Five Minutes, One Macro Mission

What can you photograph in five minutes when you haven’t even decided on the subject yet?

That is exactly the problem Kersten Luts gives himself in the latest episode of Platypod TV - a 5 Minute Photo Challenge.

When the timer starts, there is no prepared composition, no carefully arranged lighting and no chosen subject waiting on the table. Kersten has just five minutes to find something worth photographing, build the setup, compose the shot, position the lighting and capture everything he needs before the clock reaches zero. No pressure, then!

Choosing the Nikon FE2

For this challenge, Kersten turns to his collection of vintage cameras and selects a classic Nikon FE2. It is a perfect subject for macro and close-up photography. The camera is packed with small details, engraved lettering, textured surfaces, mechanical controls and reflective glass, giving Kersten plenty of possibilities to explore.

The slight problem is that the timer is already running.

Using Platypod equipment to quickly position the camera and his shooting setup, Kersten starts looking for compositions that highlight the details and character of the FE2.

Rather than trying to photograph the entire camera in a conventional product shot, he moves closer and concentrates on the things that make vintage cameras so visually interesting.

The typography.

The lens reflections.

The metal controls.

The mechanical details.

Sometimes the most interesting photograph is hiding in a very small part of the subject.

Shaping the Light

For lighting, Kersten uses a Lume Cube Panel Pro LED light, adjusting its position throughout the challenge to control reflections and highlights across the camera.

With polished metal and glass surfaces, even a small movement of the light can dramatically change the image.

That becomes part of the challenge.

Kersten has to balance speed with precision, moving the LED panel until the highlights reveal the shape and texture of the Nikon without creating distracting reflections.

It is a great demonstration of something that applies far beyond macro photography: moving the light can often have a much bigger effect than moving the camera.

Building a Focus Stack

Macro photography introduces another problem: depth of field.

When photographing extremely close to a subject, only a very small area may appear sharp in a single frame.

Kersten’s solution is focus stacking.

Before the five-minute timer expires, he captures a sequence of 20 images, gradually shifting the focus point across the subject.

After the challenge, those photographs can be combined into a single image with considerably more depth and detail than would normally be possible from one exposure.

Importantly, the rules of the challenge allow editing and focus stacking after the timer stops.

Everything required to capture the image, however, has to happen within those five minutes.

No Second Chances

There is another rule designed to keep everyone honest.

An Osmo camera records continuously throughout the challenge.

That means there are no quiet resets, carefully rehearsed second attempts or mysterious jumps in the clock.

When the timer starts, the challenge is real.

You get five minutes.

That is it.

And that pressure is part of what makes the series interesting. Photography normally encourages us to slow down, refine ideas and carefully build an image. Limiting the entire process to five minutes forces much faster decisions.

You stop chasing perfection and start solving problems.

Try the Challenge Yourself

You do not need a studio full of equipment to try the 5 Minute Photo Challenge at home. Choose something nearby, start a timer and give yourself five minutes to create the strongest photograph you can. Try an old camera, a watch, a piece of jewellery, a kitchen utensil, a flower or something completely ordinary. The subject is almost irrelevant. The real challenge is seeing what you can create with limited time, a little imagination and the equipment you already have. And if five minutes feels too easy, there is always room to make things more difficult.

Give Kersten his next challenge in the YouTube comments. Suggest a subject, a lighting restriction, a particular piece of equipment or even a location. Then subscribe to Platypod TV for more photography challenges, practical techniques and ideas designed to get you shooting.