From the backlog - Wasps in flight, August 2018

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Nick
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In August 2018 we had a wasp nest very conveniently placed in a garden wall and I spent ages using lots of different camera/lens combinations to compare how they performed. I have lots of these sessions still unprocessed so this morning I processed these, which used an FZ330 small sensor bridge camera with Raynox 150 close-up lens. The raw files were batch processed in DXO PhotoLab and Silkypix, with image-specific adjustments in Lightroom. There are 1300 pixel high versions in this album at Flickr.

1

1597 1 2018_08_16 P1500864_PLab3 SP9 LR 1300h-DNAI
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

2

1597 2 2018_08_16 P1500866_PLab3 SP9 LR 1300h-DNAI
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

3

1597 3 2018_08_16 P1500971_PLab3 SP9 LR 1300h-DNAI
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

4

1597 4 2018_08_16 P1510007_PLab3 SP9 LR 1300h-DNAI
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

5

1597 5 2018_08_16 P1510078_PLab3 SP9 LR 1300h-DNAI
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr
 
Mr & Mrs normal would never guess that these Wasps are in fact Hell-raisers with this body hair.
In fact it`s rare to see photos of Wasps with the hair showing like you see here.
Great shots.
 
Thanks David.



The keeper rate was low. There were many shots with empty frames. I haven't counted for the whole exercise, but for this session I shot 510 and kept 5, so 1%.
I am not surprised but well worth it. I would consider entering them into the next insect week photography.

On the subject of wasps in 2018 I was taking photos of a wasp nest in Colombia - I didn't know how dangerous they were and I was quite close so I asked my son to shout "999 if they looked dangerous".
His response "The emergency number here is 123, shouldn't I shout that?"
 
These are exceptional , best Wasp photos I have seen . The rear view ones don`t work as well for me , but the face views are amazing . I like your inclusion of how you took them too , I used to use an FZ series camera and a raynox in the past , it`s a great combination for Macro stuff . Well done indeed .
 
Mr & Mrs normal would never guess that these Wasps are in fact Hell-raisers with this body hair.
In fact it`s rare to see photos of Wasps with the hair showing like you see here.

I just assumed they were a hairy species. So is it that the hairs are raised when they fly? I suppose that would make sense to get feedback for flight control, somewhat like flies use their halteres.

Great shots.

Thanks Graham.
 
I am not surprised but well worth it. I would consider entering them into the next insect week photography.

Is that something here or elsewhere David? (Not that I'm into competitions, if it is one.)

On the subject of wasps in 2018 I was taking photos of a wasp nest in Colombia - I didn't know how dangerous they were and I was quite close so I asked my son to shout "999 if they looked dangerous".
His response "The emergency number here is 123, shouldn't I shout that?"

:D
 
These are exceptional , best Wasp photos I have seen .

Thank you!

The rear view ones don`t work as well for me , but the face views are amazing . I like your inclusion of how you took them too , I used to use an FZ series camera and a raynox in the past , it`s a great combination for Macro stuff . Well done indeed .

As described in my Journey thread, for some years I've been back and forth between various types of camera (bridge, micro four thirds, APS-C, and more recently full frame). For medium sized invertebrates like these wasps I've settled on an FZ200 with Raynox 150 and 250 for this year (until I change my mind again!).
 
What a super set of images. Love the inflight shots.

Thanks Chris.

Personally would never go near them ( wasps)

I had to be quite close to them to get those. Over the course of a couple of weeks, perhaps longer, I had a number of sessions, each an hour or so long, with different setups, with the wasps continually flying back and forth in and out of the hole inches from my head.
 
Bloody hell, you are a brave man Nick, wouldn't get me that close to wasps, I hate them, but you sir have produced some cracking shots there. No 4 stands out for me, looks like he has his eye on you, mean looking critter isn't he.
 
Bloody hell, you are a brave man Nick, wouldn't get me that close to wasps, I hate them, but you sir have produced some cracking shots there. No 4 stands out for me,

Thanks Paul.

looks like he has his eye on you, mean looking critter isn't he.

It's fascinating how differently we can see these things. I'm not troubled by them, and I was well disposed towards them as they just got on with their lives and let me watch (even though my diffuser was in their way as they flew in and out of the nest). Presumably that is why it looks to me like they are smiling. :)
 
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