Mayfly & stereo

canonian · Post by **canonian** » Sun Dec 14, 2014 3:25 pm

Could not remember posting (or posting at all lately) this one before on PM.net.
This photo got some attention in a small contest last week so I decided to restack, retouche, stereo-ize and post it.

The most remarkable feature of this insect are the 7 eyes: 3 simple eyes (ocelli), 2 compound eyes, and 2 turbinate eyes it uses to distinguish females in a swarm of mayflies.
I have been wanting to shoot this bug for ages, and last summer, out of the blue, there suddenly was a male mayfly (the eyes!) on my porch window.

Synthetic stereo: Zerene / StereoPhotoMaker, retouched in Camera Raw. ( Thank you Frans/fotoopa for sending me the settings you use in ZS and SPM):

Tech.info: Canon EOS M, JML Optical 21mm f/3.5 on bellows and tubes, DIY PowerLED ringlight.
2 layer diffusing: 1 layers of matte diffusing paper within a plastic milk jar. Stacks of 89, 115 and 157 shots.

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Sun Dec 14, 2014 3:41 pm

Very enjoyable!

abpho · Post by **abpho** » Sun Dec 14, 2014 10:03 pm

Hello Canonian. Nice work. One question, where is the third ocelli located?

canonian · Post by **canonian** » Mon Dec 15, 2014 1:36 am

Thanks, Chris,
Mischa, it's slighly below and in between the other two....

More info on the typical turban-like eyes:
"The males additionally possess very large turban-shaped dorsal eyes, i.e. greatly enlarged compound eyes that are located on top of the head.
The dorsal turban-eyes are especially designed to boost light sensitivity and allow vision at low light.
At dawn, male mayflies fly close to the water surface in search of females, trying to detect females against the dim background of the sky.
The turban-eyes are only capable of detecting ultra-violet (UV) light. In some species (e.g. European Mayfly) the turban-eye of the male is divided:
The upper portion is for seeing movement, and the lower portion is specialized for seeing details"
Dr. Martin Oeggerli http://www.micronaut.ch, on his excellent SEM-photo you can see all 7 eyes.

Wim van Egmond · Post by **Wim van Egmond** » Mon Dec 15, 2014 1:42 am

Well done, Fred! I hope you'll find time this winter to make new images. There is more to photograph than insects.

canonian · Post by **canonian** » Mon Dec 15, 2014 1:53 am

Thanks Wim.
Insects will always be my favourite subject but (last friday) you have given me lots of other ideas on subjects to shoot.

fotoopa · Post by **fotoopa** » Mon Dec 15, 2014 2:41 am

Very well done Fred!
Something I've never seen.

Frans.

canonian · Post by **canonian** » Mon Dec 15, 2014 5:18 am

fotoopa wrote:Very well done Fred! Something I've never seen.

Thank you Frans, I think these mayfly are quite amazing.
We are more familiar with the name "Eendagsvlieg" or "Haft".

Did you know they also serve an important role?
Not only in the foodchain but they are a good indicator for the quality of the water too.
The absense or presense of mayfly tells a lot about the quality of the stream or river.
In other words: More mayfly, better waterquality.

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:21 am

Always an amazing thing to see.

Very nice indeed!

RogelioMoreno · Post by **RogelioMoreno** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 4:24 pm

Beautiful details!

Rogelio

Yousef Alhabshi · Post by **Yousef Alhabshi** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 9:13 pm

Male Mayflies considered as an interesting subject to shoot due to the uniqueness of the head shape. I was so lucky when a friend of mine brought me one of these

Love the close up results!