Fill the Frame - Day 97 #CY365

The little assassin bug nymph "Zelus" is stalking a tiny fly on this forsythia flower tonight. I went outside with my LED light panel and macro lens to look for an interesting macro photo to "fill my frame". The wet forsythia seemed like a good place to start. I was amazed at the tiny insects I saw - spiders, aphids, little flies and this cool Zelus. Seconds after taking this photo, the Zelus sprang and caught the fly below.

Canon 5D Mark II, 1/400 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 1600, one LED Litepanel and an LED Ring Light.

Hanging On

This dragonfly is hanging on to save energy on a windy day. Canon 7D, 1/200 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100, zoom at 400mm focal length.

Dragon Fly Bokeh

This slightly backlit dragon fly's wings sparkle against the water drops on the lilly pads in the background. Canon 7D, 1/400 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100, 100-400mm zoom at 400mm.

Wing Shadow

- I caught this little green dragonfly taking a break from battling the wind this morning. The bright morning sun behind cast a sharp and defined shadow of the intricate structure of the wings. Canon 7D, 1/2000 sec @ f/11.0, 100mm macro.

Katydid

- Caught this little katydid hanging out on one of the spider daylily blooms this evening. Don't you just love mother nature's color palette? Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

Bug Boy

- My grandson Robert showing off his dragonfly outfit for insect day at preschool. Our cat Sherlock is not too sure what to make of a bug this big. Canon G1X, 1/30sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

Wall Fly

- This little dragon fly sought refuge from the windy street by resting on the wall at the entrance foyer of my building. Thanks to Anita who mentioned him to me as I was headed out for a lunch time walk with my camera. I doubt I would have noticed him and thus missed this picture opportunity. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/50 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

The Humble Moth

Moths are closely related to the butterflies, both being of the order Lepidoptera. There are over 160,000 species of moths, more than ten times the number of butterfly species. Butterflies get all of the glory with their bright colors and beautiful wings. Moths on the other hand tend to be more brown and unpretentious. They are not perceived in the same manner as their well loved cousins. But like much of mother nature, you just need to look close enough to see the beauty and glory. This humble little moth is hanging in close to our front porch light. The macro lens captures some of the fine detail of nature. This photo is also a good example of how shallow the depth of field can be on a macro lens when focused on a very close subject. As you can see the depth of field is less than 1/4 inch. Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

Life & Death

- Canon G11, 1/500 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 100 in macro mode.

The Eyes Have It

- It hard to win a starring contest when your adversary has compound eyes. Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/5, ISO 400, 100mm macro.

Katydid

- I noticed this tiny katydid on one of my Stargazer lily blooms this evening. It was very small, about a 1/4 inch in length. The 100mm macro did a nice job of capturing the image. Canon 40D, 1/200 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro focused at 1:1, handheld with image stabilization on. A little extra light provided by an LED Litepanel.

Busy

- This little fly was very busy on the newly open white flowers next door. Canon 40D, 1/60 sec @ f/11, ISO 400, 100mm macro, LED Litepanel.

Lotus Gardens

This wasp was visiting the Lotus blossoms at the Lotus Gardens on Sandbridge Road in Virginia Beach, Virginia this afternoon. The morning rain is beaded up on the floating leaves in the background giving it the sparkly look. Canon 7D, 1/2500 sec @ f/6.2, ISO 400, 100-400mm zoom at 275mm.

Buckeye

- This Buckeye butterfly was a perfect specimen. While it hard to see at the resolutions used for the blog, I was very happy with the detail in this photograph. With three insect photos in a row, I guess this is bug week. Canon 7D, 1/500 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 100mm macro.

Busy Bee

- The bees were out in force Saturday morning in the border garden at Norfolk's Botanical Gardens. They were so busy that it was very difficult to catch them in focus on the macro lens. With such a short depth of field and the need to focus manually - it was quite a challenge. I took lots of shots most of which were either soft or had the bee exiting the frame. Into the bit bucket with those. But if you take enough, occasionally you get a few good ones. You've got to just love digital photography! Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro lens, hand held.

Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

This morning I took part in a "Butterfly Shoot" at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia. Had a great time in the butterfly house and got some great pictures of butterflies and caterpillars. This is the Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar. Look for more pictures from the shoot is future blog posts. Canon 7D, 1/200, f/3.5, ISO 400, 100mm macro.

Bumblebee Moth

From 2010 Blog

- The Bumblebee Moth, more properly known as the Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis),has found a good source of nectar from the Million Bells in Susan and Duane's backyard. We enjoyed sitting out in their great backyard this evening watching the moths work the flowers and the hummingbirds visiting the feeders. Canon G11, 1/200 @ f/4.5, ISO 400 in macro mode.

Moth Under Glass

From 2010 Blog

- I guess the title of this post would be more accurate as "Moth on Glass." This little moth was on my side storm door so I took the opportunity to make her portrait. She's only about half an inch long. Canon 7D, 1/320 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro, lighting from the porch light and a Micro LED Litepanel.

Lift Off

From 2010 Blog

- At first I was disappointed that this bee took off just as I released the shutter. He was covered in pollen and I was hoping to catch that in the photo. But when I got back and downloaded the picture I found I really liked the motion blur on the bee in contract to the sharp focus of the flower. Canon 7D, 1/80 sec @ f/18.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro.

Yet Another Dragonfly

From 2010 Blog

- For some reason the dragonflies keep making themselves available for photo ops. I'm beginning to think they may have an agent calling on me soon. Please enjoy yet another dragonfly photo. Canon 1/250 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400, 100 mm macro.