A macro break
I was working on a project and making absolutely no progress, just stuck in a thinking loop. I needed a break. Since the project was related to soil health, I grabbed my macrophotography kit and popped outside for a little bit of exploration. There is something quite therapeutic poking around in the dirt.
The rolley poley is a Common Woodlouse, according to iNaturalist, introduced to the US through anthropogenic means. The little critter below is in the Class Sylphans and is referred to as a soil centipede though it is not, in fact, a centipede or millipede.
I need to add a plastic spoon to my macro kit so I can scoop up little critters like this. They are quick and once gone, they seem to dematerialize as I could not find it again, even in the petri dish poking around with the stick.
Macro photography with my phone is a relatively new hobby for me. So far, my kit consists of my Android Galaxy S8 phone, a Xenvo clip lens, Rite in the Rain index cards for scale (each little square is 6.35mm by 6.35 mm or .25in by .25in), and plastic petri dishes which are already cracked and cloudy. As state above I should add a spoon so I can scoop up critters, further isolating them for photos because even in a petri dish you can lose organisms.
Lighting, as with all photography, is the challenge. Focus in macrophotography is uniquely challenging. So far, the best two focus-related tips I've heard are to set your camera to respond to a voice command to take a picture when you don't want to risk moving your hand AND to take burst photos when you can move your hand.
