Macro Moments

[shelltree]

Unfortunately the rain kept me from BIMBO this morning and even though I really wanted to go and had been anticipating it all week, I didn't really feel like rolling around soggy parklands in the rain (Troy was certainly more determined than I was :D)

But alas, not all was lost! Managed to get out in the backyard late this arvo and take some macro shots so I thought I'd share them with you all :)

Cheers,

Shelley

[troypiggo]

Lovely collection there. Quite a few of those blue bottle(?) flies at RSP this morning too. We get those potato ladybugs here too. Nasty little fellas. Most ladybugs eat aphids, but those potato ladybugs eat the plants. Nice skipper and fly pr0n too :)

[shelltree]

Thanks Troy! Those ladybugs were HUGE, they had eaten an entire plant so no wonder :P I usually see the green blow flies around but I'd never seen a blue one before so it was quite a treat!

And the fly pr0n I happened to see on a leaf up in a tree so I decided to get a sturdy plastic chair and stand on it to get a shot. At one point it sunk into the ground and I had to leap off the chair before I would have gone crashing painfully into the garden (not to mention I was using 64mm of extension tubes so my aperture was almost non-existant). All for the love of macro, right? :D

[lacad01]

Nice set of shots. That's the second time I've seen a ladybird where their texture looks almost velvet like. Great stuff :thumbsup:

[shelltree]

Thanks Adam! These ladybugs were huge so it made it a little easier to get more detail :)

[astro_south]

Love the skipper Shelley :thumbsup:

[shelltree]

Thanks Andrew :D

[dpastern]

Good set of shots, if I may offer critique:

1 - not the best vantage spot for a fly. Nice greenbottle though (a type of blowfly).

2 - Good focus, and did well with glare too, since most ladybirds have quite a shiny shell that makes it difficult to light. Perhaps 1/2 a stop underexposed and a bit too much contrast for my personal liking. Good shot nevertheless.

3 - Lovely skipper, a fraction underexposed according to my monitor setup, and a bit too tightly cropped/composed. Again, a touch too much contrast, at least via my calibrated monitor. You've done well though, skippers are such wonderful Butterflies!

4 - Ahh fly p0rn! Very well done. These types of flies are quite tiny, you've done very well to parallel them and keep them both within the focus zone. I like.

It's a pity I missed the BIMBO meetup :/

Cheers,

Dave

[shelltree]

Thanks so much Dave, I really appreciate your critique and I'll definitely try to have a bit more of a think about my settings when I next get out to do some macro which will hopefully be very soon! :D

[dpastern]

No probs! Just offering honest advice.

Dave

[bloodhound31]

Love the bluebottle fly! Nice work.

Baz.

[shelltree]

Thanks Baz :D