The libelloides pursuit - (PART I)

Images of undisturbed subjects in their natural environment. All subject types.

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Yawns
Posts: 400
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:18 am
Location: Benavente, Portugal

The libelloides pursuit - (PART I)

Post by Yawns »

Finnaly I found someone in my area who likes insect photography as much as I do and we did a couple of "expeditions" together.. sometimes for 8 hours non-stop...

This time we went to look for libelloides and we could photograph one (we only have one species in our area anyway) .. so there wasn't much to look for..

I'm not choosy and I photograph everything that comes my way.. even if I have a dozen of good photos of a species I always think .. I don't have "The Photo" yet....

here are some pictures form our last 4 hours expedition.

You can check the full size pictures on my Flikr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/antoniocaseiro/

01 . The Setup -
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02 - The Libelloid .- Our goal for the day
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03 -
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04-
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05-
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06-
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YAWNS _ (Y)et (A)nother (W)onderful (N)ewbie (S)hooting

Troels
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Post by Troels »

Very beautiful and interesting pictures.
Troels Holm, biologist (retired), environmentalist, amateur photographer.
Visit my Flickr albums

Beatsy
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Post by Beatsy »

Fantastic shots! You're getting great DoF from that 40mm - and the diffuser seems to work very well. Presumably you're only using the ring flash for fill light as the backgrounds seem well exposed too...?

piczzilla
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Post by piczzilla »

Amazing shots & wonderful critters you've got there. Background is nicely lit too. I also notice your images do not have the "flat look" that usually come with ring flashes. May I ask if you stack any of these images? And did that critter on the 2nd image get a piercing on its tail? :lol:

MarkSturtevant
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Post by MarkSturtevant »

These are lovely. I too have a buddy that shares the hobby, and it is really a pleasure to be out there sharing the experiences.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

Yawns
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Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:18 am
Location: Benavente, Portugal

Post by Yawns »

Troels wrote:Very beautiful and interesting pictures.
Thank you very much Sir...
YAWNS _ (Y)et (A)nother (W)onderful (N)ewbie (S)hooting

Yawns
Posts: 400
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:18 am
Location: Benavente, Portugal

Post by Yawns »

Beatsy wrote:Fantastic shots! You're getting great DoF from that 40mm - and the diffuser seems to work very well. Presumably you're only using the ring flash for fill light as the backgrounds seem well exposed too...?
@ Beatsy
Thank you...
I got the 40mm mounted on a Nikon D5100 as a backup camera.. and in the end I just used it and almost ignroed my main setup with the Tokina 100.
I got the 40mm because it's the only spare one I have with focus engine... (the D5100 body has no focus engine too) .. My Tamron 180 and Nikon 60 are manual, no focus engine too.. my right eye is gone ( I don't see enough to focus) and the left one is not good too, so these days I have to use autofocus more often than I would like...

Yes.. It's barely a fill flash yes... I use very high ISO like 640, 800 even on sunny days to capture the background light .. that's my trick.
Usually I set the flash(es) manualy like this
1/128 if it is sunny and bright
1/64 on cloudy days od near sunrise , near sunset
1/32 if it's near dark
If I'm burning the subjects of course i readjust

Then I use the ISO to adjust the exposure.. or ocassinaly I change the aperture ine stop up or down...

I always check every picture I take to don't get surprises later at home. this is important.
YAWNS _ (Y)et (A)nother (W)onderful (N)ewbie (S)hooting

Yawns
Posts: 400
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:18 am
Location: Benavente, Portugal

Post by Yawns »

MarkSturtevant wrote:These are lovely. I too have a buddy that shares the hobby, and it is really a pleasure to be out there sharing the experiences.
Yes it's lovely to have company, and 2 persons find the double of the beasties :)
YAWNS _ (Y)et (A)nother (W)onderful (N)ewbie (S)hooting

Yawns
Posts: 400
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:18 am
Location: Benavente, Portugal

Post by Yawns »

piczzilla wrote:Amazing shots & wonderful critters you've got there. Background is nicely lit too. I also notice your images do not have the "flat look" that usually come with ring flashes. May I ask if you stack any of these images? And did that critter on the 2nd image get a piercing on its tail? :lol:
See my reply to Beatsy... I use very high ISO to capture the background light, that's my trick...
I alsio try to always shoot in the shade but facing a sunny place.. ( I make shade with my body or a white umbrella) if it is possible I walys try to shoot in the direction of the sun hitting the grass, or the foliage... I avoid to shoot in direction to the shade.

Sorry I should have mentioned some are stacks yes..

In this post only the Bombillidae is a stack of 4.. the rest are single shots.

I believe the "piercing" is to hold the females.. I think the libelloid is a male.
YAWNS _ (Y)et (A)nother (W)onderful (N)ewbie (S)hooting

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