Flies and friends

davholla · Post by **davholla** » Wed Apr 19, 2017 12:33 pm

This one went to explore the first two were taken with Canon 550D/ 60 mm, the other two were taken with Canon 7DMKII and MPE 65.
I have noticed that I can only take supported photos with the MPE65 mm because I can't keep it steady so I am thinking of getting a monopod and a mag slider to take photos (and hopefully do stacking). It will have other uses (like when I take photos with my Tamron 150-600). I have a tripod and it is great for photos of buildings at night
or photos of my son asleep - he is 8 and looks very cute, however it is not great for macro because it is so tricky to manover to be in exactly the correct place

Fly IMG_0984 by davholla2002, on Flickr

Moth? ING_1076 by davholla2002, on Flickr

Bug EF7A2988 by davholla2002, on Flickr

FlyEF7A3127 by davholla2002, on Flickr

MarkSturtevant · Post by **MarkSturtevant** » Sat Apr 22, 2017 7:57 pm

Very good!
It is a good idea to try a monopod or something similar, especially for pictures higher than 1:1. I just use a pole to steady myself, much like this tried and true method, demonstrated by Brian Valentine: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/759 ... 293307036/
Fixing the camera on a monopod may have an advantage that the above method does not have. For example it takes all the weight. But maybe adjusting its height and angle is a little bit fussy. So there are pros and cons to consider.

The 'moth' looks like a caddisfly. These are in a different but related order to the lepidoptera, belonging to an order called trichoptera.

davholla · Post by **davholla** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 2:45 am

MarkSturtevant wrote:Very good!
It is a good idea to try a monopod or something similar, especially for pictures higher than 1:1. I just use a pole to steady myself, much like this tried and true method, demonstrated by Brian Valentine: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/759 ... 293307036/
Fixing the camera on a monopod may have an advantage that the above method does not have. For example it takes all the weight. But maybe adjusting its height and angle is a little bit fussy. So there are pros and cons to consider.

The 'moth' looks like a caddisfly. These are in a different but related order to the lepidoptera, belonging to an order called trichoptera.

Thanks for the ID someone else suggested A dustywing from the family dustywings (Coniopterygidae).
They are very common where I live but very hard to photograph. Saying that I used to go pond dipping as a kid and I don't think I ever found a caddis fly larva - something to do in the future maybe.
I have tried Brian's pole idea but a pole is not very portable so I am thinking of using a shooting stick - not very expensive.

MarkSturtevant · Post by **MarkSturtevant** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:35 am

Actually, I have to admit that the dustywing is probably correct! These are not Neuroptera that I normally think about.

Correct too on the pole not being portable, especially when trying to put it into a trunk of a car. But my solution has been to get 1/2" - 5/8" wood pole from a hardware store, and cut it half. I then glue about 6" of PVC tubing that fits snugly over one of the ends, leaving about 3" of the tubing sticking out. The other pole can be inserted into the PVC tubing to make a full length pole for the field, and quickly pulled into two pieces for transport.