Intricate Flower Close-Ups Taken With a Dental Camera

2

The beauty of flowers defy all seasons. From its beginnings as a bud to its peak blossoming in Springtime and down to its inevitable decay, the photographic popularity of flowers needs no explanation. Apart from the vibrant color gradients and velvety petals, its beauty can be largely attributed to the qualities unique to its respective varieties, vaguely visible unless we zoom in really, really close.

These flower photographs taken by Monika Mitterdorfer (@agrimony) are an invitation to a closer look.

Credits: agrimony

So how did Monika achieve these impeccable macro photos? She used a Yashica Dental Eye II, which belongs to a series of cameras designed especially for medical and scientific purposes. The Dental Eye lineup was a replacement for the Oral-Eye cameras, which were distributed by Tokyo Shizaisha, a dental equipment company. The cameras had a fixed macro lens on its Yashica SLR body and a built-in ringflash on the lens barrel.

Credits: agrimony

Monika first encountered the Yashica Dental Eye on our website and recalls being very impressed by the diffused light and the even illumination of the captured subjects. This, along with her love for taking close-ups, prompted her to do some research about the camera. She found the Yashica Dental Eye II on an online second-hand shop and immediately started taking photos after its arrival.

Credits: agrimony

As a camera used for scientific and medical purposes, it's safe to assume that the Yashica Dental Eye is capable of capturing even the tiniest of details, and Monika appreciates this possibility.

"I generally like to shoot images as close as possible—maybe because I live in a narrow densely built-up valley with mostly bad architecture. In my garden and balcony, I have lots of plants and flowers. All over the year, I like to take photos of several blooms and the Yashica Dental Eye is perfect for that. I also started to use it to shoot details of my surroundings I find it interesting to take them out of context. In the future I want to use it more for this, maybe in wintertime when all my flowers are withered."

The camera is also equipped with a built-in ring flash that guarantees even illumination. Monika admits that sometimes, she presses the button too early when the flash is not fully loaded yet, but most of her photographs end up looking great. It also works fully automatic (except for the focusing), so she is able to concentrate on her subject.

Credits: agrimony

Lovely as it may seem, the camera poses a challenge with its h tour, and Monika is "often breathless after shooting with the Dental Eye":

"I find it challenging to hold the camera steady for finding the correct or desired focus. Since it is heavy, I don’t take it for trips or on vacation. But it is the perfect camera not only for shooting flowers in the garden outside but also for rainy days at home. It’s a little bit of an adventure-tour to find interesting details in my own house to capture with the Yashica Dental Eye."

See more of Monika's photos by visiting her LomoHome!

written by shhquiet on 2021-09-11 in #culture #macro #closeup #macro-photography #yashica-dental-eye-camera

2 個留言

  1. leisuresuit
    leisuresuit ·

    Great article!

  2. shhquiet
    shhquiet ·

    @leisuresuit glad you liked it :)

更多有趣的文章