Post your insects

[Letrow]

Great detail Chris. It is actually funny that in these two photos the eyes don't seem to be in focus at first, but then you see that the black dot is actually below the surface, which is in focus.
What lens combination are you using for these?

[chrisa62401]

Great detail Chris. It is actually funny that in these two photos the eyes don't seem to be in focus at first, but then you see that the black dot is actually below the surface, which is in focus.
What lens combination are you using for these?

canon 100mm macro plus kenko tubes.

[ddp4me]

Cool set-up!

What are kenko tubes?

I have a tokina 100 macro for my Nikon and would love to take photos like you.

Care to share?

[chrisa62401]

Cool set-up!

What are kenko tubes?

I have a tokina 100 macro for my Nikon and would love to take photos like you.

Care to share?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kenko-Automa...item415b009d6e

[ddp4me]

Sorry but I am not sure if you are Chris A. or Chrisa,

I didn't think of using extension tubes with a macro but it sure works for you.
Thanks for the info and the inspiration on a possible set-up to improve my capture.

Darlene

[Geoff F]

Tubes will get you closer to the subject, Darlene, but that only works if you are physically able to get closer.

For instance, when photographing insects you can't get closer than the fly/run away distance. And with nervous subjects that may well be 12 ins or more.

Tubes aren't cheap for reputable makes, say £100 or thereabouts. And you do lose a little bit of light, but altering the ISO setting or using flash should overcome this problem.

Personally, I use a 180 mm macro lens, often plus a 1.4x converter. But for occasional use, when I don't have the 180 lens with me, I have successfully used a 25 mm converter on a 70-200 lens but that still only gets me to around 2 ft. which is a bit distant for smaller insects although sufficient for larger stuff like butterflies etc.

[Letrow]

Tubes will get you closer to the subject, Darlene, but that only works if you are physically able to get closer.

For instance, when photographing insects you can't get closer than the fly/run away distance. And with nervous subjects that may well be 12 ins or more.

Tubes aren't cheap for reputable makes, say £100 or thereabouts. And you do lose a little bit of light, but altering the ISO setting or using flash should overcome this problem.

Personally, I use a 180 mm macro lens, often plus a 1.4x converter. But for occasional use, when I don't have the 180 lens with me, I have successfully used a 25 mm converter on a 70-200 lens but that still only gets me to around 2 ft. which is a bit distant for smaller insects although sufficient for larger stuff like butterflies etc.

And to add to that Geoff. I love what you can do with tubes, but so far it is only for Canon users I think. Nikon doesn't give me the possibility. And it really depends on your subject as well or your patience.

I am the impatient kind of macro shooter. All my insect macros are done in sufficient light on manual settings (1/250 sec and F/11) and handheld. The bees and others that I like to shoot just don't want to pose, so this is my solution. Get as close as possible with the 105mm macro and shoot.
I throw away a lot of shots of course, but there are some keepers.
For me this works best, but I am envious of some of the results that others get with tubes.

[chrisa62401]

http://www.amazon.com/Kenko-Auto-Ext.../dp/B000JG88JU

Nikon tubes.

[aekonet]

failposting...

[Letrow]

http://www.amazon.com/Kenko-Auto-Ext.../dp/B000JG88JU

Nikon tubes.

Interesting, but some of the reviews mention that flexing is an issue with heavier Nikkor lenses. As I use the 105mm (very heavy), I'll probably have to wait for better alternatives.

[Letrow]

Looks like a bombus lucorum to me (otherwise probably terrestris)

[Skyline]

I bought the other day a cheaper way to get into macro. I got a Raynox DCR-250 Macro Attachment. I've found this works best on my 55-200.
A bit fiddly at first, move a few millimeters the wrong way and it goes out of focus.
I can see me having fun with it though

These were taken 2 days ago with it.

[Steve S]

A cool looking caterpillar. Not shure what kind though.

[ddp4me]

Steve,

Wonderful picture of what I thought to be a tomato worm.

Looking it up, turns out to be a tobacco worm (Manduca sexta caterpillar) instead. Although, it sounds like they can be found on either plant.

Here is the Wikipedia quote on identification.

"The Five-Spotted Hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata) is a brown and gray hawk moth of the Sphingidae family. The caterpillar is often referred to as the tomato hornworm and can be a major pest in gardens. Tomato hornworms are closely related to (and sometimes confused with) the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta). This confusion arises because caterpillars of both species feed on the foliage of various plants from the family Solanaceae, so either species can be found on tobacco or tomato leaves, and the plant on which the caterpillar is found does not indicate its species. The larvae of these species can be distinguished by their lateral markings; tomato hornworms have eight V-shaped markings while tobacco hornworms have seven diagonal lines.[2] Furthermore, the caterpillars can be distinguished from the larval stage onwards by the color of the horns on their back ends: M. quinquemaculata caterpillars have black horns, while Manduca sexta caterpillars have red horns."

I have bad memories of picking tomatoes as a child and coming across some of their cousins.

Your photo sure is nicely done and may even help to change my view of them.

[Steve S]

Steve,

Wonderful picture of what I thought to be a tomato worm.

Looking it up, turns out to be a tobacco worm (Manduca sexta caterpillar) instead. Although, it sounds like they can be found on either plant.

Here is the Wikipedia quote on identification.

"The Five-Spotted Hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata) is a brown and gray hawk moth of the Sphingidae family. The caterpillar is often referred to as the tomato hornworm and can be a major pest in gardens. Tomato hornworms are closely related to (and sometimes confused with) the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta). This confusion arises because caterpillars of both species feed on the foliage of various plants from the family Solanaceae, so either species can be found on tobacco or tomato leaves, and the plant on which the caterpillar is found does not indicate its species. The larvae of these species can be distinguished by their lateral markings; tomato hornworms have eight V-shaped markings while tobacco hornworms have seven diagonal lines.[2] Furthermore, the caterpillars can be distinguished from the larval stage onwards by the color of the horns on their back ends: M. quinquemaculata caterpillars have black horns, while Manduca sexta caterpillars have red horns."

I have bad memories of picking tomatoes as a child and coming across some of their cousins.

Your photo sure is nicely done and may even help to change my view of them.

Thank you darlene, I've never seen one before. Thanks for the info, and the kind words.

[Letrow]

Syrphidae

[Geoff F]

Peter, see that light and dark banding on the eyes. That makes me think this is probably Eristalis tenax; and that is a perfect example of the effect which can be difficult to capture on photos.

The dark face stripe also looks good for that species.

[ktuli]

Peter, see that light and dark banding on the eyes. That makes me think this is probably Eristalis tenax; and that is a perfect example of the effect which can be difficult to capture on photos.

Honestly, it looks like a reflection to me. Note how the leaves in the background are producing a similar effect on much larger scale?

- Bill

[Geoff F]

But in this particular case, Bill, those light and dark bands on the eye which are caused by differently angled hairs are part of the identification process. The angle of light has perfectly captured this effect.

Under some light angles they can have red and green tints.

[Letrow]

Peter, see that light and dark banding on the eyes. That makes me think this is probably Eristalis tenax; and that is a perfect example of the effect which can be difficult to capture on photos.

The dark face stripe also looks good for that species.

You amaze me every time. And it shows me that there is a long way to go (for me) in the identification of these insects. These are the little details that you probably look for when there isn't much else to go on.
I have to say that your contributions have changed the way I look at these insects over the past couple of months. At first I didn't even notice them, now it is fun to find them and photograph them.
Winter is coming though (as Eddard Stark would have said), so I see them less and less now.