Poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox has said: “A weed is but an unloved flower.” In the hands of a macro photographer — one who likes to get close to a subject, be it plants or grasshoppers, a doorknob or grooves on LPs — it’s the flowers that find focus.

Close-up photography is, of course, not new, but in the past few months it has become more accessible than ever before, thanks to the macro capabilities of the iPhone 13 Pro. For most of the world, “macro” indicates large scale, as in macroeconomics; in photography, it’s about close-up work. The iPhone 13 Pro line-up, with the most advanced camera system you can find on a phone, allows users to capture stunning macro images with a device that’s in the pocket. After all, the best camera you can have is the one with you.

Not that macro lenses are not there on Android phones but the output on the iPhone 13 Pro is way crisper and far more controlled, matching levels reserved for those with specialised camera equipment.

Prajwal Chougule is a software engineer based in Kolhapur

Over several weeks earlier this year, iPhone photographers from around the world shared their best macro photos for the ‘Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge’. Now a curated panel of international judges has selected 10 winning photos, which will be featured on Apple.com, on Apple’s Instagram (@apple), and on billboards in select cities around the world, including where the winners reside.

The top 10 winners are from India, China, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Thailand, and the US. The winner from India is Prajwal Chougule, a software engineer based in Kolhapur, a city in Western India and photography has been a passion since his college days.

‘Revealing unnoticed details’

Prajwal is a nature lover and goes on early morning walks with his iPhone 13 Pro. “The ‘golden hour’ brings the best out of nature and is a photographers delight. Dew drops on a spiders web caught my attention and I was fascinated how the dry spider silk formed a necklace, on which the dew glisten like pearls. It felt like a piece of art on nature’s canvas,” he said.

We asked him about the winning snap and the moment he captured it. “I’m extremely delighted to find myself as a winner of this challenge. While on a routine morning walk in my hometown at the Shivaji Maharaj University during winter, I found this spider’s web near a water body. It’s fascinating to observe how the morning dew settles on the strands of the web and displays such unique art in nature,” he said.

‘Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge’ has winners from around the globe. This photo is by Jirasak Panpiansin.

The impact of macro photography has been immense on him. “I believe that this specific genre of photography allows us to appreciate the beauty in little things which we often tend to overlook in our busy life. Macro images reveal such unnoticed details and helps improving observation. It’s an interesting and equally challenging experience to capture close up shots (now even with an iPhone) which everyone can try even in their own backyard,” said Prajwal.

The expert panel of judges who reviewed submissions and selected the winning shots includes Mumbai-based Apeksha Maker, who is also the ever-busy co-founder of commercial photography firm The House Of Pixels.

Apeksha believes that Prajwal’s image is “so perfect that it looks like an illustration”. “The well-arranged dew drops on the spiderweb are captured with great detail. It’s something that most people would miss around them. The iPhone does a fantastic job at focusing on such a fine detail, with close to almost no definitive background,” she said.

Macro photography opens up a new world and judging a macro image is different from the usual fare. “Macro photography opens up a hidden world, things that are around us but we often tend to miss with the naked eye. One of the most important things in a macro shot is the subject itself, in a usual wide shot there are various elements that help make up a good image. But the beauty of macro tends to make even a mundane object look beautiful by highlighting textures and details. Playing with perspective and lighting can drastically change the same subject in macro, even though there are lesser elements in a picture, there are multiple layers around the same subject. I think what was interesting through the judging process was to see different versions and unique takes on familiar subjects. There are certain technical things I look at in an image but I think what is also important is how the image makes you feel, there are certain images that make you look twice, or wonder what was going around while the image was taken. Sometimes a simple shot can be the most beautiful one,” said Apeksha

Trevor Collins photo has also won the ‘Shot on ‘iPhone Macro Challenge’

‘Key aspect to macro photography is patience’

For many the iPhone is the first step into the world of photography and with the iPhone 13 Pro line-up the passion extends to macro photography. What Apple has done in the past 15 years is (the first iPhone arrived in June 2007) make phone users realise that snapshots can also be works of art.

Though macro photography on the iPhone is only a few months old but it has created a large community of followers. What makes a good macro photograph? “The most important aspect is the subject. What is interesting about macro is that even an ordinary everyday object can look beautiful. If one is shooting insects then timing plays a key role in producing a good macro shot, and it can get very tricky as the insects are small and tend to move a lot. Perspective can help make the subject look larger than life and really help in elevate the image.

“Lighting helps in bringing out the textures and highlighting details of the subject, playing a key role in the image. Play around with distance, try multiple angles. On the iPhone you can shoot macro on the ultra wide as well as wide angle lens, they both end up giving very different and unique results. The focus point can also add to the image. The last but key aspect to macro photography is patience,” Apeksha told us.

For Prajwal, “apart from choosing a unique subject, I think the most essential aspects for making an excellent macro image are light, composition and a clean contrasting background and patience”.

Meanwhile, those three little words — ‘Shot on iPhone’ — has always had an impact on Prajwal. Now he is living the dream. “Cameras in smartphones have revolutionised photography. ‘Shot on iPhone’ has been around since the inception and it represents the superior quality, potential and caliber of photographs which are possible to be captured just using a phone. Such campaigns inspired me to take unique photos.”

Excitement, of course, has gripped Kaiann Drance, vice-president of worldwide iPhone product marketing at Apple. She said: “We invited the world to share their best macro shots, and our 10 winning photographers captured images that make even the smallest details seem epic — like dew drops on a spider’s web, snowflakes on a dog’s fur, and sea glass dazzling in the daylight — all encouraging us to slow down to take in the wonder around us. We’re excited we can bring this powerful type of photography to even more people with iPhone 13 Pro, and are inspired by the images our users can create, no matter their skill level.”

In case you have the iPhone 13 Pro in your pocket, take it out and head over to the backyard to start a visual conversation.