Weekly Photo Challenge: CLOSE UP
“The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close-up.” Chuck Palahniuk

Weekly Photo Challenge: CLOSE UP – A macro shot favorite combo of mine. Dragonfly and Bees on flowering plants

Weekly Photo Challenge: CLOSE UP – A macro shot favorite of mine. Bees on a sunflower that isn’t fully open.
Every shot is unique, even if it’s just a close-up, an insert of your hand. You’ve got to work with the guy behind the lens to get it right, focus in. Those are critical little nothing things, but you’ve got to work with the people who are trying to put it down, in order to get it. Robert Forster
Tempus fujit! I just spent all day taking care of some matters and found out about the challenge a few minutes ago. You might have seen my shots before but I love them and for an up close shot of the details we see mainly with a focused lens, I hope these fit the bill for you.
“A close-up on screen can say all a song can.” Stephen Sondheim

Weekly Photo Challenge: CLOSE UP – A macro shot favorite of mine. squirrel eating a nut

Weekly Photo Challenge: CLOSE UP – A macro shot favorite of mine. squirrel eating a nut and a water-lily
I don’t like, and I’ve never been very good at, close-up shots. As soon as you have the camera right there in front of you, it feels like you’re in a different reality from the person you are acting with; you lose any real connection with them. Eve Best
The squirrel was determined to eat that nut and stared right back at me. Thank you for checking and I’ll find a few more to add to the mix later. Have a great weekend!
More Below!
“I don’t like, and I’ve never been very good at, close-up shots. As soon as you have the camera right there in front of you, it feels like you’re in a different reality from the person you are acting with; you lose any real connection with them.” Eve Best

Another favorite of mine: Close Up of a Dragon Fly on a water lily

Weekly Photo Challenge: CLOSE UP – A macro shot favorite of mine. Flowering plants close-ups collage.
Sometimes you will do a close-up for a scene in the morning where you are totally distraught, then shoot the rest of that scene seven hours later. How do you hang on to that feeling all day without burning up, without going so far that you have nothing left to give when the cameras roll again? Penelope Cruz
My fellow bloggers were equally creative with their selections. Check out how others interpreted the theme – CLOSE UP – below.
This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: Weekly Photo Challenge: CLOSE UP: This week, discover the hidden details that can only be seen up close. So this week, get up close and personal with your subject — whether it’s the pollen on a newly bloomed flower, rust on an old fence, or water droplets left by a storm — and capture those tiny, fascinating details that might go unnoticed.
More Weekly Photo Challenge Posts
Positive Motivation Tip: When we take time to sit and look around in nature, we often witness more than the naked eye can appreciate.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos copyrighted and from my Personal Collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Love these! Very pretty photos
These pictures are amazing.
When you look at things very closely, you get to see what they’re really made of. It’s usually a good thing.
Your weekly challenge is push me to do more keep it up. Thanks for sharing.
I absolutely LOVE these photos. Sunflowers are one of my favorites and you do such a nice job capturing their unique details, bugs and all.
You really have some gorgeous macro images this week! I especially love your insect shots
Your photos are always so beautiful! I love the close up of the insects. So cool!!!
Thank you Chelley!
I’m still trying to master the close up shots. You did great with these!!!
What beautiful photos. Definitely capture the “up close!” I love the squirrel one, thats great!
Your dragonfly photos show the detail on his wings, and the one of the flower with the black background is superb, the pretty flower really ‘pops’ against the black.
Your great shots make me want to pick up my camera, go outside and see what I can find in the garden to take close-ups of!
Please do Barb. You take great photos so I bet you’d find a lot. 🙂
Those are spectacular pictures. Awesome challenge.
Glad you enjoyed this batch. TY!
These are great photos! I need to use my macro lens on my Nikon more often. I neglect it way too much.
You must Jaime! 🙂
Lovely closeups.
Thanks Jacqueline!
Flowers are always such fascinating subjects in macro shots.I really like that photo of the bees on the sunflower.
I’m liking it more too. I love taking nature shots too.
These are GORGEOUS! I love the ones of the dragonfly and flowers!
Wow! These are amazing pictures. I love close-up photography.
Sometimes, when you look at things closely enough, you find out you missed a few things. I normally pay close attention to detail.
Wow, incredible pictures! Nature is simply amazing.
That sunflower picture is STUNNING! I love it!
Thank you Carly!
These are great shots Elizabeth! I’m a fan of close-up/macro shots as it gives us the opportunity to share to others the things we don’t see every day or even if we do, we don’t really appreciate. Taking photos as beautiful as this allows us to appreciate and tag others to appreciate it as well. 🙂
I concur. Thank you Louise! 🙂
Those are all really beautiful close up photos of nature. I can’t think of anything more beautiful than nature.
I love close up shots. I tried getting a close up of a squirrel but I just had my phone. It has a zoom but it tends to make it grainy.
These are beautiful up close pictures, I am definitely loving them all but more so the squirrel.
The photos are lovely! During my blah days, I walk around the neighborhood with my camera and just take pictures of stray cats, flowers, bugs, anything. There is beauty in the most mundane things.
Lovely photographs. Great words to accompany them. Thanks for this one.
I love the pictures, of course, and all the beautiful colours nature can throw up to enrich our sense of life. It all about proportion in the end. It’s true than sometimes “You can’t see the wood for the trees” but also that “The devil is in the detail.” Most of all it is about proportion, humanity and a celebration of life and the world around us. Things we can enjoy without the wish to own them, enrich our lives in ways possessions seldom do.
Hi Peter, enjoying the summer? I love much of nature for the reasons you give and more. It does remind me to celebrate life.
How timely. I was just doing some macro photography shooting in our yard this morning. I’m always fascinated with close-up shots. The big picture is wonderful, yes, but there seems to be a certain attraction with close-up photography. I love playing with my zoom lens trying to create a beautiful picture.
Fabulous pics! I love my macro lens but I’m still trying to figure out how to get the right focus! It’s amazing to look at nature this way.
I love watching nature up close and personal. I’ve noticed our front flower garden is a haven for bumble bees and other winged friends. I love to just sit and watch them go about their day.
Love the photos. Great close ups of the squirrel.
The close-up photos which you captured were stunning! Especially the bees on the sunflower… it must have been heavenly for you to see God’s creations up close and personal like that 🙂
What gorgeous photos! I love to watch bees in flowers, and that sunflower photo with the bee is just gorgeous.
I love watching them at work too.
I love close up photos and I really liked the sunflower shot! I am excited to know what the next weekly theme is, maybe fisheye or wide-angle? LOL.
Hahaha! Maybe. 😉
Beautiful, my favourites are the dragonfly and water lily!
TY! I’m glad you like it.
Love seeing those happy bees! That photo is really incredible, seeing it half closed up like that. Very unique!
The idea of taking closeup or macro shots allows us to share and appreciate the things we don’t usually pay attention to daily. I personally love taking closeup photos of flowers and insects using a special lens to clearly see the details of it.
Absolutely gorgeous pics!!! I love the squirrel, so fat and cute.
Gosh these are beautiful – I’ve retweeted and pinned them and now I’ve read about them – thank you
Donna, bless your heart. Thank You! <3
I always love your photos! Such detail in each one of these. I agree that we see a bigger picture when we look closer.
Thank you for your kind feedback. <3 I'm an amateur and still learning a lot.
I love these shots. All of the nature pictures are so beautiful.
I love squirrels they are just too cute!!
I love sunflowers and bees too, you always have great photography thanks for sharing.
Beautiful photos, Elizabeth! The world is full of beauty! It is just that we tend to neglect these wonderful creations of God.
I love good macro shots of nature. Amazing details you can see which you may not be able to see with your naked eye. I really like your sunflower shot and the squirrel shot. – Fred
This really makes you think about how life is bigger than it really is. Beautiful photos! 😀
aww, that squirrel is so cute! loving those pictures of the flowers too, but not liking those of the insects too much. those …. patterns (?) on the dragonfly’s wings are… i dunno they give me goosebumps!
A close-up look with our lives and inner peace are the most valuable thing to do. With our peaceful state of mind, it gets the pleasure of living harmoniously.
These are totally gorgeous close up pictures. The close ups really do show you how there is beauty in everything. Thanks so much for sharing.
Beautiful! I love getting up close with things! The dragonflies are gorgeous!! Here is one I posted a while back!
Your photo of the frog is very cute. TY!
I like the idea of closeups! All about the details.
Close up isn’t easy. I did macro photography. It need a lot of patience in order to get that stunning and satisfying photo.
Yet more pretty pictures. I am glad you enjoy taking them!
One problem I have is to get a close up look…a nice focus shot using my mobile camera. Auto-focus for me, is hard to balance…a big problem from a wanna be photographer.
It’s really hard to get close up shots and you may need a special lens for that. The close up shots here looks awesome though.
Thank you Franc! 🙂
Do you think squirrels are able to see the front when their eyes are by the 2 sides? Just a sudden thought after seeing your photos~
Yes, they can see quite well. 🙂
This is something like my ideal way to start my morning sitting my cup of tea and looking at the beautiful nature closely and so fresh in the morning. You will get some kind of energy praising them
Macro shots is not easy. You had need to have keen eye to have great shots, not just pictures
Wow these pictures are amazing and visually i formative since there so close and clear.
Those are lovely macro shots. I guess I have to pursue my ‘photography’ career.
Wow these are great photos! I never have the patience to photograph insects.
I’m sure I cannot make a close-up photo of a squirrel because I will be overwhelmed with joy if I saw one personally and will probably forget to take pics of that cute animal.
Hahaha! They are used to me and just ignore me and my camera as they fight over food. 🙂
I love macro/close up shots as they require some attention to detail, not to mention if you’re using a good camera, you can get beautiful bokeh!
The sunflower close up photo is so beautiful and so so sharp. I really love it.
I am a big lover of sunflower and lilies and you added both of them in your post. This is definitely one of my favorite posts Liz <3
Love that opening quote! Not much of a photographer myself but I do like to try! 🙂