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LONG LENS
WILDFLOWER PORTRAITS
by JOHN GERLACH
 I own a lot more lenses that I
probably need including Nikon's 55 mm, 105 mm, and 200 mm
macro lenses. Even though I own all three Nikon macro
lenses, I use the 200 mm macro and a straight 300 mm
Nikon telephoto for 99% of my wildflower portraits. The
Nikon 200 mm macro lenses has proven to be incredibly
valuable to me over the years. Indeed, if I could only
have one 35mm lens, it would be the Nikon 200 mm macro.
This lens allows me to get to 1/2 X without using
extension tubes and the built-in tripod collar makes it
easy to go from horizontal to vertical compositions while
shooting on a tripod.
Longer lenses are great for wildflower portraits for two
major reasons. First, long lenses give you great working
distance which is the distance between the front of the
lens and the subject. Working distance is critical at
times in doing wildflower portraits because it allows you
to reach into a patch of flowers to isolate a single
blossom while permitting you to stay out of the patch to
avoid stepping on a hapless flower. Secondly, bad
backgrounds in wildflower photos are problems for many
photographers because they use short focal length lenses
for their portraits. The easiest way to simply the
background is to use a longer focal length lens because
they have a smaller angle of view than short lenses like
the 50 mm macro. In other words, lenses with narrow
angles of view like the 200 mm lenses don't see as much
of the background so they tend to be less distracting.
This angle of view notion is critical for you to
understand. Some people say the way to a non-distracting
background is to put an artificial background behind your
subject. Don't do this! Artificial backgrounds always
look artificial. Besides, artificial backgrounds are
completely unnecessary if you use longer lenses for your
portraits.
Unfortunately, only Nikon and Canon make 200 mm macro
lenses that I know of. I have owned both and they are
excellent. If you are into a camera system that doesn't
make 200 mm macros, there are still several options
available to you. Probably every camera system has a
straight 200 mm focal length or a zoom lens in the 200 mm
range. By using an automatic extension tube in the 50 mm
range between the lens and the camera body, you will be
able to shoot quality tight wildflower portraits easily.
The two extension tubes I commonly use with my 200 mm
macro lens to reach even greater magnifications is the
Nikon Pk-13 (27.5 mm tube) and the Nikon PN-11 (55 mm
tube with its own built-in tripod collar). The 200 mm
macro lens used with a PN-11 tube will easily allow me to
fill the frame reasonably well with a violet blossom.
 Another technique that I use
frequently when I want more working distance and even
less distracting backgrounds is to use Nikon's 280 mm
macro lens. You won't see this lens listed in the sales
literature but it is available. I make this lens by
connecting a Nikon 1.4 B teleconverter to a 200 mm macro
and then attaching all this to the camera body. This
combination works exceedingly well with superb image
quality. When the lens is focused at its closest focusing
distance, the combination covers about 2 inches by 1 1/4
inches. And if I want even more magnification, I just
attach the extension tube to the lens, then attach the
1.4 B teleconverter, and finally attach this combination
to the camera body.
Another combination that works well for me is to use my
Nikon 300 mm/4 internal focus lens in conjunction with a
PN-11 55 mm extension tube to shoot portraits of some of
the larger wildflower like wood lilies, yellow lady's
slippers, and blue flag irises. This combination gives me
even greater working distances, more out-of-focus
backgrounds, and a somewhat brighter image of the subject
on the viewing screen making it easier to hit sharp
focus.
There have been times when I have even used my Nikon 500
mm/4 telephoto to shoot portraits of wildflowers such as
fragrant white water lilies. These wildflowers grow in
aquatic habitats. Often the bottom on the pond is very
soft and unstable making it difficult to wade in to reach
the flowers with a shorter lens. However, there are times
when I can stay on the bank, but still reach water lilies
growing along the edge of a pond with the long 500 mm
lens. If the closest focusing distance on the 500 mm lens
won't let me focus on the selected flower, all I have to
do is add a 27.5 or 55 mm extension tube to the lens to
allow me to focus closer.
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