Knitting Macro

Guilloche Pullover/ Split Hem Detail
Leica CL + Zeiss Jena II 24mm f2.8 Macro

While I’ve never been into macro photography, I do own a couple of macro lenses - including the vintage Zeiss Jena 24mm. I’ve played around with its macro features in the past, but the wide angle made it suboptimal for photographing the sorts of things I wanted.

Of course mounted on the crop sensor Leica CL, the 24mm becomes a 35mm equivalent. And suddenly it is perfect for taking close-ups of knitwear.

So happy! I could have played with this lens all day.

The vibrantly speckled Donegal tweed is actually quite tricky to photograph, as is the fine cable motif. But this lens does not seem to mind. The EVF of the Leica CL makes focusing it a lot easier than it was on the SLR body.

At the same time, the lens has retained its surreal quality; the images do not have that technical matter-of-fact look you often get with macro.

So pleased that I now have a ‘characterful’ macro lens for photographing fine details in my designs.