Man, was this one difficult! These little robbers are incredibly skittish - an absolute pain (literally!) to shoot. They will hold onto their perch (usually the outer tip of leaves) no matter how hard the wind may blow - but as soon as you get anywhere near them, touch the leaf they are on (no matter how gently) they will fly right away. So I have found that the only way to photograph them is to just stand there and shoot away without any means of stability.
Somehow I found one little guy that would let me get close enough to focus, and 66 shots later, over a period of about 10 minutes of standing bent over with sweat pooling in my eyes, the leaf blowing in the wind, and my hands shaking from fatigue – I just gave up and checked to see if I got anything at all. Out of all those shots – about 30 missed the fly entirely, 33 were completely out of focus, and3 were good enough to focus stack. I was ecstatic! 3 good photos taken completely handheld in windy conditions at 5:1 magnification at f/8 is no small feat! And even better – the background wasn’t black!
I realize I’ve posted this same species several times now, but that
doesn’t matter – these little Holcocephala robbers are just too
amazing not to post.
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I don't like having to say it - but could you guys cool it with posting all those big flashing group invite pictures in the comments? It's alright if you want if you want to to invite me to a group, and I appreciate the enthusiasm, but try to understand that they are interpreted by some as a bit annoying.
So in short - don't follow your group rules.
Alex_14, DARREN ST0NE, Forkie, and 625 other people added this photo to their favorites.
View 20 more comments
Leda Moreira 29 months ago | reply
This albun is amazing !!! Perfect work!!!
Buzz of Glentrool - A curious naturalist 28 months ago | reply
deservedly winner of many award
arnthorr 28 months ago | reply
wow nice
karinhardorff 23 months ago | reply
Again a stunning macro! You make stunning pictures. Great work
Bert Veerman 23 months ago | reply
wauw .............this kind of photografy , I like , I think I can learn a lot of you . Very Beautiful . Gr Bert
areacode 23 months ago | reply
Just amazing work! I've just started to do insect macros, and can totally relate to your story! Bravo!!
Hafsah Mohammed 22 months ago | reply
Amazing!
Val-Playing catch up! 22 months ago | reply
Impressive and intense macro!!!
PhotographicBlog.com 20 months ago | reply
Great Shot :)
We included it in our post :
25 Incredible Close-up Macro Photos of Insects
tobyjug5 20 months ago | reply
lovely portrait
ROSCOEVISION 15 months ago | reply
Awesome!
midnightrook 14 months ago | reply
You're definitely an inspiration and extreme motivation for Macro Photography/ Creature Documentation. You make it seem so easy, but seeing how hard you were working for the shot... I know now that perseverance really does pay off. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I'll have a couple of photos to post.
Thanks for all the information you've provided!
Blockdog13 14 months ago | reply
Amazing!
beckymaldonado 14 months ago | reply
You have the patience of a saint. I had to chill this one to get in focus.
SueHarding 14 months ago | reply
Totally amazing...!
sheldon1506 10 months ago | reply
Amazing!!!!!!!!!
Jon Richfield 8 months ago | reply
Sorry to be so unoriginal, but that shot is just sooo unreasonably beautiful...... Now all I need is for you to go back and take a few more. You see, firstly, I would be fascinated to know whether both males and females have such impressive eyes. Do you happen to know? And secondly, my own eyes were bugging out because around the central ocellus, there are several shiny knobs. They look irresistibly like supernumerary ocelli, but I can find no reference to anything of the kind. Any ideas?
zxgirl 8 months ago | reply
gred. 2 weeks ago | reply
Absolutely stunning with vibrant, sharp details.
JJMWheatley 2 weeks ago | reply
Wow amazing.