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Macros

Yeah, yeah....I'll catch up at some point.

9/22/2022

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For now just wanted to plop some photos down here that I took with my new Laowa 25mm 2.5-5x, along with 35mm extension tubes x2.  
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August 30th, 2022

8/30/2022

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Chaotic macros

8/26/2022

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Crazy chaos this week, but still managed a handfull of macro shots.  A ton of moths this week too.  I need to do some catchup on those.  Seems like a lifer at least once a day.  
More Scorpionflies
Just missed the jump on this Tan Jumping Spider taking out a Polymorphic Pondweed Moth
Still practicing stacking, and I think this was a 9 photo stack for a flower
Picture

This cicada was cooperative enough to try some photo stacking also.
Still plenty of the "pretty" mosquito.  Had at least 10 individuals one night this past week.
Picture
I'm wondering if I shouldn't have gotten black canvas instead of white.  This Pale Beauty landed on a stick on the roof.  With the flash insuring a solid back background every part of this moth pops, but especially the antennae.  
Picture
I got a deal on a focusing rail, and a pristine condition 28mm Canon FD lens for reversing on top of the 100mm macro.  Played around a little bit with some dead bugs.  Software is my weakness.  Looking forward to messing with it some more.  
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The week's macros

8/19/2022

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I feel like I am taking more pics now with macro lens then I was taking with the 100-500mm zoom.  Really enjoying this type of photography, and I can barely keep up with all the moths I have been seeing.  Just this week I've had at least 14 lifers out here.  But also have nabbed some of my favorite macro shots.  I'll be working on a custom diffuser for my 3 light MF12 flash setup.  The factory ones are giving me some bad reflection I need to overcome, which is hard to do with the way the MF12 are set up.  Hopefully I can figure something out.  

One of my favorite pics I've ever taken is this Tan Jumping Spider.  I prefer this shot over the head on shots.  Something about this makes it look more like the predator it is, instead of a fuzzy, multi-eyed Teddy Bear.  See second photo for what they are capable of doing.  
Picture
Picture
Scorpionflies are also becoming a fast favorite of mine.  Wish they weren't so skittish though.  It looks like a mad scientist mashed together a Deer Fly, Scorpion, Horse and decided a Predator mouth would be awesome too.  
This Roundneck Sexton Beetle was absolutely infested with mites.  So much so I finally managed to catch it and put in fridge to try to cool them off it.  Turns out, after little research while they all chilled, it is a non-parasitic relationship.  They just hitch a ride to the next meal.  Still doesn't stop the creep factor!!
I managed a ~12 pic stack of the "pretty" mosquito (Uranotaenia sapphirina)
Picture
Just a few other macro shots taken earlier this week.  As I mentioned I hope to get a diffuser made for the MF12 and have a couple other things coming in that I hope will give me some more flexibility with my macro shooting.  
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Pretty little mosquito

8/13/2022

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I was fascinated by this little mosquito that had reflective blue scales on it.  First iNat record for this species in Michigan - Uranotaenia sapphirina
Some other macro shots from this week.  The small moth in the 2nd pic is a 3 pic stack.  Not perfectly post-processed, but haven't focused on that side of things yet.  Just being snap-happy.  
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More Macros

8/12/2022

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More macro overload

8/1/2022

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Still trying to figure out my lighting setup.  I have been using just the diffuser that came with the MF12 flashes.  Not great, but less wieldy when trying to get pics of moths.  
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July Moths

7/30/2022

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First for Michigan Peacock Brenthia Moth

7/30/2022

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Saw this little fuzzy, hyper hopping around bug last night.  I almost dismissed it as a hairy fly, or possibly a different moth fly.  I decided to take a pic, but as soon as I put the focus on it I recognized it was a wild looking moth.  Not sure I've snapped more pics of a moth before.  It wasn't the most cooperative, but at least didn't manage to fly off, just move around a lot.  This looks to be the first reported Peacock Brenthia Moth for Michigan on iNat, BAMONA or BugGuide.  
Interesting note is the theory this family of moths mimic jumping spiders to deter predation.  
Some other macro shots.
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Nightmare Spider and stone cold killer

7/29/2022

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This Spined Micrathena spider looks like something out of a horror story, and pretty sure I've seen an anthropomorphized version in a movie somewhere.  
This "aphid lion" is the larvae of a species of Lacewing.  It stacks the bodies of the vanquished on its back.  
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  • Balance the Chaos
  • Contact
  • Hobbies/Passions
    • Art >
      • Sculpting and Painting
      • Garage Kits
      • Baseball Reference
      • Chipper's Customs
    • Throwback Baseball Game Database >
      • 1990 - Brewers at White Sox
      • 1991
      • 1992
      • 1993
      • 1994
      • 1995
      • 1996
      • 1997
      • 1998
      • 1999
      • 2000
      • 2001
      • 2002
      • 2003
      • 2004
      • 2005
  • Birding
  • Birding Calhoun County
    • Calhoun County Checklist
    • Birds of Calhoun County >
      • Calhoun County Birds by Code >
        • Yearly Calhoun County Birds
      • Loons (Gaviidae) >
        • Common Loon
      • Grebes (Podicipedidae) >
        • Pied-billed Grebe
      • Pelicans (Pelecanidae)
      • Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae)
      • New World Vultures (Cathartidae)
      • Bitterns, Herons, and Allies (Ardeidae)
      • Ducks, Geese, and Swans (Anatidae) >
        • Long-tailed Duck
      • Ospreys (Pandionidae)
      • Hawks, Kites, Eagles, and Allies (Accipitridae) >
        • Northern Goshawk
      • Grouse, Pheasants, Quail, and Turkeys >
        • Greater Prairie-Chicken
        • Wild Turkey
      • Flamingos
      • Cranes, Rails, Gallinules and Coots >
        • Yellow Rail
        • King Rail
        • Virginia Rail
        • Sora
        • Common Gallinule
        • American Coot
        • Sandhill Crane
        • Whooping Crane
      • Shorebirds, Gulls and Relatives >
        • Black-necked Stilt
        • Black-bellied Plover
        • American Golden-Plover
        • Semipalmated Plover
        • Killdeer
        • Spotted Sandpiper
        • Solitary Sandpiper
        • Greater Yellowlegs
        • Lesser Yellowlegs
        • Upland Sandpiper
        • Semipalmated Sandpiper
        • Least Sandpiper
        • White-rumped Sandpiper
        • Baird's Sandpiper
        • Pectoral Sandpiper
        • Dunlin
        • Stilt Sandpiper
        • Buff-breasted Sandpiper
        • Short-billed Dowitcher
        • Long-billed Dowitcher
        • Wilson's Snipe
        • American Woodcock
        • Wilson's Phalarope
        • Black-legged Kittiwake
        • Bonaparte's Gull
        • Laughing Gull
        • Franklin's Gull
        • Ring-billed Gull
        • Herring Gull
        • Iceland Gull
        • Lesser Black-backed Gull
        • Glaucous Gull
        • Great Black-backed Gull
        • Caspian Tern
        • Black Tern
        • Common Tern
        • Forster's Tern
        • Dovekie
      • Pigeons and Doves >
        • Rock Pigeon
        • Mourning Dove
      • Cuckoos, Roadrunners and Anis >
        • Yellow-billed Cuckoo
        • Black-billed Cuckoo
      • Owls >
        • Eastern Screech-Owl
        • Great Horned Owl
        • Snowy Owl
        • Barred Owl
        • Long-eared Owl
        • Short-eared Owl
        • Northern Saw-whet Owl
      • Goatsuckers, Nighthawks and Allies >
        • Common Nighthawk
        • Eastern Whip-poor-will
      • Swifts and Hummingbirds >
        • Chimney Swift - Swifts (Apodidae)
        • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
        • Rufous Hummingbird
      • Kingfishers
      • Woodpeckers and Allies >
        • Red-headed Woodpecker
        • Red-bellied Woodpecker
        • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
        • Downy Woodpecker
        • Hairy Woodpecker
        • Northern Flicker
        • Pileated Woodpecker
      • Perching Birds >
        • Tyrant Flycatchers >
          • Olive-sided Flycatcher
          • Eastern Wood-Pewee
          • Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
          • Acadian Flycatcher
          • Alder Flycatcher
          • Willow Flycatcher
          • Least Flycatcher
          • Eastern Phoebe
          • Great Crested Flycatcher
          • Eastern Kingbird
        • Shrikes >
          • Loggerhead Shrike
          • Northern Shrike
        • Vireos >
          • White-eyed Vireo
          • Yellow-throated Vireo
          • Blue-headed Vireo
          • Warbling Vireo
          • Philadelphia Vireo
          • Red-eyed Vireo
        • Jays, Magpies, Crows and Ravens >
          • Blue Jay
          • American Crow
          • Common Raven
        • Larks
        • Swallows >
          • Purple Martin
          • Tree Swallow
          • Northern Rough-winged Swallow
          • Bank Swallow
          • Cliff Swallow
          • Barn Swallow
        • Titmice and Chickadees >
          • Black-capped Chickadee
          • Tufted Titmouse
        • Nuthatches >
          • Red-breasted Nuthatch
          • White-breasted Nuthatch
        • Creepers
        • Wrens >
          • House Wren
          • Winter Wren
          • Sedge Wren
          • Marsh Wren
          • Carolina Wren
        • Gnatcatchers and Gnatwrens
        • Kinglets >
          • Golden-crowned Kinglet
          • Ruby-crowned Kinglet
        • Thrushes >
          • Eastern Bluebird
          • Veery
          • Gray-cheeked Thrush
          • Swainson's Thrush
          • Hermit Thrush
          • Wood Thrush
          • American Robin
          • Varied Thrush
        • Mockingbirds and Thrashers >
          • Gray Catbird
          • Brown Thrasher
          • Northern Mockingbird
        • Starlings
        • Wagtails and Pipits
        • Waxwings >
          • Cedar Waxwing
        • Longspurs and Snow Buntings >
          • Lapland Longspur
          • Snow Bunting
        • Wood-Warblers >
          • Ovenbird
          • Worm-eating Warbler
          • Louisiana Waterthrush
          • Northern Waterthrush
          • Golden-winged Warbler
          • Blue-winged Warbler
          • Black-and-white Warbler
          • Prothonotary Warbler
          • Tennessee Warbler
          • Orange-crowned Warbler
          • Nashville Warbler
          • Connecticut Warbler
          • Mourning Warbler
          • Common Yellowthroat
          • Hooded Warbler
          • American Redstart
          • Kirtland's Warbler
          • Cape May Warbler
          • Cerulean Warbler
          • Northern Parula
          • Magnolia Warbler
          • Bay-breasted Warbler
          • Blackburnian Warbler
          • Yellow Warbler
          • Chestnut-sided Warbler
          • Blackpoll Warbler
          • Black-throated Blue Warbler
          • Palm Warbler
          • Pine Warbler
          • Yellow-rumped Warbler
          • Prairie Warbler
          • Black-throated Green Warbler
          • Canada Warbler
          • Wilson's Warbler
          • Yellow-breasted Chat
        • Tanagers >
          • Summer Tanager
          • Scarlet Tanager
        • Emberizids >
          • Eastern Towhee
          • American Tree Sparrow
          • Chipping Sparrow
          • Clay-colored Sparrow
          • Field Sparrow
          • Vesper Sparrow
          • Lark Sparrow
          • Lark Bunting
          • Savannah Sparrow
          • Grasshopper Sparrow
          • Henslow's Sparrow
          • Fox Sparrow
          • Song Sparrow
          • Lincoln's Sparrow
          • Swamp Sparrow
          • White-throated Sparrow
          • Harris's Sparrow
          • White-crowned Sparrow
          • Dark-eyed Junco
        • Cardinals, Piranga Tanagers and Allies >
          • Northern Cardinal
          • Rose-breasted Grosbeak
          • Blue Grosbeak
          • Indigo Bunting
          • Dickcissel
        • Blackbirds >
          • Bobolink
          • Red-winged Blackbird
          • Eastern Meadowlark
          • Western Meadowlark
          • Yellow-headed Blackbird
          • Rusty Blackbird
          • Brewer's Blackbird
          • Common Grackle
          • Brown-headed Cowbird
          • Orchard Oriole
          • Baltimore Oriole
        • Fringilline and Cardueline Finches >
          • House Finch
          • Purple Finch
          • Red Crossbill
          • White-winged Crossbill
          • Common Redpoll
          • Hoary Redpoll
          • Pine Siskin
          • American Goldfinch
          • Evening Grosbeak
      • Old World Sparrows
    • Hotspots >
      • 1/2 Mile and Marl Lake Rd
      • 10 Mile Road near G DR S
      • 23 Mile Road Flooded Field
      • Waterfowl
      • Shorebirds
    • ID
  • Macro, Bugs and Moths
    • Moths >
      • Bombycoidea
  • YouTube Links