jacobblogs

Tag: Insect photography

  • Backyard Bugs: Macro photography w/Nikon D200

    A few nights ago I was watching a video on basic macro photography tips for good bug photos. Today I decided to go try them out!

    The video was pretty simple overall – you need a macro lens (or an extension tube), a camera (of course), and a flash diffuser. All I have is the camera and a lens with a “macro” mode – not as good as a dedicated macro, but still acceptable.

    The entire setup. A less floppy diffuser would be nice.

    For the diffuser, I cut a hole in a piece of printer paper and stuck it over the lens. It works pretty well!

    Look at those wings!

    Weirdly, about half the bugs I approached flew away instantly. No idea why…

    Bug’s Eye View of the Average Macro Photographer
    A caterpillar! I wonder what the long hairs are for…

    Walking around the yard peering into tall grass and plants looking for bugs, I felt like a Bug Catcher from Pokemon…

    To be fair, this is probably the closest I’ll get to experiencing what it’s like to document Pokemon using a Pokedex.

    Eugh. This isn’t actually a spider! It’s from the order Opiliones, which are arachnids, but not spiders. It’s also commonly known as a Daddy Long Legs, or Harvestmen.
    This one had a golden iridescent sheen to it – probably something about the structure of its scales refracts/reflects just the right wavelengths of light.
    I didn’t get a single crisp Bumblebee photo – they were always moving around, even when sipping nectar from these blackberry flowers.
    An ant thing. This was larger than a common black ant.
    This one posed for me! When I got close, it switched positions a couple of times as if trying to let me get several angles.
    No idea what this little dude is, but he has cool patterns on him.
    Another view of this ladybug.
    Ladybug isn’t bothered by how evil this plant looks.
    She crawls right up the spikes.
    Oh, bye!

    I also got a few nice non-bug shots:

    Maybe next I’ll try 3D printing an extension tube to let me use this lens for better macro shots (or one of my other lenses).

    In case anyone is curious, here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLNux66fdQ0

    All for now!