up close and personal

japanese dolls
asakusa, tokyo

ninja dolls
asakusa, tokyo

ice cream
asakusa, tokyo

One of the interesting purchases I made in Japan was at the beginning of my trip when on our first day there, I bought a Kenko No. 3 close-up filter at Bic Camera. It was a rather serendipitous find for only US$14. Now this is not to be confused with the close-up lens made by Canon. In fact Bryan Peterson author of the newly released Understanding Close-Up Photography: Creative Close Encounters With or Without a Macro Lens advises against buying this filter in favour of the close-up lens which costs about US$180. Still I had fun with it while in Japan where the culture is built on details and small pleasures.

Billed as a place where one can see “old Japan”, it was more like a place where old Japan meets new Japan. Tour buses drop visitors off daily to visit the temple and shrine but it’s the market where most people worship. You can buy souvenirs and taste some traditional japanese foods and snacks. These images were all taken at the market with the close-up filter. As you can see there are problems with using the filter and that clearly it is no substitute for a macro lens. I will be purchasing the Canon close-up lens and comparing it with this filter in a future post but in the meantime, weigh in and share your thoughts on the close-up filter!