Herbertia Hover Fly -

Sunday I was out and about on the bayou trails. Insects were scarce so my attention was drawn to a Prairie Nymph (Herbertia Lahue). As I sized up the flower for a field stack, I noticed a hoverfly feeding on the stamen. On my belly I went. This hoverfly was hungry as the presence of the MP-E 65 rigged up with diffused MT-24 heads didn't bother it at all. It's always a joy to have a subject comfortable with a lens ~4 inches away. The photographer is privileged to observe the insect in a natural environment with what is effectively a low powered field microscope. I could hear bicycles passing by on a nearby trail but was so enthralled observing the fly feed I didn't even look up to acknowledge their passing by. Hovers are much more interesting then expensive mountain bikes on flat trails. That said I'm sure the riders had something to talk about seeing a grown man splayed out on the ground photographing a flower. Hope I made their day, I know the Hover made mine.

Image specs: Canon 5D-III, MP-E 65mm @ ~ 2.5:1 f/11, 1/125, ISO 100 - MT-24 EX Flash with DIY Diffusers.

#macroaddict (+MacroAddict) curated by  +William Banik,  &  +Stephen Thackeray

#hqspmacro +HQSP Macro curated by +Stefanie Schächtel +Peter Marbaise +Evi Verstraeten +Robert Kubacki +Andi Fritzsch and +Leanne Cole 

#BTPMacroPro – +BTP Macro Pro . owned by +Nancy Dempsey ,curated by +Kenny Jones

Bumblebee -

It's not often that I run across these sleeping in the morning. Sunday it was cool (mid 50's) and I was quite surprised to find this bee spent the night in the flower patch. I tried to focus stack it with natural light but had fits getting the exposure right. The face is very dark and the glossy eyes picked up reflection from the overcast sky. I tried shielding the light with a diffuser panel but this just increased exposure time and the eyes still picked up the reflection from the diffuser. I tried shielding with a black panel and while drastically reducing reflections on the top portion of the eye, there was still glare on the sides. After 30 minutes of trying to modify the early morning light I gave up on a high magnification field stack, popped on my flash/diffuser and fired off several shots . This was the best of the lot and I think my best to date.

Image specs: Sony A7 w Fotodiox Pro Fusion Adapter, MP-E 65mm @ ~3:1, f/10, SS 1/125, ISO 200, Nissin i60 with diffuser panel.


+MacroAddict  #macroaddict  

#hqspmacro +HQSP Macro curated by +Stefanie Schächtel +Igor Schevchenko +Peter Marbaise +Evi Verstraeten  +Robert Kubacki and +Andi Fritzsch


#BTPMacroPro – +BTP Macro Pro . owned by +Nancy Dempsey ,curated by +Kenny Jones

Longhorn Bee II

A closer shot of the longhorn bee I shared last week. I estimated this to be slightly greater than 2:1. Bee was quite calm as it awoke from it's slumber allowing me to get this close shot. I learned a lesson concerning the a7.. I am using the Canon EF-S 60mm lens on tubes with a Full frame camera. I've done this in the past with the 5D3 with no issues. Image circle from the lens is more than sufficient to cover a FF sensor. On the a7 the camera or perhaps it’s the adapter recognizes the lens is APS-C and automatic goes into crop mode, capturing a 12 MP file. I have since found out how to override the crop mode default. Resolution on this file isn't as good as the 24MP files I have captured with this camera but quite good overall.

Image specs: Sony A7 w Fotodiox Pro Fusion Adapter, 60mm EF-S w/72mm tubes @ ~2.2:1, f/11, SS 1/100, ISO 200, Canon 600 EX RT with DIY Snoot diffuser, shot with in camera crop..

#macroaddict  +MacroAddict 

#hqspmacro +HQSP Macro curated by +Stefanie Schächtel +Igor Schevchenko +Peter Marbaise +Evi Verstraeten  +Robert Kubacki and +Andi Fritzsch

#BTPMacroPro – +BTP Macro Pro . owned by +Nancy Dempsey ,curated by +Kenny Jones

Longhorn Bee

Sunday morning I plopped my butt down in a flower patch and started photographing an caterpillar that camped out on a tiny yellow daisy. As I was I photographing it I noticed out of the corner of my eye some movement to the left. A tiny Longhorn Bee scooted up the stem of a flower, resting atop it to warm up and dry off. See you later caterpillar, hello Mr. Bee. The bee rested on the edge of the flower pointing down towards the ground. The light weight Sony Snoot rig paid off immediately as I was able to rest the camera on my left hand , grasp the flower stem with my thumb and index finger, tilting it back to get a nice photograph of the cute little bugger. While I could do this with my larger Canon rig, I had to be very careful with my approach my eye pinned to the viewfinder for stability, often not lining up correctly the first time and having to peer over the lens and adjust the approach.

With the Sony, flip up the LCD screen, watch for the focus peaking ripples to light up and rest on the area I want in focus. All the while glancing at the subject to make sure I wasn't startling it and making the approach much more fluid and accurate. LCD screen is very crisp and focus peaking accurate with good light. I am using a Coast TX 8 Inspection Flashlight for a focusing lamp:

http://www.amazon.com/COAST-Lumens-Industrial-Inspection-Flashlight/dp/B00HY1CHYA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476937643&sr=8-1&keywords=coast+tx8

If you are in need of a focusing lamp, I highly recommend picking one of these up. Very light weight, good battery life, and the flexible goose neck lets you place the light exactly where you need it.

Image specs: Sony A7 w Fotodiox Pro Fusion Adapter, 60mm EF-S w/72mm tubes @ ~1.5:1, f/11, SS 1/50, ISO 160, Canon 600 EX RT with DIY Snoot diffuser, Square Crop in Post.

+MacroAddict  #macroaddict  

#hqspmacro +HQSP Macro curated by +Stefanie Schächtel +Igor Schevchenko +Peter Marbaise +Evi Verstraeten  +Robert Kubacki and +Andi Fritzsch

#BTPMacroPro – +BTP Macro Pro . owned by +Nancy Dempsey curated by +Kenny Jones

Life in the Weeds with the M3 pt III

Overhead shot of the hover fly I posted yesterday. The nectar from the flowers must have been sweet as this little one was oblivious to me photographing it. It isn't often I am afforded this vantage point. Getting the wings lined up on the same focal plane is a pain in the butt (for me). It's worth the effort when I can do it as the shimmer from the wings is quite pleasing to my eyes. The wings aren't perfectly aligned in this photograph but close enough that the image warrants a post. I only had 4 goes at this angle and then the fly had enough of my lens being ~2 inches away and flew off.

Image specs: Canon M3, Canon EF-S 60mm Macro with 36mm tube @ ~2:1, f/11, SS 1/160, ISO 100, MT24-EX flash with DIY diffusers @ 1/8 power, square crop in post.

+MacroAddict +Sandrine Berjonneau +Adelphe BACHELET +Ruth Benjamin 

#hqspmacro  +Stefanie Schächtel +Igor Schevchenko +Peter Marbaise +Evi Verstraeten +Robert Kubacki +Andi Fritzsch 
#btpmacropro  +Kenny Jones +Kenny Jones 

#photomaniausa  +David Pilasky +Marjolein Schat  +Kris Rowlands +Dorma Wiggin 

Life in the Weeds with the M3 pt II:

For the past two weekends I have found a wealth of insects in the weeds. In particular on Paspalum notatum, more commonly know as bahiagrass. The fields and banks of the bayou are filled with this grass. In my youth I acquired a taste for the stalks, which are filled with sucrose. It seems the insects like the juices of this grass as well. What I didn't realize until I started photographing insects on the plant is the feathery black and maroon tips are in fact tiny flowers. The flowers are loaded with pollen. As the bees work the plant plumes of pollen are released in to the air from the inflorescences. Pollinators of all sorts work the the flowers. The nectar from these small flowers must be good. This hover fly allowed me to photograph it for several minutes as it worked over the the tiny flowers. It looks like it's abdomen might be full of eggs, not sure about that though

Image specs: Canon M3, Canon EF-S 60mm Macro with 36mm tube @ ~2:1, f/11, SS 1/25, ISO 100, MT24-EX flash with DIY diffusers @ 1/8 power, square crop in post.

+MacroAddict +Sandrine Berjonneau +Adelphe BACHELET +Ruth Benjamin 

+HQSP Macro +Stefanie Schächtel +Igor Schevchenko +Peter Marbaise +Evi Verstraeten +Robert Kubacki +Andi Fritzsch  #hqspmacro  

#btpmacropro  +Kenny Jones +Nancy Dempsey 

#photomaniausa  +David Pilasky +Marjolein Schat +Kris Rowlands +Dorma Wiggin 

Carpenter Bee:

I was lucky enough to run across another carpenter bee. Second time this year I’ve encountered one that allowed me to come within close proximity (~3 inches / 7.6cm from the end of my lens). The one I met earlier in the year was in a deep slumber, brought on by the cool morning temperature. Not the case with this one as temperatures are in the mid to high 80’s. We had a heavy rain storm the night before and I think if the bees get caught in the storm it just plum tuckers ‘em out. This one was somewhat active, it would move around a bit and then pause to rest. I’d fire a few shots and then it would stir again.. I need to bring a little vial of honey to feed these weather beaten stragglers. A jolt of natural sugar might help them get on their way.

Image specs: 5-D3, Sigma 105 with 72mm tubes @ ~ 2:1 f/13, SS 1/60, ISO 200, MT-24 EX with DIY concave diffusers. Slight crop applied in post

#macroaddict  +MacroAddict +Sandrine Berjonneau +Adelphe BACHELET +Ruth Benjamin +Stephen Thackeray 

+HQSP Macro curated by +Stefanie Schächtel +Igor Schevchenko +Peter Marbaise +Evi Verstraeten +Robert Kubacki and +Andi Fritzsch #hqspmacro

#BTPMacroPro – +BTP Macro Pro . founded by +Rinus Bakker , owned by +Nancy Dempsey ,curated by +Kenny Jones

#PhotoManiaUSA curated by +David Pilasky, +Marjolein Schat, +Kris Rowlands & +Dorma Wiggin

(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman:

This year I have photographed more flies than I have in the past 4 years. They are quite prevalent in the fields and along the trails but for one reason or another I usually pass them by. This year the wild flowers bloomed early so I have been finding a good spot in the patch and parking my butt. When one looks closely, flies are all over the place. To me it underscores their importance as pollinators. While bees are the darlings of the patch, flies have equal importance. In the natural environment, i.e. not being a nuscance at an outside picnic, they are fascinating creatures to watch. Very animated, constantly cleaning and preening, which makes for some interesting poses. This fly was busy cleaning it’s back legs, rubbing them together, the bristles combing the legs clean. As I watched the fly throughout the viewfinder I was impressed with it’s agility and balance. Originally, this photo was shot in portrait mode and while I liked it, I found I preferred the composition better when I rotated it 90 degrees in post so the subject and the perch are on a horizontal plane.

Image specs: 5-D3, MP-E 65mm @ ~ 3:1 f/11, SS 1/100, ISO 200, MT-24 EX with DIY concave diffusers, Square crop and rotated 90 degrees in post.

#macroaddict  +MacroAddict +Sandrine Berjonneau +Adelphe BACHELET +Stephen Thackeray +Ruth Benjamin 
+Kailash Khedekar

 +HQSP Macro curated by +Stefanie Schächtel +Igor Schevchenko +Peter Marbaise +Evi Verstraeten +Robert Kubacki and +Andi Fritzsch #hqspmacro

#BTPMacroPro – +BTP Macro Pro . founded by +Rinus Bakker , owned by +Nancy Dempsey ,curated by +Kenny Jones

#PhotoManiaUSA curated by +David Pilasky, +Marjolein Schat, +Kris Rowlands & +Dorma Wiggin

Honey Bee Exposure:

Two weekends ago  I was fortunate enough to run across a carpenter bee. This past weekend I had the pleasure of running across this honey bee  which decided to camp out on a flower stalk. Photographing bees like this with diffused flash can be hit or miss. If they are in a deep sleep the photographer often has the luxury to pop off a few test shots to gauge proper exposure. If the bee is starting to wake, often you will only have 1 or two chances to get the shot off before the bee takes flight. Body position is often a clue as to which state the bee is in. If the legs and body are tightly wrapped around the supporting flora  chances are the bee is in a deep sleep and not easily alarmed by the flash. If the legs are loose and quasi-supporting the body, the bee is most likely in the process of waking up and will be quick to flight. It sounds obvious but in the rush and excitement of trying to get the shot, these are important cues to note. In the case of this bee, I determined the latter was the case. I adjusted flash settings to what I thought was appropriate for the subject and then photographed a nearby flower stem (same type as in the photograph) to test for exposure of the foreground and the background. On light greens and in the case of this flora, white buds, it is easy to clip the lighter colors when trying to properly expose the darker bee so it is best to get a good exposure reading on the flora. In the case of dark flowers, reds, purples, oranges etc. the exposure of the subject and the flower are close enough that simple metering off the subject will suffice. 

Image specs: 5-D3, Sigma 150mm `w/72mm tubes @ ~ 2:1  f/13, SS 1/160, ISO 200, 600EX-RT with DIY concave diffuser.

#macroaddict  +MacroAddict +Sandrine Berjonneau +Adelphe BACHELET +Ruth Benjamin +Kailash Khedekar 

+HQSP Macro curated by  +Stefanie Schächtel +Igor Schevchenko +Peter Marbaise +Evi Verstraeten +Robert Kubacki and +Andi Fritzsch #hqspmacro 

#BTPMacroPro – +BTP Macro Pro . founded by +Rinus Bakker , owned by +Nancy Dempsey ,curated by +Kenny Jones

#PhotoManiaUSA curated by +David Pilasky, +Marjolein Schat, +Kris Rowlands & +Dorma Wiggin