Weekly Contest November 28 - December 5 : Invertebrates

[OldMacs4Me]

Wow there were some really outstanding shots this go round, so this was not anticipated. Congrats to the other podium finishers.

Will be back with something new as soon as I recover from a dreaded dental assault.

 

[squawk7000]

congrats to the podium winners and well done to the other entries. Some great shots there.

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate how difficult bug and wildlife photography is, and have great respect for those who specialise.

About my butterfly. It was a grab shot while wandering around the Parque Botánico in Maspalomas. Shot on an Olympus E-M1 with the Oly 40-150F2.8 at 150mm F5.6, not much of a crop.

 

[Janichsan]

View attachment 1920061

@ imac wannabe : One of those tiny wasps that seem to be all over the place in the summer . Nice job keeping the wasp in focus while having just about everything else out. I like that you’ve captured the iridescence in the wings . Macro lens , Phone , or just a big crop?

That's a hover fly, by the way. Really good at pretending to be something they aren't.

Excellent shot, in any case.

@ Janichsan : An interesting capture . I haven’t seen a mantis in my yard for a few years . I had to Google to see if the little bug was a male , but apparently it isn’t . Maybe it isn’t even a mantis .

That's absolutely a mantis - a freshly hatched one. The whole terrarium (that's where this picture was taken) was full of them.

Anyway, congratulations to the winners. ?

 

[katbel]

Congratulations to the winners , and thanks to the judge for considering my photo too:
there were so many beautiful shots !

Will be back with something new as soon as I recover from a dreaded dental assault.

From someone or from the dentist? So sorry in both cases …the first would be worst though

 

[OldMacs4Me]

Congratulations to the winners , and thanks to the judge for considering my photo too:
there were so many beautiful shots !


From someone or from the dentist? So sorry in both cases …the first would be worst though

Just the dentist, though that's scary enough. Especially as I have to pay for the torture.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

When I was a kid , we called these things skatebugs . Never thought to try to capture an image of one of these . I like how you’ve captured the depressions in the water’s surface where the bug’s legs are in contact . Done with the 100-400?

Yes, with the 100-400. Pretty tough conditions, as most of the water area was in the shade, and these things don’t exactly sit still. I had to “set up) (it was handheld) in the light reflection to get enough light and then hope for an opportune pause of this bug. I always called them water striders as a kid, while I‘ve seen others call them water boatmen. Whatever you call them, they aren’t easy to photograph!

 

[katbel]

View attachment 1920167
iPhone 8 plus

Monterey aquarium: too bad I didn’t have my camera. This jellyfish had very long tentacles
I had to take two photos but couldn’t stitch them together. I use the other one as my desktop background.

 

[tizeye]

Guess it’s time to judge this thing , so here goes …..




@tizeye : Never had much luck photographing jellyfish . This is much better than my feeble attempts . I wasn’t able to get the EXIF data off the image , but I suspect you were working with a pretty slow exposure/big aperture/high ISO .






So now for the results … Remember that these are just opinion of an old guy with the beginnings of cataracts who wears bifocals and in no way represents any kind of expert opinion whatsoever …



Third Place : @mollyc and @katbel

Second Place : @Darmok N Jalad and @imac wannabe (tie)

First Place : @OldMacs4Me



Congrats to all ! On to the next one , @OldMacs4Me it’s all yours!

First, congratulations to all and looking forward to next weeks topic.

In answer to the camera data question, this is an old photo taken in 2013 at Mystic Aquarium near Mystic Seaport, CT. Back then was using a Nikon D7000 and the lens was the 50mm 1.8 (nifty fifty) which on the crop sensor had the FOV of a 75mm. ISO 1250, handheld 1/50 sec @ f4.5, manually set and spot metering.

 

[someoldguy]

That's a hover fly, by the way. Really good at pretending to be something they aren't

Excellent shot, in any case.


That's absolutely a mantis - a freshly hatched one. The whole terrarium (that's where this picture was taken) was full of them.

Anyway, congratulations to the winners. ?

Thanks for the i.d. on the hoverfly . Knowing that the mantis' were in a captive environment clarifies what's going on in the image . Don't know if I'd expect to see that in the wild .

 

[OldMacs4Me]

New contest is up and running. Topic Tools:

 

[someoldguy]

I don't know who did it , but thanks for updating the Weekly Contest Master list . Slipped by me , too much stuff on my plate.