Milking time.

Andy Johnson

Andy Johnson

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Andrew
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So out in the cow shed the ants were a milking ....A song perhaps ?

Red ant by Andy Johnson, on Flickr

Red ant by Andy Johnson, on Flickr

Red ant by Andy Johnson, on Flickr

Red ant by Andy Johnson, on Flickr

Never seen a Wasp beetle before.

Wasp Beetle by Andy Johnson, on Flickr

Wasp Beetle by Andy Johnson, on Flickr

Thick-Legged Flower Beetle Oedemera nobilis by Andy Johnson, on Flickr

The Crane fly was a hand held stack of 5. I was holding it by it's wings in one hand and the camera in the other. Not easy with the MP-E. Missed a bit off the antennae too. :( Using Zeren.

Crane fly by Andy Johnson, on Flickr
 
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Cool collect of aliens, Andrew!

My I note that the luminance of the second
take's rendition is better than the first? All
the others are very tasteful!
 
Excellent set of images, I love ant's (y)
 
Lovely examples of the Ants Andy, So jealous that Nikon don`t do a equivalent lens:(
 
davholla said:
Great photos, I can't even take a photo with my MPE without something to support it, let alone with one hand.
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Thanks Dave. I did the same with the The Ant on the blue back ground. I tried holding some blue card behind it at the same time. I suppose i have had practise holding stems in the wind.

Graham said:
Lovely examples of the Ants Andy, So jealous that Nikon don`t do a equivalent lens:(
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Thanks Graham. Apparently Canon have stopped or is going to stop making this lens, i'm hoping they can still replace parts. A big worry should it go wrong.
 
Kodiak Qc said:
•


Cool collect of aliens, Andrew!

My I note that the luminance of the second
take's rendition is better than the first? All
the others are very tasteful!
Click to expand...

I agree, not sure what happened there, and i also forgot to edit out a nasty piece of sensor dust by it's leg.
 
So Andy, your crane fly shot...did you set your focus, fstop, iso 3200, (or something like that), fire off a burst and move camera for focus, then chose 5 from a selection. I've been meaning to try this technique but have done so yet. It's a great shot btw...
 
The thing is i had no intention of doing a stack until i had the fly in my hand. I was using the MP-E and needed it still. I was also trying out F9 as suggested for this lens. Basically i wasn't prepared but had the camera pretty much set up to how i wanted it for close ups. So F9 1/200 and ISO 400. ISO was on auto but i wished i had set it lower, but hey. :) I think the idea is to start at either end and take a succession of single shots until you get to the other end. With the MP-E lens and being hand held, it was a case of just taking lots of single shots focusing on the main part, they are all going to be a slightly different focus anyway because the DOF is so narrow. I actually took 9 but 4 were so far out of alignment they were unuseable. So there are 2 problems with the pic. The bottom mandible thingys are OOF and part of the antennae are missing..I think the first wasp beetle is also a stack of only 2.

Glad you liked the Pics and hope this has helped.
 
Yeah, super bit of information Andy. I took a crane fly shot ages ago and it was ok...Yours is much better.
I'll see if I can find it...
 
2017-06-03_07-42-02.jpg

I think mine was 2 shots stacked...prefer yours. ;)

I think I used a 100mm 2.8 is.

Just check info...it was my mp-e65. F7.1, iso 200, 1/125 sec.
 
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Being honest, your shots are really stunning. They also seem to be getting better and more interesting as your posts increase.
 
joetheslug said:
View attachment 103413

I think mine was 2 shots stacked...prefer yours. ;)

I think I used a 100mm 2.8 is.

Just check info...it was my mp-e65. F7.1, iso 200, 1/125 sec.
Click to expand...

Well, i think yours is more in focus than mine. There is or was what looks like dust on your sensor, so if your going to make a big stack this will be amplified. Love to see what you do when you do it, i'm still learning too.
 
Haha...yeah my sensor was filthy. ..sent off for cleaning shortly after that shot. ..
 
HarryLens said:
Being honest, your shots are really stunning. They also seem to be getting better and more interesting as your posts increase.
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Thanks Shane. My wife and i share the same hobby and we will easily spend 8 or 14 hours with our camera's over the weekend, so between us we have a better chance of finding something interesting hopefully.
 
Andy Johnson said:
Well, i think yours is more in focus than mine. There is or was what looks like dust on your sensor, so if your going to make a big stack this will be amplified. Love to see what you do when you do it, i'm still learning too.
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I will try and do something asap...
 
Andy Johnson said:
Thanks Shane. My wife and i share the same hobby and we will easily spend 8 or 14 hours with our camera's over the weekend, so between us we have a better chance of finding something interesting hopefully.
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How many other people are married to a woman who likes macro photography? My wife looks at the photos but will never make the effort to take one.
 
Out of interest, are these cropped images or the whole frame and what magnification on the MP-E65?
I still haven't got the hang of mine so haven't tried to use it in a looooong time. Must dig it out again and try.
 
Ploddles said:
Out of interest, are these cropped images or the whole frame and what magnification on the MP-E65?
I still haven't got the hang of mine so haven't tried to use it in a looooong time. Must dig it out again and try.
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Hmmm, i wished i would write stuff down when i take a shot. They are most definitely cropped and no more than x2. Any more then that i would shake too much without some sort of support. The Wasp Beetle on the black background was my wifes using 100 USM. Forgot to credit her...
 
Just looking at Naturespot about this species and it's alot smaller then i thought looking at yours. 4.5 - 7mm It looks like a Huntsman spider which is huge compared to this. Excellent attempt i think, though you have slightly missed the front. Did it decide to move ? Just like my Queen ant, she decided to walk away before i had finished...

Acromyrmex octospinosus Queen by Andy Johnson, on Flickr
 
I think i missed a couple of frames that include those focus points. It was breezy as well...it's more difficult technique than I thought. My back was aching afterwards...holding position , knackering. Love the colours of you ant!
 
joetheslug said:
I think i missed a couple of frames that include those focus points. It was breezy as well...it's more difficult technique than I thought. My back was aching afterwards...holding position , knackering. Love the colours of you ant!
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Ha ha yes i done the same with this dragon fly. I forgot the frames with its wings in lol. Oh well that's how we learn i suppose and your right about the back ache.

broad-bodied-chaser-F by Andy Johnson, on Flickr
 
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