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My Best Bird Shot

Don Ellis

Member
And it's not even a bird...



And here's one from the back...



Both with a Canon G9 and Canon Macro Lenses 250D and 500D (+6 diopters).

Don
 

Will

New member
Beautiful images Don.
I think it's a horse fly (ouch) and the poor thing has mites.
 
S

sphexx

Guest
Beautiful images Don.
I think it's a horse fly (ouch) and the poor thing has mites.
It does look and seems behave like some kind of predatory fly but it has 2 pairs of wing and so it is NOT a fly:lecture:. I don't think it is a bee either.
 

Will

New member
It does look and seems behave like some kind of predatory fly but it has 2 pairs of wing and so it is NOT a fly:lecture:. I don't think it is a bee either.
Good point.
Though some fly wings look like that even though they are a single pair.
Now where did I put that insect reference book?
 
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S

sphexx

Guest
OT Re: My Best Bird Shot

Good point.
Though some fly wings look like that even though they are a single pair.
Now where did I put that insect reference book?
I'm fairly sure there are 2 pairs but in the first shot you should be able to see the halteres if it were a fly.
 

Don Ellis

Member
What a lot of nice comments to wake up to this morning. Thank you all... I'll make a few personal replies right after I get the heavy work out of the way -- posting three more photos (five if you count links... and I do). :p

I said that I might go out and try shooting him with a tripod (and camera) in hopes of getting a little more depth of field. So I did... but he wasn't cooperating at all. I walked out to find that he had a new perch -- a ceramic birdcage on a table in our garden. It was perfectly, really, with the nice blue-glazed knob. So I set everything up, took a couple of blurry test shots, decided that I might be less intrusive if I attached a long cable release... and he loved it. So much so that it became his new perch. I gently waved that cord this way and that and he would either hang on for the ride, or fly off for three seconds at a time before returning to it. I finally gave up and shot him freehand.

These first two shots are with the DP2. An interesting fact about the first shot of the entire setup is that I must have put my thumb on the exposure compensation button by mistake... but I was in such a hurry to leave the house that all I could do was shake my head at the overexposed image I saw in the LCD viewfinder. When I finally got it into SPP, I saw that it was set to EC +1.7... normally, I would just delete something like this, but I shoot RAW so I dialled in EC -2.0 (which gives me my usual -0.3). And here's the photo... not bad for exposure.



Click on the image for a larger image... and you can also see my other problem: Mr. Bee (or whatever he is)...





Just in case you missed him, here's another clickable photo:





And here's a handheld shot that I like for the surroundings -- his shoulders are in greater focus than his little flat face and round eyes, but it's still fairly charming...



Cheers,
Don
 

Don Ellis

Member
Beautiful images Don.
I think it's a horse fly (ouch) and the poor thing has mites.
Thank you, Will... I don't think it's a horsefly... I met enough of those guys on my grandparents' Kansas farm and they are truly awful, awe-inspiring, aggravating... take your pick. Say horsefly and I get a mental, visual and auditory image immediately... and this guy doesn't match, not that I know what he is.

I'll see if I can find someone knowledgeable.

Don
 

Don Ellis

Member
Don, these look incredible. The bee looks massive in the first shot.
Thank you... he's pretty big in real life, but not huge. Maybe an inch long. Such is the power of macro photography. :p

Still, if he stings, you wouldn't want to be there. But he has landed on my finger, more out of curiosity than anything, and I blew him off with a puff of air. So he's not aggressive.

Don
 

Don Ellis

Member
How the devil did you ever get the bee to pose for you? Super glue? Amazing.
He's really quite something... almost as inquisitive as the praying mantises. As soon as the camera comes out now, he heads for it. Got a tripod? He wants to feel it. Got a head? He wants to land on it. But it all seems like curiosity more than anything.

Shoo him away and he comes right back... not angry, just persistent.

Don
 

Don Ellis

Member
Gorgeous Macro work Don, perfectly executed!
Thank you, Lili... he's been fun to photograph. It's been awhile since I've found anything interesting in the garden... and one day I found two creatures, a double bonus.



Don
 

Will

New member
That is really beautiful, I love the softness of it.

I have an image of what looks like a similar pair of insects to your friendly "fly/bee". I was quite proud of it until you posted your shots which make me realize I get a bit carried away with the levels and unsharp mask on my macros.

Posted this before I'm sure but the similarity of insect is interesting perhaps.
GRD2
 
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