“A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” – Dorothea Lange
When I began shooting macro photography about 7 years ago, I was excited but also a little apprehensive. Why was I apprehensive? Because of the lighting skills I needed to learn to create a good macro photograph. Just type the phrase ‘macro photography lighting’ into Google, and you are confronted by countless articles and pictures portraying numerous ways of lighting up a macro subject that is almost overwhelming, especially to beginners.
Whenever I take a photograph, I always keep this phrase in mind that a family member taught me, “capturing a photo is not just about capturing a particular subject, but to also create a unique interpretation of that subject and share it with the world”. For many, including myself, existing macro lighting equipment makes it difficult to achieve the second part of this phrase.
This got me thinking, why does macro photography have to be such a big learning curve for beginners? Why is current macro photography lighting equipment limiting and time consuming to use? It came down to one answer: simplicity. Simplicity is a key factor that influences both the physical and psychological nature of how a user interacts with a product.
Adaptalux has been designed to make macro photography easy and accessible to photographers of all abilities. Furthermore, it has been designed to allow photographers to “create a unique interpretation of that subject and share it with the world”. To achieve this, I designed Adaptalux around a modular design, which allows you to physically ‘build’ a lighting environment around a subject quickly and intuitively all under one product. This links closely with the quote by Ansel Adams: “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” Because of this approach, Adaptalux is completely unique to each user as there are no limitations as to how it can be used. The product adapts to your existing photography skills, effectively removing any learning curve.
I designed Adaptalux around some of the most powerful LED chips currently on the market. This allows for continuous lighting, so the photographer has direct visual feedback of the lighting environment and how it is affecting the subject at all times. This gives the photographer confidence before they have even taken a photo, which is key, for allowing macro photography skills to develop and flourish. Another important factor about continuous light is the ability to create macro films. Most DSLR and digital cameras now have the ability to produce video, so why not unleash that capability on the macro world. You will be amazed at what you can create.
Because of these factors, Adaptalux essentially is an adaptive miniature lighting studio. It brings macro exploration to everyone in an easy and unrestrictive manner.
Macro photography inspires me to innovate through what I see down a macro lens, what will it do for you?
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