I’m not denying the beauty of close up flower photographs but I do find the quantity of them on sites like Flickr to be overwhelming. Perhaps it’s a little bit of envy on my part. Even with a good quality camera I doubt I have the skill or patience to take a photograph like the one on the left. But photo sharing sites are awash with extreme close-ups which offer little by the way of context or contrast with the situation.
Are they really just for the photo-geeks who are trying to push the boundaries of their chosen hobby? I’m full of admiration for the artistic ability to get such detailed shots. And there’s little doubt that some of the images are intruging. But the sheer volume of photos just leaves me a little cold.
Photo courtesy of Martin Heigan on Flickr under Creative Commons license.
Northern Exposure 
I’m not keen on extreme close-ups either!
I think it’s the mix of a lack of context (what does the plant REALLY look like?) and the sheer eye-numbing quantity of them that puts me off. But I respect the artistic ability to get a really good close-up.