When Things Work Out, Pt. 2 - _TNY_4436
The spring of 2020 in Stockholm, Sweden was pretty miserable. The cold just wouldn't go away and I actually had to scrape ice of the windshield of my car in late May.
I still had the bug hunting itch though so I headed out to Tyresta National Park on April 21st when the weather was slightly better. My intention was to capture a green tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris) with the new camera (a Canon 5D mkIII).
I have a pathway towards Stensjön (Rock lake) where I know they appear every spring so I was on the lookout there and actually caught one on camera pretty swiftly (www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/49855835493/).
So, mission accomplished, but I continued on - and couldn't believe my luck when I found a mating pair of them and managed to photograph them! (www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/49883760697/).
Bonus mission accomplished as well, so I tried figuring out what more I could achieve here and swithched to the MP-E65mm to try and get a shot of one with that one.
The MP-E doesn't have any focus. Not just autofocus is missing - there is no other way to focus but to move the camera closer or further away from the subject so it is pretty much the most awkward lens ever to stalk these rapid-moving beetles.
But this was one of those days, so of course it worked out as well. First I managed a shot of one at 3.7:1 magnification with the MP-E65mm here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50038063617/
And then a little later one was brave enough and stayed still for me to get this shot at the full maximum 5:1 magnification of the lens! This means the front of the lens was just 41 mm/1.6" from the eye of the beetle - completely uncharacteristic for these speed freaks - but I'm not complaining!
To put 5:1 into perspective: This is an uncropped photo and the diameter of that eye is just 1.3 mm/.05".
When Things Work Out, Pt. 2 - _TNY_4436
The spring of 2020 in Stockholm, Sweden was pretty miserable. The cold just wouldn't go away and I actually had to scrape ice of the windshield of my car in late May.
I still had the bug hunting itch though so I headed out to Tyresta National Park on April 21st when the weather was slightly better. My intention was to capture a green tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris) with the new camera (a Canon 5D mkIII).
I have a pathway towards Stensjön (Rock lake) where I know they appear every spring so I was on the lookout there and actually caught one on camera pretty swiftly (www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/49855835493/).
So, mission accomplished, but I continued on - and couldn't believe my luck when I found a mating pair of them and managed to photograph them! (www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/49883760697/).
Bonus mission accomplished as well, so I tried figuring out what more I could achieve here and swithched to the MP-E65mm to try and get a shot of one with that one.
The MP-E doesn't have any focus. Not just autofocus is missing - there is no other way to focus but to move the camera closer or further away from the subject so it is pretty much the most awkward lens ever to stalk these rapid-moving beetles.
But this was one of those days, so of course it worked out as well. First I managed a shot of one at 3.7:1 magnification with the MP-E65mm here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50038063617/
And then a little later one was brave enough and stayed still for me to get this shot at the full maximum 5:1 magnification of the lens! This means the front of the lens was just 41 mm/1.6" from the eye of the beetle - completely uncharacteristic for these speed freaks - but I'm not complaining!
To put 5:1 into perspective: This is an uncropped photo and the diameter of that eye is just 1.3 mm/.05".