Blue banded bees and mantis

[StephenM (Stephen)]

Hi all,

Here's a few macros from this morning. First time chasing BBBs with my new Tamron macro lens, and I'd forgotten how difficult they are to capture! Very low success rate, but I got a few that I thought were worth posting. The last 2 images are portraits of a praying mantis that I found in the garden - my 6 year old daughter's comment was "Disgusting!".

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,
Stephen

[tilbrook@rbe.ne (Justin Tilbrook)]

Hi Stephen.

They are awesome images!!
The detail in the blue banded bee's eyes really leap out.
What settings on your camera are you using?

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Justin.

[Dennis]

A beautiful set Stephen – really excellent work. The front-on head-shot of the BBB is just fabulous.

Cheers

Dennis

[jenchris (Jennifer)]

picked this one up the other day - They come in off the cane fields now and then - there appear to be several sorts there's one a lot thicker like the thickness of my thumb about 10 inches long and this one about 6 inches long and very thin.

[StephenM (Stephen)]

Originally Posted by tilbrook@rbe.ne

Hi Stephen.

They are awesome images!!
The detail in the blue banded bee's eyes really leap out.
What settings on your camera are you using?

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Justin.

Thanks very much Justin! The settings were 1/250 sec, f/13, 400 iso with the Tamron 90 mm macro. Lighting from a 430 EX II speedlight on manual and 1/8 power.

Cheers,
Stephen

Originally Posted by Dennis

A beautiful set Stephen – really excellent work. The front-on head-shot of the BBB is just fabulous.

Cheers

Dennis

Thanks very much Dennis! Much appreciated! The're still not up to the quality that you seem to achieve, perhaps because of the harsh lighting delivered by my naked speedlight. It will be interesting to see what I can get with a diffuser in place.

Cheers,
Stephen

Originally Posted by jenchris

picked this one up the other day - They come in off the cane fields now and then - there appear to be several sorts there's one a lot thicker like the thickness of my thumb about 10 inches long and this one about 6 inches long and very thin.

Yes, I think there are several species of stick insect in SEQ. I haven't seen too many stick insects or mantids in my garden recently, so I was happy to find this one.

Cheers,
Stephen

[multiweb (Marc)]

Very nice. The texture on the eyes is amazing. Such sharp focus.

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Outstanding set of shots Stephen

[iceman (Mike)]

Great shots Stephen!

[StephenM (Stephen)]

Originally Posted by multiweb

Very nice. The texture on the eyes is amazing. Such sharp focus.

Thanks Marc! I'm pretty pleased with how this lens is performing.

Cheers,
Stephen

Originally Posted by lacad01

Outstanding set of shots Stephen

Thanks Adam! Glad you like them.

Cheers,
Stephen

Originally Posted by iceman

Great shots Stephen!

Thanks Mike! It's good to be out doing a bit of macro again.

Cheers,
Stephen

[jenchris (Jennifer)]

It's not often that someone takes the time to get such amazing images - I hope that someone wants them for a book and makes it worth your while - you should get the accolades in a bigger field than a few star hunters.

[spearo (Frank)]

Wow
face-on praying mantis is my favorite
well done
frank

[StephenM (Stephen)]

Thanks Jennifer and Frank!

Cheers,
Stephen

[bloodhound31]

By jingo you're getting very good at this mate!

[StephenM (Stephen)]

Originally Posted by bloodhound31

By jingo you're getting very good at this mate!

Thanks Baz! It's a nice little lens this Tamron!

Cheers,
Stephen