Macro photography technique

Thankful to be getting a lot of great feedback from different fora on macros, a lot of this has been due to openly shared knowledge and techniques by selfless folks.

Thought it would be only fair to keep "paying this forward"

Will try breaking down technique (or the lack of it :D ) -

1. Magnification: The Zuik0 60mm on a MFT sensor provides decent magnification. However as needed I often add on an extension tube and Raynox DCR 250

2. Focusing : High magnification requires high precision. Most times the camera is set to the smallest focus area selector possible. Contrast on edges/wings/leaves is often used to lock on AF. In tricky situations, I will switch to MF (have configured the FN1 button for this) and sway the setup to bring things in focus.
Staying as perpendicular to the area of focus one's interested in helps make use of the razor thin DoF to it's max.

3. Exposure : Plays a critical role in showing detail and right colors/texture. The black background in most of my images is predominantly due to the overall exposure, I shoot what one would call "full flash photography" - if an image is taken at the native exposure, it would essentially go fully black, exposure is defined by the "reach and intensity" of flash. Plus, most of the insects I shoot are found under thick canopy/shade.
My settings generally are ISO 200, 1/160, f10-13, Flash on ETTL with FEC based on subject
External flash helps add microcontrast and also freeze motion to an extent. I also diffuse the light enough to make it soft, that way both highlights and shadows are decently exposed

Earlier thoughts on macro technique and lighting can be found here -
http://iridealone.blogspot.com/2018/04/high-magnification-macro-and-lighting.html

Thoughts on macro photography with lenses already present in your kit -
http://iridealone.blogspot.com/2012/06/macro-for-not-much.html

Link to the simple two stage diffuser -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hayath/44807796464/

Cheers!
Hayath

The biodiverse Indraprastha - Spider meet 2018

Got the opportunity to be part of this year's Team Saaliga Spider meet at Indraprastha, Mysore. Team Saaliga has been doing some great work in spreading awareness about spiders.
Wriggled out of Bangalore to reach just past lunch time. Was amazed to see myself surrounded by lots of shrubs (and definitely not by chance, this is a result of decades of intent and proper execution). Entering the gates and gazing around I could notice something almost on every single plant/leaf. That was just a trailer, so to speak, of the biodiversity we would feast our eyes on later at night.

A heady mix of researchers, nature lovers - we were in for some great learnings. And for me, personally, not having to feel as a misfit :D
Quick welcome session and introductions set the tone for the highly interactive talks on Spiders. Anatomy, behavior, hunting and breeding strategies discussed in detail, with some great visuals. With new found knowledge, we were all set to observe better in the field. Some lipsmacking snacks followed the official release of Team Saaliga logo by the Mysore DC.

Spilt into two teams, we set out to explore. We wanted to explore and cover a lot of area, but the rich density of life ensured we were moving at a snail's pace. Almost every plant giving something to observe.

We started with this Crab spider (Thomisidae) blending in perfectly on a flowery branch


The Social behavior of the Chikunia spider, multiple spiders with their spiderlings in close proximity


Cellar spiders in plenty, many of them holding onto their eggs bundles




Most corners/gaps between leaves were taken up by Orb weavers


Wrapping up freshly caught prey with silk from it's spinnerets


Signature spiders were found in plenty too, owing to the abundance in prey the relative size of almost all spiders we found were LARGE!


Some pretty flowers around!






Dandelion, looking like a bursting firework


A hunstman lying in wait to ambush anything that gets close


A beautiful Dartlet


Palm dart


Mating moths


Freshly moulted cockroach


Weaver ants tending to scale insects




A funny looking Derbid planthopper


The wing shape is unique and fascinating!


Long legged fly


Cricket nymph



Resting honeybee


A few more fascinating spiders

Long jawed spider, Tetragnathidae


Sac spider


Wolf spider


The devil! Portia sp


The Mirror spider, Thwaitesia sp.  Couldn't manage a side-on image showing the "mirror"



This beautiful Crab spider


Comes in white too!


The striking Hamadruas




Brettus juvenile


Perfect moult of a Huntsman


If you're a thirsty bee/fly, there's no way you'd notice that camouflage. In fact Sumukha mentioned the UV emission from the spider attracts the bee/fly closer


Tree trunk spider, Herennia female


Two striped jumping spider, Telamonia female.


Some images to showcase how effective and critical spiders are as pest control, maintatining the delicate balance in the ecosystem
Crab spider, with honeybee kill


Parawixia with grasshopper


Rhene feasting on Chironomidae



Indraprastha is the brainchild of Mr.Chandrashekar, having taken up Organic farming and put it into perfect practice - the place truly is a rich biodiversity hotspot. Species covered here are a miniscule subset. The team was able to identify 81 species of spiders.

The hospitality and great food from Team Saaliga and the APC family was amazing to experience :) Thank you for opening the gates and our eyes to the wondrous world at Indraprastha!

Cheers!
Hayath

Bringing "Bob" home

Fish are dear to me, have provided me source of inspiration and a great hobby to pursue - keeping my sanity levels in check (or should that be insanity?)

Aleena had a liking towards fish too, she would be enchanted by their movement and colors. This image which I had envisioned for a very long time made possible by dear wifey after a quick "director's explanation" :)



Was visiting Nikhil's facility when the super moment occurred - Aleena saw bettas and decided she'd want one for herself. She sifted through the many packets and picked one. She was sure she wanted this particular fish - for herself!







The joy on the face was something to behold, warmed the cockles of my heart
Setup a quick 18"x9"x9" tank, hoping to convert it into a decent scape.

Managed to snap a few of the pretty Betta, what Aleena has named "Bob" :)






Bob has already made this tank his "home", building his own bubble nest.
While here Bob has had multiple delicacy options including Aleena's fave - Biryani
Thankfully the tank is out of reach, as of now ;)





Cheers!
Hayath

The road, fish and food!

Road trips are always fun, add fishing to that and we've got a heady mix on our hands. We're addicted to that and yet had been off it for a very long time.
A few phone calls exchanged between Ajay, Vyas and I - we were all set with looking up Google maps to trace the route with the maximum amount of blues showing (blue on the map indicates a water body ;) )

Started off with a group-selfie


The love for the great outdoors, travel and the fantastic camaraderie we share ensured we made short work of the long distances.








The summer sun beat down and the temperatures rose quickly though the day, at times reaching 38-39c. Having made good ground the speeds reduced drastically once the wide highways ended, the snaking roads of the State highway made for some slow progress. It was post noon that we cast the first net - so to speak :)  The yummy Kerala cuisine ensured our energy levels were right up there. The Appam, idiyappam, Puttu, Kadla curry, Motta curry, Chilly beef all helping along the way.

The first stop was along the Periyar river.




Making our way down a set of stairs we noticed the usual suspects - Dawkinsia filamentosus, Pseudosphromenus cupanus, Rasbora daniconius, Salmostoma boopis.



We began to attract a lot of attention from the passersby who were very keen to see what the city-dwelling folk were upto in their river. We'd smile back with a net in our hands with "Meen" (fish in the local language) :)

Ajay's cast net at work!


Exploring the river further with the help of Ajay's cast net we netted many more of the same fish, and then the next draw left our jaws dropped! Sheer beauty with Olive greens and red fins, we had the Pristolepis rubripinnis


We noticed some dashes of red just under the surface of the shimmering water, but then thought it wasn't really the river system the denisonii is found in.
The next couple of casts sprang a further surprise - the Sahyadria denisonii. We had seen them earlier in what was thought of as their only location - Iritty, but here they were way downstream. Had some doubts of these possibly being the Chalakkudiensis but the lack of the black marking on it's dorsal helped remove any ambiguity.



Had carried the snorkeling kit along, and am I glad I did! tried watching these underwater and one of the denisonii swam right in front of me - what an exhilarating experience! Spotting them in the wild and seeing them underwater almost running into your face WHOA :D

A very interesting Garra mullya with small orange specks


Ajay and Vyas checking out a small canal - saw a small Channa gachua and some filamentosus here, a lot of Ambulia and Egeria densa were seen too.


Moving further south the next stop along the Pamba we noticed some nice looking stocky barbs. Stopping to investigate we were soon posed the standard question of what were we upto, and we'd reply with a wide grin on our face "Meen" :D
This turned out to be a very interesting stop with some nice variety of Barbs.


Cirrhinus sp


Puntius punctatus




Puntius mahecola


Puntius parrah


For ID



Pseudetroplus maculatus were found in plenty too! The colors on some showed us why they're commonly referred to as "Orange chromides"


Xenentodon cancila and a few Aplocheilus sp. spotted too around the edges of the aquatic plants

Puffers (Carinotetraodan sp.) were found in good numbers around the plants too



Mystus malabaricus


With the setting sun we dipped our nets to end the day underneath a bridge.

Pseudetroplus maculatus,  Pseudosphromenus cupanus were found in good numbers. Saw this goby in one of the angler's bag - Awaous grammepomus



Scooping in a stagnant pool got us quite a few Horadandia atukorali - brilliant little schooling fish!



Drove down towards Kumarakom to find a place to stop for the night. Tried the local speciality of Karimeen cooked in Banana leaf, Mussels and some chilly beef.




Got to experience a fishing boat coming ashore with the night's catch - full of sardines and mullets




The next morning was a quick dash to the Kumarakom bird sanctuary.








The two sneaking up on me :P


With the humidity levels and the temperature rising the walk within the sanctuary was pretty draining. Opted for a quick boat ride offered by a local.








The Vembanad lake is a brackish system, and is vast! Saw a lot of Pistia aka water lettuce, Salvinia natans, hornwort and Ambulia


Spotted the usual Pond Herons, lesser cormorants and the occasional Purple heron fly by.






This intermediate heron using it's wings to cut down on light and reduce reflection for it to locate fish under the surface

Cattle egret in breeding plumage

A white throated KF

This Little heron was a nice surprise find


The multiple resorts along the water's edge and their unique boat "gates"









The boathouses added a certain amount of charm to the place. Very surprisingly the lake has been kept extremely clean. Hope other tour operators and businesses take note - it is a no-brainer to keep the place which generates all your income clean.












Colorful adornments providing some photographic opportunities







Vyas feeling a little too shy posing for the camera ;)


A small checkered keelback was spotted swimming along


As we began our journey back to home base we stopped at a couple more places.









Some kids doing their best to beat the heat!



A few fun bursts with the enhanced burst rate the 7D brings (thanks much Richa and Bikram!)





Ajay managed to capture this interesting procession from the driver's seat

A few notable observations

Mystus sp - had a very interesting dark coat


Dawkinsia tambraparniei


Pseudetroplus maculatus - with a very interesting red lining around the caudal


Salmostoma boopis


Puntius vittatus

Chanda nama


An interesting looking Awaous/Glossogobius sp.
Interestingly not a single tilapia was seen/netted!

Huge props to Marc for ID'ing the barbs :)
At the very last stop the mandatory question was posed to us by the locals yet again and we answered "MEEN" :)  Most could not wrap their heads around the fact that we had come all the way from Bangalore to catch, photograph and release fish. I tried my best to translate fish-mad to the best of my abilities, and that would bring a chuckle from them. Well "we are like that wonly" :D

For the ones who regularly ask for gear details:
* All wide angle images taken with the Samsung galaxy grand
* Canon 7D + 55-250mm f5.6 used for fishy closeups
* Canon 7D + 400mm f5.6 used for bird images and some boat shots

Till the next ride,
Cheers!
Hayath