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I found these Spangle Galls on an Oak today and thought that they would look nice with some back lighting from the sun.
Oak spangle galls caused by larvae of the Neuroterus quercusbaccarum gall wasp, on underside of an oak (Quercus sp.) leaf. The wasp larvae overwinter in the galls, and emerge in the Spring.
Out of stock, shock horror, no more Spangles left :(
OK this is rather an unusual post, this is a Protaphorura armata I found in local woodland that had struck this pose and was hardly moving, I kind of thought it might be getting ready to shed its skin, it was definitely alive as in some stacking sequences its legs moved. Anyway, I decided to attempt a focus stack, I had my MP-E on 72mm of tubes and then whacked on my 1.4x teleconverter, I had my aperture set at F/4 and took 12 images in this handheld focus stack. Still need to work out what magnification this was at :o)
Protaphorura armata are a blind Collembola and feed on fungi, they can often be found in large colonies under fallen branches in woodland, they are usually about 2mm in length. They are also very easy to keep in culture and have been used in scientific studies on invertebrate/fungi feeding interactions.
What we see here is a rather unique view of the underside of a Protaphorura armata with mouthparts visible. Something just a little bit unusual I thought you might enjoy seeing :o)
VIEW ON BLACK AND REALLY WORTH VIEWING ORIGINAL SIZE :o)
One from a few weekends ago, this fine Red Deer Stag was having a siesta in the Autumn sun, I think he was recovering after a fight.
I just loved the light and Autumnal colours in this one, the image was taken at ground level with my 400mm F/5.6 on my mini tripod. I just hope we get some sunshine soon, I've not been out with the camera at all for the past two days and back at work tomorrow :o)
So I thought I'd go back and try some unused stacks in Zerene, this was a 12 image focus stack from back in May and now I really really want it to be next year and Spring, far too wet and cold here LOL.
Next time I try one of these I will definitely use a larger aperture, I think this was at x2 on my MP-E with an F/9 aperture, I think it would have been much better at f/5.6 or something. I used both PMax and DMap for this and edited between the two, still so much to learn with stacking :o)
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A head on view of the Large Skipper I found recently, This one I'm quite happy with as it was taken on a blustery afternoon and it is a 15 image head on handheld focus stack. I was surprised by how little the antennae moved during the stack, but saying that it still took ages to edit in Zerene. I could have gone deeper into the stack, but after 15 images it was getting a bit much LOL :o)
Anyway, as I said a 15 image handheld focus stack, using an f/8 aperture, shutter speed 1/200 and ISO 160. I didn't venture out with the camera today, far too blustery and some of those showers were a bit on the heavy side, but looking a lot better for tomorrow, so I reckon get up early and see what I can do :o)
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Always like it when you can get a different view of a Dragon, this guy was on a fence and allowed me to take some shots from a lower angle, I'm quite happy with the diffused flash, the specular highlight on the eyes is from something called a sun and unfortunately I cannot control this, unless shooting on a cloudy day, but then Dragons tend to hide when it's cloudy, no win situation I guess LOL
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It's raining again
Oh no, my love's at an end.
Oh no, it's raining again
and you know it's hard to pretend.
Oh no, it's raining again
Too bad I'm losing a friend.
Oh no, it's raining again
Oh will my heart ever mend.
Oh no, it's raining again
You're old enough some people say
To read the signs and walk away
It's only time that heals the pain
And makes the sun come out again
It's raining again
Oh no, my love's at an end.
Oh no, it's raining again
Too bad I'm losing a friend.
Song by "Supertramp", back in the day (1982) LOL :o)
Another wash out of a week, hardly stopped raining today, as well as being cold and breezy, anyway, this guy didn't mind the weather last week, it had just started raining when I took this one.
Just looking back to this time last year, I had seen my first Dragonfly and a few days prior to that my first Damselflies and there were swarms of Bibio marci everywhere. I'm just hoping this means a really long warm spell at some point, please :o)
Will try and get some motivation back soon, hoping for a dry spell at some point this weekend, what do you reckon are the odds on that?
Have a great weekend :o)
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I could not have passed up such an opportunity, two Allacma fusca's for the price of one. These two were almost side by side and completely motionless. So I set about doing a handheld stack of 21 images, I placed a dead leaf in the background and that gave the nice background colour. I used my MP-E at x5 on my 1.4x teleconverter and a 12mm extension tube, I used ISO 200, 1/160 shutter speed and an aperture of F/5. These guys were about 2-2.5mm in length, quite large for Globular Springtails :o)
I did try a second stack, but they had other ideas and had started moving about, so I'm really pleased the first stack worked out. I love these Springtails, they make superb macro subjects and are fascinating Collembola :o)
Please note this was shot in the great outdoors, these guys were on a fallen stick in a woodland environment :o)
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See how long you can look into my eyes for :o)
Sorry another Common Darter, this was a head on shot, I did try this as a stack but this one wouldn't stop chewing, maybe when I eventually get Zerene I will be able to do the stack and make the required edits, so for know this is a single frame image, but I like the mesmerising look of this female Sympetrum striolatum, it was either this or more Springtails LOL :o)
This was another fill in flash experiment with an ISO of 800 and 1/60 exposure, flash in TTL mode. I'm thinking of experimenting with cross polarised flash, I just need to get some polarised film to put infront of my flash, I already have a Circular Polariser for my MP-E, apparently you can cut out a lot of the reflections on the surface of your subject, any hints or tips appreciated :o)
Found this link on Cross Polarisation :-
www.naturescapes.net/042004/wh0404.htm
A MUST VIEW ON BLACK
A female Dicyrtomina saundersi, this one was found on the underside of a fallen branch at Colwick Park and I decided to photograph her by putting the branch on a nearby red metal Picnic table, they have quite a few scattered around the park. Anyway, this gave a very striking background colour. This wasn't even going to be a stack, but on reviewing the images I saw the potential in my shots for a 3 image stack, I kind of liked the results, thought it made for a colourful Friday night upload.
I've not been out with the camera for days now, the weather here has been pretty grim and I'm not convinced it will improve much for the weekend, I want the Spring and I want it NOW!!!!!
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend :o)
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Well one of the great things about my new job is that I work Tuesday to Saturday, so today was a day off. So I decided to take a trip to Newstead to hunt Tigers (Of the Beetle variety). Unfortunately there were none about and I didn't get much else in the macro department.
Anyway, on my way home I met this obliging Comma that allowed me to take a few close portraits. This was an 11 image stack taken at F/10, ISO 320 and a 1/160 shutter speed. I was at about x2.5 mag for this image. They really are very handsome Butterflies when you get up close to them. This one kept settling on the ground and for this one it settled on a rock on a rockery, funnily enough this one was settling in the same place yesterday and was easy to approach :o)
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Found the largest Salticidae I have yet seen in Valkenburg and she was eating a Pardosa sp. Wolf Spider, I got a few shots, but I just wanted to do a crop of her eyes, so beautiful :)
Found loads of Collembola under and on leaves, I'm not sure of ID on a lot of them as they were all rather tiny, but I think they are from the Bourletiellidae family, I was hoping to find some doing their courtship dance, but unfortunately I did not find any doing this.
I'm not 100% sure on the ID of the individual in the main image, it was just over 1mm in length. I have also included a selection of other different Collembola in the comments, not 100% on the ID for any of these, but all the ones in the comments were under 1mm in length.
Still no sign of Damselflies, still a bit chilly and very windy, will have to try some new locations soon, they can't stay underwater forever :o(
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Well I spent the afternoon searching for Collembola in local woodland, I wasn't going to do a bug upload today, but I really liked this little one. Now I'm sure this is a juvenile Allacma fusca, this one was about 1mm long at a guess, they do get a lot bigger than this. This shows a definite pink colouration and it will eventually become brown in colour.
For this I was experimenting with combinations of tubes and teleconverters, this I think was just 36mm of extension tubes on a 1.4x teleconverter and an F/5.6 aperture. I was also messing about with backdrops as well, this was a light grey card, thought it gave it a nice daytime feel :o)
NEED TO VIEW ON BLACK
In your face Aeshna grandis, I finally got an extreme MP-E portrait, BOOYAH!!!!!!!
So chuffed to finally get up close and personal with a Brown Hawker, could not believe it when this one stayed put when I was inching closer with my camera, OK it was resting on Nettles and I did get stung a bit, but no pain no gain LOL :o) It did eventually get bored of the attention and flew happily on its way :o)
I thought this would make an interesting shot, almost an abstract of the face, I just liked it. I did a similar one of a Common Darter last year.
Right I'm on a proper Odonata mission this weekend, as we're running out of time, sure someone said Summer finishes tomorrow, not that it ever really began, hoping for an Indian Summer, fingers crossed :o)
Have a great weekend everyone :o)
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Thought I'd revisit one of my favourite Summertime Odonata species, the Banded Demoiselle. This was a rather stunning female Calopteryx splendens, the females of this species are a stunning metallic green, whereas the males are a metallic blue/green. I'm still not sure which I love best, both equally stunning. It's a long wait now until next years emergence, but they are always worth the wait :o)
So sitting here now watching Doctor Who and still not sure if I like the new Doctor??????
I hope the weather behaves tomorrow, I want to try a bit of Red Deer photography, I really hope I can get some action shots this year :o)
VIEW LARGE :o)
A male Erythromma najas or the Red-eyed Damselfly, this was a big tick on my hit list this morning, I have wanted to do a portrait of one of these for ages, so could not believe my luck when I found this beauty. Thought I'd beat the rain this morning so went out at 5am, amazingly it started raining on my way home at 7am, but I'm not too bothered now that I've found this one :o)
Wiki says :-
The species is a small damselfly, 35 millimetres (1.4 in) long, predominantly black with iridescent blue markings. The male resembles blue-tailed damselflies (Ischnura species) but is distinguished by its large, spaced eyes that are a deep red. It is very similar to the Small Red-eyed Damselfly.
I think this one is still fairly young, I'm sure that the eyes get redder than this, also it wasn't the only one with red eyes this morning LOL :o)
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Not done much in the way of photography lately, this was from Sheffield a while back. This is a group of juvenile/sub-adult Katiannidae Genus nov.1 sp. nov. grazing on what I guess is some sort of fungal growth that was on a wooden barrier. Whatever it was these guys loved it, I managed a 14 image focus stack of these guys feeding and none of them moved much, just wish I'd gone a bit further to get the 2 on top, but still quite cool to get 4 in a focus stack. These little ones were less than 1mm long :o)
This was 14 images at F/5, ISO 125 and 1/160 shutter speed, I think the MP-E was at full mag with the 1.4x teleconverter, a diffused flash was used :o)
Decided I want the Canon 5DS just need £3,000 LOL :o)
Click on images in comment to view :o)
I was really pleased to find these fine looking Springtails yesterday, these are Podura aquatica and are a truly aquatic Springtail, they live on the surface tension of still bodies of water like pools, ponds and lake shores. These were found at a new site I discovered and they were plentiful at the edge of this small pond at the Skylarks Nature Reserve, it's a great out of the way reserve, very quiet and peaceful.
Anyway, when I took this shot I hadn't realised that there were 2 in shot as I was using live view and was zoomed in at x5, so was only trying to focus on the main central individual. I really like these, they have a certain appealing quality to them. I got really wet and muddy trying to photograph these, note to self, take waterproof groundsheet next time LOL, I looked like a real tramp walking home covered in mud LOL :o)
What Wiki has to say :-
The water springtail (Podura aquatica) is a species of springtail, one of only four described species in the family Poduridae. It is an abundant species with a Holarctic distribution.
As its common and scientific names suggest, this is an exclusively aquatic species, living its whole life as a scavenger on the surface of all kinds of still water. It is a squat species up to 1.5 mm in length, usually bluish grey but sometimes almost black. The furcula is large and flattened, allowing the animal to jump without breaking the surface tension of the water.
DEFINITELY VIEW ON BLACK
It's a rainy day today and no macro photography fun for me. So here is one from the oh so recent archives.
A rather lovely Salticus scenicus on the wall patrol, these are great fun to watch as they crawl around on the side of a brick wall looking for a meal and I don't mind the strange looks I get when standing there looking at brick walsl. Even better the looks you get when you are trying to take photo's of these when leaning against brick walls, great fun LOL :o)
Anyone having problems with their contact view in Justified mode, it doesn't always seem to work ????
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Found the biggest Weevil of the year so far, it was about 12mm long, funny thing was it deployed one of it's defence mechanism as soon as I saw it, it rolled over and played dead, it just kept rolling over every time I tried to take a shot, I did eventually get a bit of a side on shot, but I thought this was a nice fun image. It did also deploy it's other defence mechanism, it dropped off the face of the world LOL :o)
No real idea of ID yet, this guy was on a large Dock leaf :o)
MUST VIEW ON BLACK ;O)
A Common Blue Damselfly peeping over the edge of a dried flower head, these guys can have such interesting faces and you get some great eye contact. I'm hoping this year proves to be a great year for Damselflies, I really hope I can get some Red-eyed Damselfly portraits and Emerald Damselfly portraits, I think some very early morning macro sessions will be required.
This was a focus stack of 6 images using an F/7.1 aperture, ISO 320 and a 1/60 shutter speed. A diffused flash was used.
Hope everyone has a great week :o)
Just a little one from this afternoons walk, this is a male Stenacidia violacea, they are a common Springtail and tend to be found on damp mossy ground, the males are quite spectacular in appearance, they are often a mix of, pink, orange, reds, purples and white. The females tend to be a deep purple/violet when mature. The males have specially modified antennae for courtship (See Comments).
This one was about 0.7mm in length. I used my Canon MP-E on 72mm of Kenko Extension Tubes and my 1.4x teleconverter. This was a single frame shot using an F/5 aperture, quite happy with the focus on this one, this was a moving subject and a very shallow DOF :o)
Major disaster, the Deuterosminthurus pallipes have gone on strike, they say that they won't dance again until the sun comes out !!!!!!!!!!!
Of course they really are still dancing, these two were just chillaxing together on my favourite white bench, they looked so happy being side by side and what stunning colours they are. Taken with the MP-E at x5 and with 68mm of extension tubes.
Deuterosminthurus pallipes are one of my fave subjects, I will miss them when they go back into hiding, not sure when they vanish, I imagine in the Autumn sometime.
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Well I took a trip out today, hoping for more Damselflies, I did see a few, but they were well out of reach today, but I did find a few other things.
I was quite enchanted by this little Bee, it kept moving around just below a group of Daisies, eventually it settled on this small plant and waited for the sun to reappear and promptly flew off. I think it might be a male Andrena sp. but I'm not sure, I always find these guys tricky to ID. So if anyone has an idea of what species this little chap is then I'd love to know :o)
Anyway, I only managed a 5 image stack at F/10 for this guy before he flew off :o)
I found this guy under a bit of wood today, completely motionless and not doing a lot at all. So following the old adage "If it don't move, stack it", I decided to try a focus stack, this is a 13 image handheld focus stack using an F/6.3 aperture.
I've no idea what species of Weevil this one is, if anyone recognises it please let me know :o) It eventually did wake up a bit and started moving its legs and antennae, at that point I decided to turn the wood back over and let it get back to sleep :o)
Been trying to do stuff on Flickr all evening, it is being really slow and unresponsive with hiccups all over the shop, really annoying :o(
Thanks to Rockwolf for ID Strophosoma melanogrammus being a likely suspect, thanks Maria :o)
Hope everyone has a great weekend :o)
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I spotted the little guy when taking a shot of the Lycogala slime mould with my 60 mm macro, and as he didn't seem to be going anywhere I had time to get out the MP-E 65. This is shot at a bit less than 3:1 then slightly cropped so the image is about 6 mm across. Natural light focus stack of 8 frames.
The springtail is Neanura muscorum - thanks Eddie The Bugman for the ID!
OK incredibly fed up with the rubbish weather, so have tried some processing experiments, this was a stack I did a few months back, I thought I'd try a bit of tone mapping, I have included a few other images including the original in the comments section.
This kind of reminded me of the old film "Quatermass And The Pit", I remember watching it as a kid and it scared the hell out of me, bought on DVD a while back, great film still, but not as scary now LOL, reckon they should do a remake :)
This was an unfortunate victim found in a Spider's web
Hmm advancement through Rove Beetles!!! Anyway, after a pretty miserable start to the day it eventually got a bit less miserable and this allowed me to get out with the camera. I walked around Melton Country Park and it was ages before I found anything. I looked under a large fallen branch and found this beauty sitting there motionless. A lovely Rove Beetle :o)
So following the old adage "If it don't move, stack it", I went about the buisness of doing a focus stack. This in the end was a 27 image handheld focus stack at x4 magnification and using an F/5.6 aperture. I'm not sure what species this is yet as my Beetle Book is in Nottingham, but I do love the textures and water droplets on its body, very cool. Also the biggest Arthropod I've photographed for ages, a massive 6.5mm, come on Spring I'm waiting LOL :o)
ID Stenus clavicornis possibly, apparently Gemeiner Schmalkurzflügler is the German name for Stenus clavicornis ?????
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A bit of a strange day, set out this morning and completely forgot to pack my flash diffuser DOH!!! Anyway decided to get some supplies for macro work, these included items to hold coloured cards as backgrounds, I will do a bit about these later if they work :o)
So later after I had been home I went looking under dock leaves and this is what I was after Apion frumentarium. This is a very striking Weevil that feeds on large Dock leaves, as we can see in this image, this individual was having a right old feast LOL :o)
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Off down to London, got this highly commended little Bee into the 2013 BWPA book, so quite pleased, I get to see Chris Packham who is presenting the awards and am meeting a few Flickr friends as well. Taking my camera down with me so hoping to get a few photos as well.
I think next year I will do more preparation for the contest, this year I left it all to the last minute and didn't prepare my images properly, so lessons learnt from that :0) It is also a shame they don't accept stacked images, for some reason composite or merged frames are a no no :0(
I have added a frame for some reason, don't know why LOL, but obviously no frame in the book :0)
A very well disciplined bunch these Common Blue Damselflies, always happy to help on an early morning shoot, this one was on a Dock flowering stem, there seem to be fewer now.
Hoping for a peaceful photoshoot this morning, but Holme Pierrepont was holding a Triatholon at 6am, I mean who would be stupid enough to get up that early LOL :)
Oniscidea is the suborder of Isopoda that contains Woodlice and here we have my most extreme Woodlouse image to date. This is a 19 image handheld focus stack of a Woodlouse, this was kind of an experiment, I was actually looking for Megalothorax minimus when I found this, I had 108mm of extension tubes between my MP-E at full magnification and my 1.4x teleconverter. So I thought lets try and focus stack this amiable Woodlouse, I had my ISO at 320, shutter speed at 1/125 and my aperture at f/5. I think next time I may try F/4.5 or lower, but I was pleasantly surprised with the results. If you look at the ocelli you can see my camera lens reflected in them, I also really love the textures of the exoskeleton. I'm not actually sure what the magnification was, I will try and work it out at some point :o)
I seem to remember that Woodlice store calcium deposits under the exoskeleton, I think that is what the white patches are in this image :0) I'm thinking this is likely to be Porcellio scaber, the Common Rough Woodlouse :0)
Magnification was somewhere around x11 :0)
VIEW LARGE IF YOU DARE LOL ;O)
Went back in my archives to some unused material and managed a bit of a stack, some nice details here, also messed about in picnik as I was a bit bored, results below LOL :)
I had a short macro trip today to Wilford Claypit and was pleased to see Common Darters lining up on a wooden fence, so the game of sneaking up on Darters began. This year I'm using live view at x5 to get the focus, it does have a few compositional downsides, but you can get some pretty great details on those eyes. I need to do some work on diffusion, those eyes are so shiny and reflective, you can also see the effect the sun has on the eyes with the circular spot of specular highlights.
I also had a great chat with a fellow insect enthusiast and photographer (LPJC). As we were talking the rumbling of thunder could be heard in the distance. It looked like it would pass us by, how wrong was I. As I continued my way round the reserve, all hell was let loose as I got caught in a horrendous storm, thunder, lightning, hail stones (pea sized) and more rain than I have ever seen in my life. Fortunately I got my tarpaulin out and protected my camera, I have now got everything out and drying off, the camera seems to be fine :o)
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These really are curious looking things, they have to be my favourite UK Barkfly. This is one of the Mesopsocus species, I'm not sure which one, but it is an adult and I'd guess a female, about 4mm in length. I've also noticed that they can be quite variable in appearance, some have really dark markings and some are quite light in colour, this could be due to gender and maturity. ID possibly Mesopsocus immunis ?
At Wollaton Park there is a wooden bird observation construction, it's absolutely useless for watching birds, but it does attract many interesting Bugs. On Friday afternoon after work these guys were everywhere on this wooden construction. They are very fast and run about like nutters, but every so often they will stay put just long enough to get a focus stack.
This one is an 11 image handheld stack of just the body, due to the long legs and their habit of running off after a few seconds I soon realised there was little chance of including the legs in the stack. Aperture F/6.3, ISO 400 and shutter speed 1/160. The background in this one is actually the sky. This gives a nice idea of what these guys look like from the side.
Thought I'd share an image of a recently emerged Sympetrum striolatum, but this time the entire thing. In this image the Dragonfly is in the final stages of preparing for his new beginning, a life with wings, you can see it's still holding onto its exuviae on the right. It really is an amazing life cycle the Dragonfly has, they hatch from eggs under the water, they then can spend a few years underwater as a nymph, as a nymph they are extremely voracious predators. They then crawl from the water, they undergo a miraculous metamorphosis and after this spend their last few months as lords of the air.
I'm also amazed at how all that Dragonfly came out of such a tiny exuviae, I often wonder what such a transformation would feel like. Those wings look so beautiful at this stage as well :o)
This was taken with my Tamron 180mm on a 12mm extension tube, handheld, but braced against a wall and is a natural light image :o)
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Well spent the afternoon photographing these beautiful Banded Demoiselles, there were loads about by the River Trent today, it was quite a breezy afternoon, but still warm and sunny, but I had forgotten what a pain Thistles and Nettles can be LOL. I shall have to try an early morning rise if I'm to get close enough to use my MP-E though, they were far too active this afternoon :o)
I was using my Tamron 180mm macro lens on a monopod for this shot, I also had my flash attached with diffuser, the flash was on ETTL with a -3 bias, just enough to add some subtle illumination.
For some reason I didn't photograph any of these guys last year, no idea why :o)
A Sminthurinus aureus playing hide and seek amongst the condensation droplets on the underside of a leaf, just imagine what it must be like to make your way through a labyrinth of water droplets that are bigger than you. I'm really pleased with how this turned out, one day iI would like to try and get a photo of one looking through a water droplet, now that would be very cool.
Taken at x5 on my MP-E on 112mm of extension tubes, I had the leaf on the arm of a wooden bench, it made it possible to get on the right level :o)
I went out today, but everywhere was waterlogged and more rain forecast for tomorrow morning.
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I have said it many times that in my eyes the Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) has to be possibly the most stunning of our resident Damselflies, the colours are stunning and the way they pose on grass and reeds is so delicate, they get my vote every time :)
This is a rather attractive female of the species :)
A lovely little Gosling in a field of Daisies, I was lucky enough to get really close to these, the parents for a change didn't seem bothered, they were more concerned with other Canada Geese lurking in the back ground.
I must say it was a perfect day, the temperature was about right, a very slight breeze and beautiful blue skies, I was outside from 9am-7:30pm, absolutely knackered now, so hoping to sleep well and get up even earlier for tomorrow :o)
Hope everyone has a great Bank Holiday :o)
A full side on view of this Collembola behemoth, they really do scream out globular. This was another of yesterdays woodland finds, there are loads of these about now, they can often be found in herds. They are very slow moving and often will stay completely motionless, which is very handy for focus stacking. To find them I search mixed woodland, they can be found under most fallen branches, sticks etc. At up to 3.5mm they are visible to the naked eye, but I tend to use a magnifying glass :o)
This one allowed an 18 image handheld focus stack at f/5.6, ISO320 and a 1/125 shutter speed, it is the first time I've managed a full side on stack of one of these guys. This was taken at x7 magnification, the MP-E at full extension on my 1.4x teleconverter :0)
SEE FIRST COMMENT FOR EXTRA IMAGES :O)
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I'm really hoping that this is Dicyrtomina minuta, mainly because it's a tick on the species list, not a lot of pigmentation on this individual and the yellow colour makes me think it is minuta, the other possibility is ornata. Anyway, I liked this little lady against a dark background, I thought she was very striking.
I wish everybody a very HAPPY NEARLY THE WEEKEND LOL, lets hope this miserable weather breaks and we get some decent weather, hope all my Scottish contacts aren't taking too much of a battering from those winds :)
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Finally found some Bee Orchids, I had found a few the other week, but all the flowers were missing the top petal. Really not sure the best way to approach photographing these, I guess it's down to personal preference, wether you like a detailed shot or a shallow DOF and artistic shot, so have included an extra shot in the comments. Really great photographing these, I had a steady stream of Mosquitoes trying to get my attention, so after smothering myself in insect repellant I survived the onslaught LOL :o)
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One from Monday, there were loads of these on the brick walls by the Nottingham Canal. Needless to say they always prove challenging, especially when you want to get a good angle when shooting on a brick wall. I liked this one when she was bridging the gap between the bricks. This is a single frame shot of a female Zebra Spider at x3 magnification, she was constantly on the move this one oOOo
Sorry I've not been on much over the past few weeks, sometimes I just need a computer break, especially as I spend all day in front of one at work.
Lots of these Common Blues about again, this must be the second brood as they all look really fresh and colourful. I've been after a shot of these on dry grass with a dry grass background and after a lot of running around the temperature dropped and these guys took to their grass perches and stayed there. I did have to carefully bend back some bits of dry grass near this to help keep a clean image, but as the grass was dead it was Ok.
After a lot of messing around I ended up using my Tamron 180mm with a 12mm extension tube mounted on my heavy pro Manfrotto tripod and using a diffused flash, the flash was on ETTL and set with a bias of -3. Enough light to illuminate the subject and get a shutter speed of 1/200. It was quite breezy and took a lot of patience, I also used a cable release :o)
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Finally managed to get an MP-E shot of a Migrant Hawker, I know an area at Attenborough where they like to settle, it was cool enough for me to get close enough to this resting Dragon, I used the fill in flash technique for this and it was not easy as shooting at 1/60th of a second means camera shake can be an issue, fortunately this one was close to the ground and I could kneel and get quite a stable position, only issue were the Brambles ripping my legs to shreds,OUCH!!!!!! Covered in scratches this morning, but all part of the fun. I've rotated this image as it was hanging down in its usual position, it didn't look quite right like that :o)
I may be offline tonight as my internet has gone down, I'm currently in a Neros at the moment using free WIFI, I've not seen my Landlord yet as he has the router in his room and it is locked :o(
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On another cold and bleak day I lucked out by finding this beauty, I was surprised when it climbed onto my monopod, I think the cold weather had made this little one a bit more cooperative and it posed quite happily for me, in this shot it is on the rubber end of a Manfrotto monopod, this is also the first time I have been able to photograph one of these and I like these a lot now, makes a change from the Springy Thingies.
Here is what Wiki say's :-
Rhingia campestris is a species of hoverfly, 7–11 millimetres (0.3–0.4 in) long, with a wingspan of 12–18 mm (0.5–0.7 in). It is common in many parts of Europe from March until November. It has a broad orange abdomen with a black line along the sides (the black line is absent along the sides of Rhingia rostrata), and has the distinctive long snout of all Rhingia species. Larvae are associated with cow dung. Adults males feed on nectar, while adult females feed on protein rich pollen, reflecting the cost of developing eggs.
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Last night I ventured out with the camera to the Embankment, it's only a 10 minute walk from the house. I've not done any night time photos for ages and it was quite a chilly night as well, but there was hardly a breeze and the skies were clear.
So this is a shot from one of the bottom steps of the Embankment. To my delight a cyclist was cycling up on the left and that gave a nice light trail as well :o)
Shutter speed 30sec, Aperture F/16, ISO 500, Exposure Bias +2/3 EV, taken on a tripod using the timer :o)
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