Hi Nikola - A very pleasing composition, contrasting the delicate and colourful beauty of the flower (really great job there!) with the almost monochrome, armoured exoskeleton of your hopper (is it a bush cricket?).

Bruce

These leafhoppers ( Eupteryx florida ) live in the geraniums at the bottom of my garden. The nymph is a very early instar of the same species and I now believe that an earlier posting of mine showed a later instar nymph of the same species, see: http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...

Sorry Markus I somehow missed your posting.

Your comment is much appreciated.

Bruce

Rik's the expert here of course. Personally I think we are probably quite some way off seeing this feature in camera. Initially I was tempted to say never. However considering just how far panoramic stitching software has advanced in just a few short years, I'm coming to believe that (given time) no...

Firstly, as this is a particular interest of mine I'd be very interested to learn something about Laurie's experience/technique hand-held shooting for stacking. However to answer your question: I mostly use the Nikon SB-R1 flash unit with 2x SB-R200 heads and occasionally I use just the camera's pop...

I can see why you like that first shot Laurie - the subject seems as interested in you as you are in it :D . I do quite a lot of hand held stacking in the field - in fact my last two postings in this forum were CombineZP stacks - harvestman: 3 frames and leafhopper (second pic): 6 frames. I generall...

Yes they're very nice images and IMO it's worth checking out the higher resolution images available via the links provided in the OP (particularly pic2). For a long time I've been curious about the large patterns visible in the multifaceted eyes of many insects. In this case a light reticulated patt...

Rodrigo - I really like your third image showing the spider looking out from it's silk hideaway. A most unusual viewpoint that adds a real sense of tension to the composition. The point of critical focus (those amazing eyes) is spot-on - and I just love the spiky haircut too!

Bruce

Nice shot of a difficult (dark) subject. Plenty of detail in the shadows with no (unpleasantly) blown highlights - and I'm with Aynia on the background.

Bruce

Photographed this afternoon in Buckinghamshire, England. Species, probably Rilaena triangularis . Length excluding legs ~5.5mm. This individual has lost its right, front leg. This isn't at all unusual although it otherwise looks so clean and bright that I suspect it has only recently moulted. Combin...

Thanks Rik. The shots were taken hand-held, however I was able to steady my right forearm against a heavy terracotta pot. Once the arm is locked I slowly extend the wrist and fingers to move focus from front to back. I use this technique quite a lot, taking between 3 (typical) and 6 (max) shots. I'm...

I know what you mean Laurie it happens to me too. It's like fishermen - all the best ones get away :D . Last night I did a 6 frame CombineZP stack of this same species (from same location too). The viewpoint is side-on and with a little bit of cleaning in CS3 I think it came out quite well. Here's t...

Thanks Erland .

I really enjoy photographing leafhoppers (adults and nymphs). There are so many species and their colour and form are so variable. Some species are very tiny (even the imago forms). I've recently photographed a beautiful adult leafhopper that is barely 3mm long.

Bruce

I really like these two images Jim.

The light and colour balance is near perfect, giving the images an extraordinary "real-world" opacity. It's almost as if we're looking at the actual flowers - not a photograph of them.

Bruce:)

An interesting post Ken - reminds me a bit of wrought iron scroll-work - beautiful in its own "squished froggie" way too .

Is this one of your native North American Maidenhair species?

Bruce