Posts Tagged ‘Macro Lens’

There’s been a lot of dragonflies up here, but so far none have let me get close enough to take a decent picture of it.

Then Annie found this one, dead, down on the island. It must have been freshly dead since it still had lots of colour. Don’t know what killed it, though “old age” seemed the likely culprit, as its wings were certainly chewed up from use.

We put it up on the mantelpiece where I took some shots.

Dead Midland Clubtail Dragonfly (I think)

I think it is a Midland Clubtail Dragonfly (Gomphus fraternus), though there are so many similar-looking Clubtails it is hard for me to be sure.

Discovered that I had not brought along my camera battery re-charger, so was being very sparing of the pictures I took today, as my battery indicator was low when I shot this.

One of our backyard plants is infested with aphids. It’s still a very healthy plant, and part of the reason why we’re not too concerned is that it is also covered with numerous Ladybug larvae, which are feasting on the aphids.

Got out my macro lens and liked this shot the best:

Ladybug Larva

A small dandelion alongside some small purple flower.

An even smaller blue flower (maybe half the size of a dime)

Extreme close-up of a small maple leaf from a baby tree

Labels: Dandelion, Maple Leaf

I picked up a new macro lens today from Henrys Camera store on the way home from work today. Have been putting it to the test in our garden. Here are a couple of sample shots using the lens:

Blossoming leaf bud from a dogwood tree.

The underside of a leaf

Labels: leaf, macro

Bought a bunch of cut sunflowers for my wife who is returning from her extended stay up north today. It also gave me the opportunity to play around a bit with my macro lens as well.

Even our small backyard can reward the patient photographer equipped with a macro lens. I started shooting some flowers, but in the end got taken in by a couple of insects instead.

Hover Fly on a Leaf

Interesting bug #1 – a Hover Fly, which looks like a fly with bee markings (a type of bee mimic).

Hopefully it is the sort that eats aphids, which are currently plaguing our honeysuckle.

Interesting bug #2 – Nope, not what you might think it is at first. Look more closely at what seems like a bird dropping on a leaf and you’ll see an antenna, wings, and a fussy eye looking straight at the camera. Am pretty sure it’s a Codling moth, which is apparently a real pest to Apple farmers. And looks like bird poop.

Took the dog for a walk down by Woodbine Park, and I ran across a bunch of these purple flowers, which are arranged in a sphere at the top of a think stalk. Too cool for me to pass up, especially since I had my macro lens with me.

I had no idea what it was, but then I found that a friend and former colleague had posted similar pics on his blog, and somebody mentioned what they were in the comments section: Allium, which is from the onion family. A very fancy onion indeed!

Even with the macro lens, it is increasingly clear to me that good composition matters along with an interesting subject. So I’m glad this fly landed (and stayed still long enough) on this ripped leaf.

A trio of dandelions on the verge of flowering

Close-up of a closed-up dandelion

Found this little guy lurking on the side of a tulip in our back garden. He crawled inside the closed flower soon after, settling in for the night.

Small fly on the underside of a leaf

Labels: Dandelion, fly, garden, spider

Purple and white Bleeding Heart (Dicentra) flowers. Can’t help but think of the logo for “Hairspray” when I see these.

Fern “fiddlehead” unfurling.

White Bleeding Heart flowers close-up.

Labels: Bleeding Heart, Fern, fiddlehead, garden