View allAll Photos Tagged InsectPhotography
Nearly every flying insect will do some preflight maintenance -clean their eyes, wings, and antenna before take off. This Sweat Bee was so comfortable with me that he did his preflight maintenance while sitting on my finger. They are still sleeping in my Geranium flowers, but now two leaves have formed a clam shell and they are snoozing in the middle of it.
Possibly Halictus sexcinctus.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F14, 1/250, ISO 200) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (set to over 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI and Clarity in that order.
It has been unusually warm and when the sun came out I went looking for something to photograph. Found this Hoverfly that was more hungry than afraid, eating Dandelion pollen.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F13, 1/125, ISO 200) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (set to about 2.5x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT, E-TTL metering, -2/3 FEC. This is a single frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI, Denoise AI, and Clarity in that order.
A close-up shot of a Cinnamon Bug (Corizus hyoscyami) resting on the fuzzy, trichome-covered buds of a Borage plant (Borago officinalis).
The Cinnamon Bug is a colorful species of scentless plant bug belonging to the family Rhopalidae. Despite its common name, it does not smell like cinnamon; the name is derived from its distinct brick-red and black coloration. It can be distinguished from the similar-looking Firebug by its hairy body, the red mark on the front of its head, and the complex veining on its translucent wing membranes.
This true bug feeds on a variety of plants and prefers warm, sunny habitats.
This European Blue Mason Bee is emerging from its cocoon. The female creates cells (usually in reeds or other hollow cavities), makes a pollen ball inside of a cell, and lays an egg on it and then closes that cell before making another one. When the egg hatches the larvae eats the pollen and spins a cocoon in about ten days, becomes a fully formed adult near the end of summer, "hibernates" through the winter and waits for the spring to emerge. The yellow bits stuck to its fur are left over pollen that it did not eat when it was a larvae.
Osmia Caerulescens, male.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (set to about 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX RT (E-TTL metering with -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI and Clarity in that order.
Last year I bought a kit so I could raise some Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilio machaon) and this is a frame with the Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens set to about 4x. Image taken in Bacoli, Italy in May of 2020.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (set to around 4x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI and Clarity in that order.
missouri's state insect, of course
the sun provided a little natural rim lighting on the hair in her eyes...
backyard capture in chesterfield
After taking a few full body shots of this male Blue Mason Bee I quickly turned the magnification dial on my MP-E 65mm macro lens to get a few portraits. I could tell that he was waking up and knew that I didn't have much time, and in fact only managed about six frames before he took off. Pretty common to find them covered in Dandelion pollen this time of year. The males use Dandelions as a nectar source and the females use the pollen to feed their young.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/125, ISO 200) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (almost 4x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI and Clarity in that order. Shutter and ISO set to expose the sky in the background.
Photographing a bee in the front garden using a macro lens.
© www.stevetholephotography.co.uk. All Rights Reserved
I was walking a familiar path, when i saw small butterflies flying around. At first during flight, i though it were one of the orange skipper species, but then i saw it was a small heath! I had never photographed a small heath before and i really wanted to. Problem was that they were so easily scared and even if not scared, they flew away fast. I was trying to get a shot for almost 5 minutes, chasing them around and trying to get shots. Then finally it landed again, took my shot succesfully and got this stunning result!
Small heath vs gatekeeper underside:
The underside of the small heath and gatekeeper can be very similar, but there are some major differences if you learn them. Firstly, the size is already a big difference. The small heath is only ~20-30mm in wingspan. The gatekeeper is usually way bigger then this. Secondly, the brown patterns in general are just slightly different. Thirdly, the big eye spot by the small heath only has 1 white point and by the gatekeeper it has 2 white points. Even though the size can already tell them apart, this can be handy if they are more similar in size (and don't show the other side) and macro shots where it's more difficult to tell the size and such.
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Species: Small heath, hooibeestje 🇳🇱, engringvinge 🇳🇴 (coenonympha pamphilus)
This one could be Nomada fave, some of the species are difficult to tell apart. The Nomad bees will parasitise various mining bee species, laying their own eggs in other bee's burrows. Hence the name Cuckoo is often used.
I was photographing again when i saw a bumblebee i could photograph. I wanted to photograph some bumblebees again, so i took my shot and got this result!
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Genus: Bumblebees, hommels 🇳🇱, humler 🇳🇴 (bombus)
This was a test of my new Macro LED Ring Flash, Venidice, replete with instruction manual literally translated from the Chinese!
Jagged Ambush Bug (Phymata sp.) waiting for a meal. I love photographing these tiny transformer-looking predators. They're at most about the size of two lentils, and easily take down insects larger than themselves.
A female, resting for a moment on another hot day. I don't remember a spring quite like this. 39C expected tomorrow.
Adversaeschna brevistyla, around 65 mm in length.
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Hayden's Ringlet, Coenonympha haydenii (Montana), resting among low plants. These aren't flashy butterflies, but I love the textures and the eyespots.
What a pleasant surprise to find in my garden this morning, after listening to cicadas: Sphecius speciosus, the Cicada Killer or Cicada Hawk, a large digger wasp, that preys on cicadas.
...you'll still find flies
lens was fogging up due to the humidity after 5" rain overnight - this is what materialized out of a cranked up dehaze slider...
backyard capture in chesterfield
There wasn't enough wind so this Sweat Bee felt me grab onto the stem of the Sourgrass Flower that it was foraging in and climbed to the top of it to investigate. But when it did it was facing away from me. So I carefully turned the flower so that the critter was facing the camera. Gotta be gentle, cause I didn't want to spook the bee into taking off and I didn't want to damage the flower. I managed to get the shot and leave the both the critter and the Sourgrass unharmed.
Halictidae Lasioglossum
Sweat Bees in Sourgrass Deconstruction
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC, second curtain sync). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Clarity in that order.
Heute habe ich wirklich Glück gehabt und konnte diesen Tagpfauenauge – einer der schönsten Edelfalter erwischen.
Leider hat der kleine Kerle wohl schon einiges mitgemacht und abbekommen 😢
OM System OM-1 + M.Zuiko 90mm F3.5 Macro IS PRO + Godox V860iii + Cygnustech flash diffuser - 126 shots focus stacked
I found a Soldier Beetle eating Dandelion pollen that was more hungry than afraid. If you look closely you can see one of the hand like appendages that it uses to rake pollen into it's mouth. There's one of those "hands" on either side, but one of them is obscured by pollen.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/125, ISO 200) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 3x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI and Clarity in that order. Shutter and ISO set to expose the sky in the background, but it was overcast so it came out a little dark.
really liking the way this one turned out - has the look of an animation cell, though it's a photo w/ only a bit of adjustment
wish i had completely nailed the focus on the protagonist but, otherwise, the abstract vibe, luminosity and color palette surpass my expectation when i clicked that shutter button
backyard capture in chesterfield
Tiny Bug in a Big Green World - Olympus OM-D E-M10 III, Fotodiox C to MFT adapter, 12mm CCTV CS Mount Lens
I found a Lavender Beetle hanging out on one of my Mint plants and photographed it when it paused long enough for me to get a shot.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 200) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (set to 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT (E-TTL metering, -2/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Denoise AI, and Clarity in that order.