Reversing Rings

OTS OF THINGS have changed in the world of photography since my first encounter with a real camera. Back in 1970, I was using my brother’s Nikon F and three lenses: the 28mm F3.5, the 50mm F1.4, and the 200mm F4. When it came to shooting close-ups, I of course always opted to use the 200mm lens, because simply enough, I seemed to be able to fill up more of my frame with the flowers in the garden. A few weeks later in that fateful summer of 1970, I was visiting my brother and he took me out to his garden to “show me a really neat trick.” He took the 50mm lens off the camera and said, “Place the lens backward against the camera body and hold it tight and hold the camera with your other hand, and now take a look through the viewfinder and look at that daisy in front of you.” Well, I did as he suggested, and when I saw the magnification, the rest was history, as the saying goes!

A few weeks after this life-changing, mind-altering event in my brother’s backyard, I was anxious to share my discovery with another photographer, a photographer far more experienced than my brother and I combined. After I had shared my joy-filled discovery with him, he told me that what I had just told him was day-old news. He said, “Where have you been living, kid? Mars? Heck, everyone knows about that trick!”

At this point, I had two choices: go back to Mars or glean as much information as possible from this guy. Since I was as hungry for information back then as a bone-dry sponge is for water in the Mojave Desert, I exclaimed, “You’re the man! Tell me more, ’cause I want to learn as much as I can!” Thanks to this guy, I got a lot of my darkroom questions answered that day (I was shooting black-and-white film back then and making prints in my home darkroom in the bathroom), but most important of all, he told me that Nikon made an actual reversing ring that would allow me to reverse-mount my 50mm lens on the Nikon camera body, freeing up both of my hands and making it much easier to hold the camera and work the controls. Within a week, I had bought my first reversing ring.

If you want to enjoy hours of unlimited discoveries that will result in some of the most fluid compositions found anywhere, then order up a reversing ring and thread it onto the front of a single-focal-length wide-angle lens (a 28mm, 24mm, or 20mm, for example). Reverse-mounting a lens to your camera will start you on one of the most sensual journeys you will ever make as you go inside a blooming rose.

    Shots like these ask very little of you but give so much in return. Shoot at or near wide open to keep the depth of field limited to basically zero. This will definitely generate a host of beautiful imagery. The image just above is my favorite of a series of eighteen images I made with one pink rose in a small vase, natural light, my tripod, and a reversed lens.

24mm reversed wide-angle lens, ISO 200, f/2.8 for 1/30 sec.

Note that reversing rings are not intended to work with zoom lenses; rather, they are intended for use with single-focal-length lenses when that single focal length is less than 100mm. And here is something else to consider: When you reverse-mount a wide-angle lens, the magnification increases dramatically. The wider the better, I say, so if you have a single-focal-length wide-angle lens lying around—for example, a 35mm, 28mm, 24mm, or 20mm—consider getting a reversing ring. Call it a cheap thrill if you want, but I have yet to tire of looking at a rose at 3X life size when I combine my reversing ring with my old 20mm wide-angle lens. So, reach back into that closet of yours or head up to the attic and blow the dust off that single-focal-length lens that you thought you’d never use again—you got work to do!

The close-up possibilities with just one simple floral subject and four basic pieces of equipment (camera, lens, reversing ring, and tripod) are endless. Although similar in content to the previous image, this interpretation of the subject has a different feel.

24mm reversed wide-angle lens, ISO 200, f/2.8 for 1/15 sec.