Mid swing

Mid swing, originally uploaded by imarsman.

I took several shots of Nancy swinging from a vine at St. John's Conservation Area, having fun and reliving childhood memories. She and I both like this shot. She told me not to crop it. On reflection I agree.

Using Flash

Ok, I admit now that flash is useful in macro work. I had been one to poo-poo the use of flash. Perhaps this was doe to having seen too many over-lit photos. The other day out of curiousity I decided to find out what I could get out of the built-in flash for my Nikon D50. By itself, with lens extended all the way I got a shadowed section on about 20% of the photo where the flash could not reach. So, I rigged up a diffuser using a cutout from a vinegar bottle. It diffuses, of course, and also sends the light down where the onboard flash would otherwise be blocked. I've found that it works well to warm up my photos without being harsh. It also to allows me to freeze action and thus get better detail on my macro shots.

There are two funnel spiders in our basement, a male and a female. The male hangs out at the entryway to the funnel and the female hides inside. Nancy saw the male this afternoon and wanted to kill it. Janneke loved it, as did I. Without flash it would have been impossible to photograph in our basement. However, with the flash and diffuser, I took some pictures. At this point Janneke decided she wanted to feed the spider. She found a wood louse and we put it by the lair. That's when we saw the female for the first time, emerging from the funnel web. The male kept his distance and absolutely ignored the food. He obviously only wanted to mate. The female grabbed the louse and quickly retreated with it to the funnel. She also did this with some Milkweed Bugs we gave her too.

Descending

Descending, originally uploaded by imarsman.

Here's an ant going down the other side of an obstacle. Amazing ability to traverse terrain. Looking at this one, you can see that ants are well designed for strength. It's body is rigid and its legs provide great leverage. Just amazing.

Alone

Alone, originally uploaded by imarsman.

One of my best insect photos. This ant was pausing at the crest of a plant branch before beginning her descent. Standing at the crest of a hill and looking over the horizon is something that people can identify with. The sky was overcast when shooting this photo, so glare is reduced, both on the ant and the succulent plant that in sunlight produces lots of points of glare.

Investigating

Investigating, originally uploaded by imarsman.

I like this shot. To get it I lay flat on the ground and had the lens pretty much parallel to the ground. The ant's head is in focus and her antennae are outstretched, indicating, I think, investigation. It's amazing what can be done with six legs, pheromones, and a finely honed neural network. It's also amazing how much one comes to love and respect small creatures that one would tread on for fun as a child. My father stopped me from doing this one day when I was about seven I think. He told me that the ants in the hill I was obliterating were living things and deserved respect. This has stayed with me.

Investigating

Investigating, originally uploaded by imarsman.

Here's one of my recent ant pictures, taken with the new Nikon D50, and just as importantly, a 60mm Micro Nikkor AF lens. I'm sure I will take many more photos, some of which will be better, but I like the action in this one. These ants were congregating around a wilted flower and dead midge. The midge was eventually carried away. All of my ant shots so far, except those taken on a cloudy day, have driven home how useful a polarizing filter would be in reducing glare. So, I ordered one today, a B+W 62mm polarizer. It's a good one, made in Germany. Within limits, my philosophy is to purchase good quality things, spending a bit more to get something that will be more useful in the long run. I applied this philosophy to my polarizer puchase, paying $50 instead of $25 for a multicoated polarizer with brass ring mount rather than an uncoated one with an aluminum mount.