Sorry for the double post heres a true bird eater shes about as big as a dinner plate when walking but she was in a bit of a bad mood this day and this was as close as we dared go near her
Creepy Crawlies!
- Thread starter troy
- Start date
Katydid on my front porch 01 Oct 2021
Taken with Pentax K-1 and Sigma 180mm 1:3.5 lens without flash.
Taken with Pentax K-1 and Sigma 180mm 1:3.5 lens without flash.
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- #344
Phidippus Audax AKA Bold or daring jumping spider. Male.
Clytra laeviuscula at sunset
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- #346
Nicely done! Great lighting and depth of field. Can I ask what you shoot on and or any other details?
Thanks
I like to use a light setup for these situations.
Camera: Sony a6000
Lens: Laowa 65mm
Light: Speedlight with DIY diffuser
Shooting with such a bright background can be a bit tricky
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- #348
Nice I almost always shoot macro with a speed light and a modified diffuser. Usually mounted on top of the camera. Every once in a while I'll get out the trigger and or a second light and try to get a little more fancy.Thanks
I like to use a light setup for these situations.
Camera: Sony a6000
Lens: Laowa 65mm
Light: Speedlight with DIY diffuser
Shooting with such a bright background can be a bit tricky
Same here, my Speedlight is also mounted on the flash mount on top of the camera and the diffuser is mounted on the flash. This allows me to move around easily and use my left hand to help me place my subject in front of my lens while holding/triggering my camera with my right hand only.
I rarely use more than one flash for living bugs, but sometimes I do use them when shooting more stationary subjects like slime molds
Friday bug post
Misumena vatia with prey
Misumena vatia with prey
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- #351
Carolina Mantis
Perfect pose
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- #353
Thanks Mantises are one of my favorite subjects. They are very curious and pretty fearless. They usually make it pretty easy to get some good poses.
they really are wonderful and interesting subjects. I would love to have pictures from them, but unfortunately I have never even seen a single one in the wild. They exist here in Germany, but are rather rare.
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- #355
We have a pretty fair amount of the larger Chinese ones around here. Not as many of these native Carolinas though. I had never seen a Carolina until a couple years ago, but have seen several each years since seeing my first. Not sure if that means they are on the rise or I've just been paying more attention. They are certainly interesting and fun to interact with. I can see why some people keep them as pets. Hope you find one someday, there are a few bugs and other animals I know are around me that I still haven't found yet too.
Time for another Friday bug.
Springtail (Allacma fusca)
Springtail (Allacma fusca)
I agree, some mantises are really spectacular, like idolomantis diabolica.
Macro photographers from south east Asia and tropical regions definitely have very interesting subjects available. Most of the insects here in Germany are small and unimpressive at first sight and will only reveal their beauty to the keen observer.
I take all my images in the wild with living creatures without attracting them and generally with the least amount of disturbance possible.
I have not yet tried to track down a specific species in order to take images of them, but many of the more seasoned macro photographers do so. It's also an interesting topic, because you need to learn a lot about their habits, life cycle, habitats, host plants etc... in order to find them... Every time I see a new species I try to identify them and learn a bit about them, but I am still quiet new to the whole topic, so I regularly find species, that I've never seen before even if I'm just walking around.
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- #358
Nice, sounds like you shooting style is very similar to mine.
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- #359
Chinese Mantis
You have captured some very nice details the compound eyes with the pseudopupils. Focus is on the spot. I also like the background
