So I have had this lens for about a week now, and can say that I'm much happier with it than the MP-E 65mm. I have the Canon mount, and probably wouldn't have bought it if it didn't have electronic aperture control. I've found it is either nearly as sharp, or just as sharp as my MP-E. I cannot find ...

I find that it’s interesting that they say it’s “suitable for forming” especially at 3mm or 5mm. Right now I’m using a flexible piece of foam for a field setup, but this looks much more durable.

I hadn't heard of the turtledove diffusers, but after looking them up they look to be a decent item. I'm sure they work well, essentially they're just two small bounce flashes for each of the heads.

There are many people who will be able to answer your question in more detail. However, the short answer is that they are "synthetic" stereos made with Zerene from a normal stack of images. The software produces images which are slightly offset for each eye and gives a 3D effect. Ah great! Thank yo...

Awesome, I especially liked the stereo photos. Is there anything specific you have to do for one, or can you use the same image? I thought I read you needed something like a 15º change in perspective?

Nice pictures, and a delightful story! I notice in this last set of photos that the artificial "iris" effect is toned way down. I don't know whether that was your intention, but I like this rendition better. That's a pleasantly colored and textured substrate for the last few shots. Human skin, I pr...

So today has been a rollercoaster of a day for me as an arachno-parent. I'll start by saying that I found a P. audax not too long ago hanging out on my mailbox, while it was nearing freezing temps. Feeling bad for the spider, I figured I could give her a warm home through the winter and then release...

It's that time of year! I don't think I have ever thought to look at a tree light filament, so the structure surprised me.

Taken with 5DIV and the MP-E 65mm. 1/100, ISO 200, f/8. Both heads of MT24EX set to 1/8.

The last that I know of, less than 50% of species in the Appalachian mountains have been recorded and cataloged. In some places, like when they were searching for Ted the Uni-bomber, they looked into a cave and reported seeing spiders as big as ones hand and rattlesnakes big around as ones arm. I c...

SallyFungi wrote:These are fantastic! I teach a few lectures in mycology every year. Would you mind if I used one of these images in lectures?

No, go right ahead! I take these for fun, and I would love for others to see and learn from them.

Lou Jost wrote:A good general rule is that biodiversity increases with decreasing latitude and increasing precipitation. Florida, for example, would be a really good state to look at.

I believe Florida also has the largest jumping spider in the US if I’m not mistaken. I may look into that!

As the title implies, I'm looking for a state within the U.S. that would be good for macro photography. My biggest want is to add some new jumping spiders to my macro collection. Ohio has quite a few cool ones, but I am looking for something a little bigger than the standard P. audax. I'm also inter...

^ Thank you! So many macro people are using similar flash/diffusion approach and F stop/shutter speeds. I have not seen such a pretty spider in Houston/Texas, though I did not try very hard. When/where was it photographed? I hope I can find one in the future. I was a proponent of convex diffusion f...

Lou Jost wrote:How fascinating!!! That is an amazing set of pictures and I learned something new about STDs.

I was joking when I said STD, but now that I technically think about it the fungus definitely fits the description!

Very nice! Thank you for sharing. Do you happen to remember the spider's size (or images' on-sensor magnification), and the F stop used there? It looks like you used twin flash through a diffusion collar? If I had to guess I would say maybe ~1cm, maybe a small bit larger. I just looked at the setti...