Even through there are so many benefits to being a macro/close-up photographer, my favorite one is that all my images are originals.  

All my images shot in nature are of subjects that only lasted for a short time, and I was the only one to photograph it.  

Unlike landscape photographers that line up day after day to shoot the same iconic scenes at the national parks, nobody has photographed the exact subjects that I have.

See the image below, no other photographer has that image, only me.

So, we are lucky that what we shoot and share with people are all originals, that is pretty cool.

January 2nd, sign up for my new online Flower Photography Club. For more info about this new club, click the link below.

FLOWER PHOTO CLUB - Mike Moats - Award Winning Macro Photographer

It always amazes me when I see photographers spending thousands and thousands of dollars on equipment, buying many cameras, Lenses, tripods, photobags, etc, over their lifetime, and no or very little money on education.

There are so many pro photographers including myself teaching people the ways to improve their photography.  Yes, we do it because it helps us sustain a living but also because of the rewards we get from seeing the excitement from a photographer as he or she learns new techniques, compositions, post processing, etc.

I started a Macro Photo Club four years ago with the idea of teaching macro photography through videos, but also to hopefully get photographers to participate in helping each of our members grow as photographers through our Mike Moats Macro Photo Club Facebook group where we share images and ask questions for help.

My thoughts when I started the Macro Photo Club was that we would maybe get 100 members within the US.  To my surprise we have over 2,800 members from 29 countries and growing each day.

I wanted the price to be affordable and at $99 for a lifetime membership, I guarantee you will not find more instructional macro information anywhere than what I am offering.  Over 280 instructional videos, covering equipment, composition, post processing, and tips from the field.

Spend a little money on education, you will progress much faster as a photographer than learning on your own.

Companies that have sponsored our Macro Photo Club,
Tamron, Vanguard, Acratech, Lensbaby, Hunt’s Photo,Think Tank Photo Bags, Whimberly, Hoodman, Datacolor, Lensflipper.

Booking camera club zoom meetings, need a speaker, let me know, macrogeekmike@yahoo.com

Join my Macro Photo Club online. Over 280 instructional videos. Over 2800 members from 29 countries. 
Info and to sign up. 

MACRO PHOTO CLUB - Mike Moats - Award Winning Macro Photographer

Also Check out my workshops and zoom programs.

WORKSHOPS - Mike Moats - Award Winning Macro Photographer

I've had people wonder how I was able to shoot a fall colored maple leaf in the winter time.  This never happens where I live because the fall color of the leaves is long gone by the time we start to see snow.  It's simple, I saved this leaf in my freezer and when the snow arrived, I took the leaf out and placed it in this spruce tree in my backyard. I placed the leaf flat in a plastic container, and it held it's color and shape perfectly. 

I have done this a couple times with other leaves, and it hasn't worked out as well, as the leaves discolored and changed shape a little, so not a perfect plan, but sometime it works out like it did for this shot.

In a Facebook photo group, a viewer commented on one of my images, "This must come under the Fine Art category, I imagine?"

Honestly, I don't know what the term fine art means.  Here's something I found related to fine art photography.

Fine art photography runs contrary to what most of us think about when thinking about how we use a camera. Most amateur photographers use their cameras to document important events and capture memories without artistic motivation. Instead, a distinguishing feature of fine art photography is that recording a subject is not the main purpose. These artists use photography as a means to express their vision and make an artistic statement.

Join my Macro Photo Club online. Over 280 instructional videos. Over 2900 members from 29 countries. 
Info and to sign up. 

MACRO PHOTO CLUB - Mike Moats - Award Winning Macro Photographer

If you attend a workshop, zoom meeting, camera club program, photo conference presentation by a professional photographer whether it be a landscape photographer, wildlife photographer, macro photographer like me or any other kind of photographer, you would probably expect to hear that they use expensive professional camera bodies and lenses, full blown photoshop for processing their images, top of the line tripod and head, and shoot raw mode. 

Now if you attended any of my workshops, presentation though a zoom program, camera club program, speaking at a photo conference, you would have heard the opposite of what you would have expected from a person making a living for 21 years as a professional photographer. 

I've never owned an expensive pro camera body, my current Fuji mirrorless camera body sells for $899, and I recently saw the Nikon DSLR I own for sale for $875, and that included a lens. 

For the last five years I have processed my images with Smart Photo Editor, which as a standalone program sells for only $29, and not Photoshop/Lightroom like all pro use.

My Vanguard tripod sells for $229, which is much less than the Gitzo and Really Right Stuff tripods that many pros use.

Pro Photographers will tell you always shoot in RAW mode, never jpeg, but you'll be surprised to hear all my images are jpegs, I've never shot in the RAW mode.

I prefer Tamron lenses rather than the Nikon or Fuji Lenses for my Nikon and Fuji camera bodies.

So, I'm opposite of all pro photographers and it's been working great for my 21 years in business.

Booking camera club zoom meetings, need a speaker, let me know, macrogeekmike@yahoo.com

Join my Macro Photo Club online. Over 280 instructional videos. Over 2800 members from 29 countries. 
Info and to sign up. 

MACRO PHOTO CLUB - Mike Moats - Award Winning Macro Photographer

Also Check out my workshops and zoom programs.

WORKSHOPS - Mike Moats - Award Winning Macro Photographer