Some of you may remember that I purchased the Venus Optics Laowa 15mm macro lens last year for flower photography but didn’t get to use it for that purpose much before the end of the flower season. Yesterday I was finally able to spend some time outdoors and tried an image of dwarf ginseng (Panax trifolius) in its environment. It’s amazing how close you can focus with this lens and it is quite sharp and a great performer.
This is from all of one inch away from the plant. The lens is entirely manual, so you have to open up for focusing and then stop down for shooting, depending on the effect you want with the background.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
Wonderful perspective and vantage. It would appear that your purchase was a good one. I’m looking forward to seeing more of what this lens can do in the way of botanical portraiture. I’m impressed that distortion has been minimized at such close range.
I’d like to be out with the camera but our forecast isn’t very promising for the next while … we’re in for mostly rain and clouds. Did drive through Rumney and on to Meredith, NH yesterday and saw lots of places with much photographic potential. Will be sure to have the camera along and time worked into the schedule to allow a few stops the next time we pass through.
How is the dog search going?
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It is an outstanding piece of glass and surprisingly affordable.
I try to have a camera with me whenever I travel but my memory tries me.
We had our home visit and a follow-up phone conversation but nothing since then. If we were willing to adopt a “sensational senior” things would move more quickly but we want to adopt a younger or middle aged dog. Losing Murphy was so traumatic that we can’t get comfortable with the idea of adopting knowing that pain could revisit us so soon.
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Understood. Thanks for the update.
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I purchased that Lens last year as well and I’ve played with it quite a bit. There are some very good use cases for it. It does require some practice though. You’ve done a good job of getting a sharp image. Did you shoot it hand held? Do you remember your aperture setting?
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I pretty much always shoot with a tripod, Terry. The aperture was f/11, I think…the one drawback is the lack of metadata.
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Yes, I tried writing it down but gave up on that idea… My experience was that the lens was most effective with objects that don’t move (e.g. mushrooms). Plants in the wind were hard to shoot. I will keep trying though. Thanks for posting. Good to see someone else using the lens.
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Such a pretty thing — and another lesson for a budding botanist. The name, Panax trifolius, seems to translate to something like “three-leafed panacea.” The only problem was, I can count, and I thought I saw five leaves. Now I know: leaf and leaflets are different, and this plant has three leaves composed of three, four, and five leaflets. At least, I think that’s so.
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Leaves can be confusing…compound or deeply cut can fool. These are pretty little flowers and the woods are full of them dotting the forest floor at this time of year.
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The contrast of the new green leaves against the browns of the forest floor is beautiful. An amazing lens.
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Fresh spring greens are the best. We are just now starting to see trees leaf out and I hope to shoot them this weekend. We are seeing rain all week, not steady but it will keep things wet, and I hope that keeps everything fresh.
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It’s good that you can get a wide-angle view from an inch away. Too bad, though, that there’s no metadata. Decades ago we didn’t have any either, but I’ve come to rely on it now.
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Yeah, we have become reliant on the camera to keep track of things. Metadata is great when we go back to things after long periods. Guess I’ll start carrying a notepad to keep track. One more thing to hand enter into the digital details.
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