How do photographers take photos like these?

Macro lens. Please don't listen to morons like this. "I really can't answer equipment questions, but my dad told me that the key to taking a great photograph is taking a lot of photographs."

Looks like he used Canon 100 mm f 2.8 Macro lens. It lets you get very close (to 1:1) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2261/2333379801_7b2ec8c3aa_o.jpg

your example is an animal lover and very aware of the natural beauty around themselves (i looked over the photostreams). also a very serious photographer... so to shoot like that you need to play close attention to your surroundings and love animals and nature. and practice practice practice...they did not just pick up a camera and start capturing stunning images like that immediatly, they (and we all) work at it. it is fun and challengeing. join a camera club or photographer group that is what has helped me tremendously... and go out and shoot every chance you get. just keep shooting and getting critiques of your work (grow a thick skin, if you ask here you will attract some mean spirited sorts that will say nothing nice, and you will attract some serious photographers that will be very helpful...)

They're taken with 35mm cameras (digital or film) using "macro" lenses. Macro means the lens can magnify the subject so it approaches 1:1 -- that is it's as big on the film as it is in real life. (Not all lenses labelled macro make things this big.) Other techniques are used such as fast shutter speed to stop motion, manipulating lighting, spritzing water on plants etc. There are no Photoshop "effects" that I can see other than adjusting contrast and saturation. Tip? Don't overrate the power of Photoshop. Most of the pictures we drool over involve very little of it. HTH V

I really can't answer equipment questions, but my dad told me that the key to taking a great photograph is taking a lot of photographs. edit..wow, Jay is mean. I'm not a moron! What I said is true and I even gave a disclaimer for my scope of knowledge. Sorry that I'm an amateur.

You need what is called a macro lens. If you have a SLR or DSLR you can pick one up for a couple of hundred dollars. Basically a macro lens allows you to take very closeup photos. A 1:1 macro will allow you to focus in on a penny and fill the entire frame.

These pictures are taken with a Macro lens (on an SLR or a D-SLR) or you could achieve half of that with the macro function of most Digital Compact cameras. Or you could use extension tubes on your normal lenses of a SLR or a D-SLR to achieve this. Though I must advice in using a good tripod and a remote trigger/cable trigger, to take close ups like these. These are to avoid having camera shakes in your photos (blurry pictures). For an amateur photographer I would advice in investing on a good D-SLR with a high pixel capture. Something above the 8MegaPixel range (and shooting at it's highest setting). Which you can still do some cropping (in the computer) without effecting the quality of the photo. Though many pro-photographers will advice you against doing just that and taking the photos as it is. It depends on how far you want to push your photography to and there are lots of information online on just how to improve your photography (and there are loads of Adobe Photoshop lessons online which are free). Or you can just enroll into a photographic society/club nearest to you and learn more from the classes they offer. Some will even offer some photoshop lessons. Have fun.

Great images are made not taken generally. Lighting is the greatest asset a photographer can have. To shot images like those linked use a macro lens. You can learn via the net, magazines, schools/courses, from everywhere.... a