… but I am getting better at photographing them. If Darth Vader could be a bug, he’d probably look a lot like this bug. This guy was found perched on a leaf at the Hawthorne Hills Nature Center in Elgin, Illinois. I can’t ID the species (still Googling), so if any entomologists are reading this, let me know what I’ve photographed here.
The weird thing is, when I’m out making bug pictures, I don’t know what I’ve photographed until I get home and begin to look through the images on the memory card. There is so much concentration involved in getting into position, not scaring the bug away (for some reason bugs get nervous when a huge object comes within a fraction of an inch away – go figure), then working to get the focus just right –the only way to adjust is to slowly move the camera closer or farther from the subject a smidgeon at a time – and then I’m only concentrating on the bug’s eyes – if I have them in focus, then I figure the rest of the picture follows. All I know at the time is that I’ve got some good images of bug eyes. I have no idea what the rest of the bug looks like until I study my shots later.
Bug photo tip: it’s very tempting to shoot down at a bug. Don’t do it if you can help it. Do whatever you can to come at the bug from the side (I look for insects on foliage that’s between waist and shoulder height to make the task easier). For one thing, coming in from the side is less scary for the bug (they have feelings too, you know), the second thing is that you’ll get a nice profile shot with the subject separated from whatever it’s perched upon.
Making the ranks Chase Jarvis reports on one organization’s attempt to ascertain the top 20 photography blogs on the interwebs. He links to the organization's site which compiled the rankings along with various Top 50 lists in twenty metrics-related categories.
Interesting that Points of Light cracks the Top 50 numbers-wise (but is not listed) in seven of the twenty categories. Makes me wonder how they categorized photography blogs and how accurate the counters are (both theirs and mine).
At any rate, there are some very good photo blogs listed, many that I visit on occasion. Check them out.
Photograph © 2009 James Jordan.
3 comments:
I remember Hawthorne Hills but have not been there in years.
Have you tried using BugGuide.net, they have helped me with identifying a few insects. Just an idea - here is the direct link to the identification section. http://bugguide.net/node/view/6/bgimage
Great shot by the way. Quick question may seem silly but when you reverse the lens you really need to use a fixed lens and not a zoom lens correct? I've been toying with trying this myself but am curious. Thanks for any help.
I think taking us to inter space is more facinating that outer space...
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