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Author Topic: Insects  (Read 49220 times)

JohnKoerner

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Re: Insects
« Reply #60 on: September 29, 2010, 09:15:53 pm »

Some great shots, folks.  BTW, Jack, did you know that crab spiders get their colouring from the foods they eat?
Mike.


Okay now, Mike, I am going to have to take issue with you on that one :)

I know that the foods venomous snakes eat can drastically increase/decrease their venom toxicity ... and I know that the same holds true with poison dart frogs ... and I also know that animals (who are genetically-capable) can alter their coloration to match their surroundings ... BUT! >>> this is the first I have heard of food affecting the color of spiders ??? ???

I think that White-Banded Crab Spiders are "white with bands" ... and Goldenrod Crab Spiders are "Golden" ... regardless of what they eat

Can you show me some reference material on that, Mike?

I'd be glad to learn something new, but methinks you might be mistaken on this one Good Sir ...

Jack




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pegelli

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Re: Insects
« Reply #61 on: September 30, 2010, 09:06:33 am »

I've commented and discussed so much in "user critiques" that it's time for another picture which seems to fit this general theme well. It's a portrait of a moth (undetermined) sitting on the stones around our front door.


Sony A700 + 100/2.8 macro + diffused Metz flash

I like it myself, but obviously lacking objectivity on my own shots I'd be interested in your comments
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pieter, aka pegelli

Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Insects
« Reply #62 on: September 30, 2010, 10:23:33 am »

Pieter,
Are you sure its not a woodchuck?
I like it. From my normal viewing distance I don't expect a moth to be so furry.

Eric
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pegelli

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Re: Insects
« Reply #63 on: September 30, 2010, 11:28:55 am »

Don't know Eric, the woodchucks I find in Wikipedia look different  ::)

Here's the same one from ~90 degree different angle:



Probably a better registration, but I like the first better as a picture.
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pieter, aka pegelli

jeremypayne

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Re: Insects
« Reply #64 on: September 30, 2010, 11:36:44 am »

DIET-INDUCED AND MORPHOLOGICAL COLOR CHANGES IN JUVENILE CRAB SPIDERS (ARANEAE, THOMISIDAE)
ABSTRACT. The effect of dietary pigments on abdominal color of juvenile spiders was examined in
the laboratory using the flower-dwelling crab spiders Misumenops asperatus (Hentz 1847), Misumenoides
formosipes (Walckenaer 1837), and Misumena vatia (Clerck 1757) (Thomisidae). Because these species
lack hypodermal chromes, ingested prey pigments may show through the epidermis and affect opisthosomal
coloration. Diet-induced color changes were restricted to the opisthosoma, and all three spider
species responded similarly to dietary pigments.


http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v28_n1/arac_28_01_0056.pdf
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Riaan van Wyk

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Re: Insects
« Reply #65 on: September 30, 2010, 03:11:55 pm »


Dragon Acrobatics



Another Angle ...


Jack






.
[/quote]

Stunning compositions Jack.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2010, 03:13:35 pm by Riaan van Wyk »
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JohnKoerner

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Re: Insects
« Reply #66 on: October 01, 2010, 12:02:52 am »

DIET-INDUCED AND MORPHOLOGICAL COLOR CHANGES IN JUVENILE CRAB SPIDERS (ARANEAE, THOMISIDAE)
ABSTRACT. The effect of dietary pigments on abdominal color of juvenile spiders was examined in
the laboratory using the flower-dwelling crab spiders Misumenops asperatus (Hentz 1847), Misumenoides
formosipes (Walckenaer 1837), and Misumena vatia (Clerck 1757) (Thomisidae). Because these species
lack hypodermal chromes, ingested prey pigments may show through the epidermis and affect opisthosomal
coloration. Diet-induced color changes were restricted to the opisthosoma, and all three spider
species responded similarly to dietary pigments.

http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v28_n1/arac_28_01_0056.pdf


Well, there you go. Ya learn something new every day.

Hats off to Mike for presenting yet another interesting factoid




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JohnKoerner

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Re: Insects
« Reply #67 on: October 01, 2010, 12:03:46 am »

Stunning compositions Jack.


Thank you very much!



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JohnKoerner

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Re: Insects
« Reply #68 on: October 01, 2010, 12:16:10 am »

I've commented and discussed so much in "user critiques" that it's time for another picture which seems to fit this general theme well. It's a portrait of a moth (undetermined) sitting on the stones around our front door.


Hello Pegelli;

My own opinion is that if that moth would have been on top of a flower or a leaf ... or in some other natural setting ... then it would have had more impact than a photo of a moth on your wall.

Nothing wrong with the focus/subject, etc.; it's the setting which was kinda drab.

Jack

PS: To add an interesting factoid of my own, in the US there are over 765 species of butterfly ... but nearly 11,000 different species of moths. And yet there are hundreds of different books on butterflies, but only two authoritative guides have ever been written on moths (the first in 1903 and the second in 1985).
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Riaan van Wyk

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Re: Insects
« Reply #69 on: October 01, 2010, 05:33:29 am »

Just hatched and busy drying it's wings for take off.

Riaan van Wyk

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Re: Insects
« Reply #70 on: October 01, 2010, 05:37:28 am »

And another woodchuck uhm I mean moth. A Cabbage Tree Emperor

pegelli

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Re: Insects
« Reply #71 on: October 01, 2010, 06:04:34 am »


Hello Pegelli;

My own opinion is that if that moth would have been on top of a flower or a leaf ... or in some other natural setting ... then it would have had more impact than a photo of a moth on your wall.

Nothing wrong with the focus/subject, etc.; it's the setting which was kinda drab.

Jack

PS: To add an interesting factoid of my own, in the US there are over 765 species of butterfly ... but nearly 11,000 different species of moths. And yet there are hundreds of different books on butterflies, but only two authoritative guides have ever been written on moths (the first in 1903 and the second in 1985).

Hi Jack,
Thanks for the feedback and the extra factoïd, always interesting to learn here.
Agree with you on the background, makes it drab for a true nature lover, but I don't mind too much, but I'm probably more attached to my front door vs the average member here :)

Also with these following shots I've been unlucky with the background as you can see.
These were taken on a bicycle ride where photography was not the main objective, so I only had one lens with me, an old Tamron 28-200 superzoom. With a bit of cropping I'm still not unhappy with the results:







Comments (background and other) most welcome. Always trying to learn.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2010, 06:07:25 am by pegelli »
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pieter, aka pegelli

Dick Roadnight

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Re: Insects
« Reply #72 on: October 01, 2010, 06:47:14 am »

Comments (background and other) most welcome. Always trying to learn.

It is almost impossible to get a sharp image of a live insect ( OK, you can cheat and photograph a 4 inch butterfly).

If you use a small enough aperture to get enough DOF, you get diffraction... but that can mean that, as no part of the image is sharp, then it all looks "acceptably sharp"

Sometimes you might be able to get a moth co-planer and use a T/S lens..

Using MF gives you more DOF problems, "macro lenses" that focus to infinity are are not ideal for 1:1.

The Schneider Apo-Digitar Macro 120 is a great lens (are they going to make a T/S DSLR version?), perhaps it would be possible to set it up where wasps walk into the nest?

In a silly moment I wondered if it would be possible to put the Apo-Digitar Macro 120 with a Schneider eShutter on the front of a (lightweight) Sinar F3 on the front of an H4D-60... Use a double e-release with a delay circuit to sync camera and shutter?

The Hasselblad macro lens is not officially compatible with the HTS, but I think it works if you use an extension tube with it. 
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JohnKoerner

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Re: Insects
« Reply #73 on: October 01, 2010, 08:18:03 am »

Just hatched and busy drying it's wings for take off.


This is an excellent shot Riaan, compositionally.

The only thing holding it back from being a fantastic overall shot is the brownish background drowns-out the dragonfly's own brown-colored markings, rather than helping them stand out.

Jack




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JohnKoerner

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Re: Insects
« Reply #74 on: October 01, 2010, 08:19:30 am »

And another woodchuck uhm I mean moth. A Cabbage Tree Emperor


Beautiful.

The black background lets every detail stand out.
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JohnKoerner

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Re: Insects
« Reply #75 on: October 01, 2010, 08:36:00 am »

Hi Jack,
Thanks for the feedback and the extra factoïd, always interesting to learn here.

My pleasure. I just bought "the" definitive guide to southeastern moths here in the U.S. (by Dr. Covell) and learned this fact myself.

Moth species outnumber butterfly species by more than 14-to-1 and yet there is hardly any written material on them.




Agree with you on the background, makes it drab for a true nature lover, but I don't mind too much, but I'm probably more attached to my front door vs the average member here :)

Well, as you said in another post (on another thread), part of photography is pleasing the eye of the viewer ... and most people who enjoy photos of natural subjects want to see them in their natural surroundings :)




Also with these following shots I've been unlucky with the background as you can see.
These were taken on a bicycle ride where photography was not the main objective, so I only had one lens with me, an old Tamron 28-200 superzoom. With a bit of cropping I'm still not unhappy with the results:
Comments (background and other) most welcome. Always trying to learn.

What I have found, when confronting interesting subjects in harsh lighting, is simply to use a flash.

If there is "empty space" behind the subject, 9x out of 10 that space will come out black when you use a flash which removes the bizarre color harsh light can give the background and in turn makes your subject really stand-out.

If there are branches and such behind your subject, the use of the right amount of flash again removes the harshness of bad mid-day lighting, and lets those branches look more normal-colored.

Without the use of flash in the harsh, mid-day sun ... the background usually becomes a sickly green (rather than a cool, pleasant green) and the true coloration of your subject is really hard to get, even with hours of post-processing.

So, the next time you find a dragonfly (or other interesting subject) in the harsh mid-day light, try taking some photos naturally ... and then take some with the flash ... and compare your results ... and I think the photos with flash will prove to be your keepers.

Other than that, outdoor macro shots using natural light are best taken in the morning, IMO, before the sunlight gets too harsh.

That is my $0.02 :)

Jack



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« Last Edit: October 01, 2010, 08:45:44 am by John Koerner »
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JohnKoerner

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Re: Insects
« Reply #76 on: October 01, 2010, 08:54:44 am »

It is almost impossible to get a sharp image of a live insect ( OK, you can cheat and photograph a 4 inch butterfly).
If you use a small enough aperture to get enough DOF, you get diffraction... but that can mean that, as no part of the image is sharp, then it all looks "acceptably sharp"
Sometimes you might be able to get a moth co-planer and use a T/S lens..
Using MF gives you more DOF problems, "macro lenses" that focus to infinity are are not ideal for 1:1.
The Schneider Apo-Digitar Macro 120 is a great lens (are they going to make a T/S DSLR version?), perhaps it would be possible to set it up where wasps walk into the nest?
In a silly moment I wondered if it would be possible to put the Apo-Digitar Macro 120 with a Schneider eShutter on the front of a (lightweight) Sinar F3 on the front of an H4D-60... Use a double e-release with a delay circuit to sync camera and shutter?
The Hasselblad macro lens is not officially compatible with the HTS, but I think it works if you use an extension tube with it.  


Interesting observations.

I personally rather enjoy the blurred-bokeh effect in many macro shots. Other than that, the use of flash and small aperture (f/22 - f/32) can bring a majority of the subject into focus.

I have seen some people use a tilt-shift lens, and the stitching of 2-4 images, to create "total-focus" macro shots which can be very compelling.

As far as stunning ultra-close-up detail goes, IMO nothing beats the Canon MPE-65 lens, which ranges from 1:1 all the way to 5:1 (5x lifesize). I don't have this lens yet, but will have it in my bag for the next season. The photos I have seen people post of their ultra-close-ups are simply unmatched by conventional lenses, with or without adapters.

Jack



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Dick Roadnight

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Re: Insects
« Reply #77 on: October 01, 2010, 10:26:14 am »


Interesting observations.

As far as stunning ultra-close-up detail goes, IMO nothing beats the Canon MPE-65 lens, which ranges from 1:1 all the way to 5:1 (5x lifesize). I don't have this lens yet, but will have it in my bag for the next season. The photos I have seen people post of their ultra-close-ups are simply unmatched by conventional lenses, with or without adapters.

Jack
The Schneider Apo-Digitar Marco does 1:3 to 3:1, which is pretty useful on 645... I also have a set of Zeiss Luminars for 1:1 to 40:1, and I intend to get an eShutter for them.

If I ever get a D3X, I could try my Micro-Nikkor 200 ¿Anyone use this lens for digital?

There is a butterfly farm just up the road,,, so I would be able to get specimens to photograph.
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JohnKoerner

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Re: Insects
« Reply #78 on: October 01, 2010, 10:31:37 am »

The Schneider Apo-Digitar Marco does 1:3 to 3:1, which is pretty useful on 645... I also have a set of Zeiss Luminars for 1:1 to 40:1, and I intend to get an eShutter for them.
If I ever get a D3X, I could try my Micro-Nikkor 200 ¿Anyone use this lens for digital?
There is a butterfly farm just up the road,,, so I would be able to get specimens to photograph.


I am sure you will get exceptional results from this. Further, most butterfly shots don't need even 1:1, let alone 5:1 or 3:1 magnification. Interesting composition and rich coloration are ultimately more effective means to display a butterfly than ultra-close magnification.

Regarding the farm, I have a butterfly farm up the road from me as well, but they forbid the sale of any photographic images taken therein, so I would check the legalities of the farm in your area before investing a lot of time/effort in creating a body of work from it. Still, these places can provide rich personal enjoyment and a great place to hone your skills at composition and lighting :)

Jack




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Dick Roadnight

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Re: Insects
« Reply #79 on: October 01, 2010, 10:41:07 am »


Regarding the farm, I have a butterfly farm up the road from me as well, but they forbid the sale of any photographic images taken therein, so I would check the legalities of the farm in your area before investing a lot of time/effort in creating a body of work from it. Still, these places can provide rich personal enjoyment and a great place to hone your skills at composition and lighting :)

Jack
They may have a photographer, or it might be possible to become their photographer, or take some pics that they might use... but my local butterfly farm sells specimens for photography.
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