Fun with Macro Photography

Macro photography has much to offer to the enthusiast, especially because one might not have to travel far and wide. In many cases, there will be enough objects to photograph. However, photographing insects will offer more excitement, especially if they are rarely seen insects. Photographing Damsel Flies can be especially rewarding, as photographing Umbonia insects in association with ants.

What is perhaps even more amazing is to see mutualism being exercised between ants and Umbonia bugs. The ants provide protection to the Umbonia bugs and the Umbonia bugs provide the ants with a nutritious liquid.

Moths come in various shapes and sizes and I have been most amazed by some of the moths I have come across. The first one has a rather distinct pattern on its body and it has blue eyes. The next two photographs are those of a moth I spotted at Jim Corbet Park. If you zoom in closely, you will notice that its head looks like that of a wolf or a fox. The last photograph is that of a moth! I would have missed it if it had not been for it flitting across my eyes.

Spiders are my favourites. Most of the spiders that I have come across have been rather shy ones and they will mostly try to hide behind leaves. It is the silent ones that you need to beware of because they might be venomous! My favourite one is called Telamonia dimidiata. It is a rather shy spider and will often slip behind leaves the moment it sees you. Its almost translucent body is difficult to miss.

And of course, who could miss stink bugs. I was able to spot a male, female and infant stink bug recently. Try and see if you can identify the female bug!

Spiders and Caterpillars - Macro Photography of Insects

A Green Swallowtail Caterpillar 

It is surprising how fulfilling Macro-photography can be especially when it throws out results that are surreal! While the challenges might be daunting, patience and persistence pay off. One might not need expensive lenses to take pot-shot of those critters hiding in the bushes, in fact, I use a Canon kit lens (EFS-18-55 mm) on my DSLRs to take my Macro Photographs.

The secret behind getting good photographs is having a steady hand. I don't like lugging a tripod as it restricts your movement. Getting as close as possible to the insect. Using a fill-in flash might become a necessity, especially when the bug is hiding in the branches. I use an ISO setting of 100 to 400, an f-stop number of 6.3 to 25 (depending on the light) and a shutter speed of 1/160 - 1/200. For the focus setting I use the center focus.

Spiders are quite tricky to photograph as they are constantly on the move. While a few of the larger spiders might be a bit sluggish, the smaller ones, like the jumping spiders are very active. Some of the spiders I have photographed turn out to be very shy and camera-conscious. It takes a lot of patience on the part of the photographer to take a decent photograph of spiders.

A female Telamonia spider emerges from her nest of eggs

The three photographs above are of a female jumping spider known by its scientific name as Telamonia dimidiata. This spider rose to fame because of an internet hoax that claimed that it lurked under toilet seats waiting to attack the person. In reality, it is a very shy insect.

The three photographs posted above are those of a spider better known by its Scientific name Epocilla aurantiaca. This spider has red and white horizontal stripes on its back. It is a jumping spider that leap from one branch to another one in a split second.

Caterpillars, however, are easier to photograph because most of them are sluggish. Being longer than spiders, Caterpillars, however, pose a challenge because it might be a little difficult to get a sharp focus on the rest of the body, especially as I like to focus on the eyes. Believe, me, you will fail to identify the real eyes of the Caterpillar because the eyes that you see on top of the head of the insect are not real ones, they are probably meant to deceive predators.

The photograph posted above is that of a caterpillar’s head and it sure looks weird, as if that of an alien creature from outer space. The actual eyes of the caterpillar are closer down near the orange coloured spikes that might be part of its mouth. The two spikes on either side of its head, antennae, in all probability make the creature look more unique.