My, that last column of mine ("Succulents from the Eyes of an Artist") got quite a bit of attention and reaction. I received several text messages and a few phone calls, not just from succulent lovers but from photography hobbyists as well, asking about how the photos were shot and what equipment was used. Some even volunteered to shoot similar photos for future articles, which is indeed most welcome.
Johann Espiritu, too, received quite a number of queries on similar topics. So I asked Johann to explain his tricks of the trade, and here goes:
"As I mentioned to you, I received a lot of questions asking me if I needed special gear and all to be able to take macro shots. When we did our first shoot a couple of weeks ago (for the Succulentophile column on July 30), I shot using "true" macro gear – equipment that can get full on closeups, and a proper macro lighting setup. As I do point out, this is heavy gear — both on the shoulder you carry it, and on your wallet, too!
"For that first shoot, this is the gear I used: Canon EOS 20D Canon 100/2.8 Macro; Canon lighting equipment (ST-E2 and 420EX x 2); Manfrotto tripod; Gold and white reflectors.
"I wanted to recreate for this week’s Succulentophile what I did two weeks ago as closely as possible using much simpler gear (and what many digicams can reproduce as well). Actually, a lot of digital cameras have pretty decent (but not "true," which is defined as 1:1) macro capability. The shots might not be as tight, but hey, you get 1/2 of the performance when the gear is literally 1/10 of the price! In fact, I could have gotten much, much closer if I added a simple filter called a "close up filter," but then I thought that I wanted to keep the gear as simple and off-the-shelf as possible, furthering my point that most anyone with a ‘regular’ digicam should be able to get great shots with it.
"For these photos today, here’s what I used: Canon Powershot G5; Manfrotto tripod. I used an external flash, but for all I used it for yesterday, I might as well have used a flashlight wrapped in a white handkerchief. Pretty simple gear, huh?
"As you’ll notice, the only common thing between both shooting days is the tripod. This is probably the most important piece of equipment when it comes to shooting macros (or most anything that doesn’t move for that matter). It’s the key and oldest secret to sharper pictures – more than any megapixel count, special lenses or expensive cameras."
"I should mention that for the first shoot, I edited the pictures on Adobe Photoshop CS (which I paid over $400 for!). For the second one, I used the cheaper version called Adobe Photoshop LE, which came free with one of the digital cameras I bought. Further proof that cheap gear gets you there!
"I hope you enjoy the ‘regular’ shots I took yesterday. I just thought that it might be interesting for your readers to know that pretty much anyone can do this right in their own homes if they wanted to!"
Johann, you mean I could do it, too? Probably not. But let’s not forget that the equipment and setup account for probably 30 percent of the success, the bulk falls on the photographer’s creativity, perception and vision for each subject.
Speaking of subjects, I chose all the subjects for today’s column. I thought it would be a good idea to highlight a succulent group that is becoming more and more popular with collectors, the stapeliads or succulent milkweeds. My friend and frequent contributor Peter Bangayan is the local expert on this family of plants often described as the "orchids of the succulent world" because of their highly interesting and colorful flowers. Unfortunately for today’s column, only a few of my stapeliads were in flower when Johann came for the shoot. It was also raining big-time that day, so it was pretty dreary.
I picked a selection of easy-to-grow and not-too-easy to grow stapeliads to give readers a broad idea of what these plants are. The easy-to-grow plants shown here are the huernias, stapelias, carallumas and, to some extent, the Tavaresia barkleyii specimen. Each has its own unique charm. These plants can thrive quite nicely in a porous growing medium that drains quickly and more frequent watering during our hot, dry summer months. Also, give these plants enough light exposure to ensure that the growth is compact and true to form, not leggy and groping for sunlight.
My favorite in this group is the Huernia pillansii, a small, clump-forming plant with a fantastic flower. Very fortunately, the flower was open for the shoot.
I also picked a number of difficult stapeliads to feature today. My favorites here are, of course, the various pseudolithos species. These denizens of Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula truly look like age-weathered rocks and stones. A newly-discovered and described species is P. eylensis, pictured here in flower. Its flowers look very much like the flowers of the most famous member of this genus, P. migiurtinus (featured several times in the past columns and most definitely several more times in the future). However, P. eylensis’s flowers are smaller.
Other harder-to-grow stapeliads include the hoodias and trichocaulons (now called larryleachias, but I much prefer the former name). These plants definitely need a very well-draining, porous substrate, less frequent watering (maybe once a week at best during hot summer days, once every two weeks during the rainy season), and as much sunlight as possible. In the wild, these are frequently found growing in open areas with no protection from the sun. Be very careful with the watering on these plants, as too much will quickly reduce these pricey gems into useless mush.
I plan to do an exclusive feature on hoodias in the future. One species, H. gordonii (not pictured here at this time) has caused quite a stir in the health care/personal care business, as its juices contain an ingredient that supposedly helps one lose weight. It is the latest craze in this increasingly health-conscious world of ours. A famous succulent grower-friend of mine in South Africa has, in fact, shelved his succulent nursery at this time to focus his energies entirely on the rearing and sale of Hoodia gordonii. And he’s having trouble keeping up with the demand (a nice problem to have, actually)! While I still have only a small collection of stapeliads today, I am considering paying more attention to this family in the future.
The numerous growth forms present a respectable variety, their general ease of culture (for the most part) also makes them appealing, and their beautiful (but foul-smelling) flowers are truly one of Mother Nature’s masterpieces.
By the way, the flowers reek of rotting material because this foul scent is used to attract the plant’s main pollinators, all sorts of flies. In fact, flies just love the flowers, literally bathing in their texture and stench. I was able to photograph a couple of flies in action amongst the flowers of various pseudolithos species. These shots will be featured in a future article.