Wildflowers Close Up

Wildflowers tend to be small and delicate. Getting a frame-filling shot of a single bloom often requires accessories to enable your lens to focus closer than normal. One of the easiest tools to use is a Canon 500D close-up lens (filter) on a telephoto lens.

Lady slipper orchid
1/8 second, f/22, ISO 200
200mm lens + 500D filter

The 500D screws on to the front of the lens and comes in several sizes. If there is not one that fits your lens, you can purchase an inexpensive step-up ring to adapt a larger filter size to your smaller lens filter threads.
Canon 500D Close-up Lens
58mm size

Canon calls this filter a "lens" because, unlike most filters, it contains two pieces of glass. This enables the engineers to better correct the glass so you get a sharp image across the whole frame.

Learn how to capture flowers in my digital photography classes at the Lifelong Learning Center in Missoula, Montana. Click here for spring and summer 2019 class descriptions and registrations.