Insect and Arachnid Macro
A classic macro subject, insects and arachnids make really interesting subjects. With their alien eyes, legs, and antennae, seeing them up close and magnified can make for fascinating photographs.
Beetle Focus Stack
This poor beetle was found, already passed, floating in our pool. It was for this reason that it made a great subject for my first focus stack, as most insects do not stay still long enough to take a stack of photos using a manual focus slider. This one is 149 individual frames stacked together using Helicon Focus 8. For more on focus stacking see my blog about learning macro. Natural sunlight.
Sachem Moth
This Sachem Moth was on our butterfly bush. Single shot with flash.
Honey Bee
Well into Autumn, the honey bees were still hard at work in overtime as the weather stayed extra warm through October. Single shot with flash.
Orb Weaver Spider
This orb weaver is likely the child of a large female that lived in our front light last year. Single shot with flash.
Striped Sweat Bee
These little bees are gorgeous, but move and flit around even more than your average honey bee. This makes them all the more difficult to photograph. Single shot with flash.
Common Garden Snail
I'm not the biggest fans of these guys, but it was a wet, early summer day and I wanted to try and get a macro photo using my Tamron lens, so I snapped a pic and left this one to wander the yard. Single shot, natural light.
Juvenile Grasshopper
This grasshopper posed for me on our butterfly bush. He held still long enough I was able to take a couple focus stacks of different poses. They were only a handful of shots but it allowed me to get a deeper depth of focus than I could have gotten with a single shot. Focus stack with flash.
Damselfly
I love damselflies. The colors and delicate bodies belie the fearsome predators they are. It's only when you see how fast they move do you understand how they can be successful hunters. Single shot with flash.
Honey Bee
Once last honey bee for good measure. This one was taken at a very high aperture which is why it has the fuzzy, ethereal appearance to it. Single shot with flash.
