My name is Ajay J. Deshpande, and like many, I'm a lot of things. An engineer by education, once an open-source software dude by profession, a full-time guitar nut, a prog-head/metalhead, a drone/microprocessor programmer, a Rush madfan, a Liverpool FC obsessed football freak, foodie, and more recently, a macro photographer.

The What ...

Macro photography (or photomacrography or macrography, and sometimes macrophotography) is extreme close-up photography, usually of very small subjects and living organisms like insects, in which the size of the subject in the photograph is greater than life-size (though macrophotography also refers to the art of making very large photographs). - Wikipedia

The Why ...

Short version: It has been suggested that the details in macro are fascinating/breath-taking/etc.

Longer version: I'll speak for myself. I got into photography around late 2021. Netflixed through much of the second phase of lockdown, and needed something else. So I borrowed my brother's old Canon 50D and the 50mm and started noodling just to wrap my head around that science. Later on, after having used a 70-200mm, I bought a modest mirrorless and a few lenses, and started photographing birds. Soon found out that I was driving in and out of town quite a bit, looking for bird varieties. Around then, a buddy of mine told me about macro. Immediately, I was drawn to insect photography. This was good, since I didn't have to drive out too much (they're all over!). Macro photography is a study in patience, and this was something that got me good! And yeah, the details are fascinating/breath-taking/etc too!

The How ...

Extension tubes, macro lenses, manual focussing, stacking, focus rails, contortion, losing it, getting it. Check my gear section.

About me ...