out so I will need to re-photograph them.  I encourage everyone to check it out as there are some really cool ones.

Definition on a Corona:  A crown-shaped, funnel-shaped, or trumpet-shaped outgrowth or appendage of the perianth of certain flowers, such as the daffodil, Hoya, or the spider lily. Also called crown. I have added a new section to the website called Hoya Coronas.  I will continue to add species as subpages of the Hoya Corona page as time allows.  Even if you are not scientifically minded, please check it out, as some of these photos will make you look at your Hoyas in an entirely different way.

I started fooling around with my new MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X lens today – it is a tricky one!  I am not really set up yet to properly use it, and it will have a large learning curve, but here are a couple of early attempts of shooting single blooms of H. heuschkeliana with it at around 3x.

Also, check out my Best Photos section for a particularly nice shot.  Once I am set up properly, I think this lens will be capable of some outstanding images.