Sugar Ants collecting nectar.
by roz

Comment by Lydia:
Is that you, Roz? I gave these hard workers a 7 (earlier). I love the colors but, I really miss seeing that upper guy's head.

Great DOF and sharpness!

all the colours of the rainbow
by roz

Comment by streetpigeon:
Incredible spectral banding. Enchanting, mesmerizing, surprising. By technically inferior I suppose you mean the slightly out of focus head on the spider. That's all that I can discern. I gave your entry a 6, which is quite lower than I usually give your remarkable insect images. My feeling was that the positioning of the wasp is somewhat cumbersome, hard to get a solid feel for the insect as a whole. Just a personal impression. I would have given the spider image a 9.7, which rounds up nicely. And put it into my favorites, which I'm going to do anyway from here, a first for an outtake.
Your macro images continue to delight me. Your determined efforts and creativity are appreciated.

Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp with Dewdrops.
by roz

Comment by grahamgator:
You always amaze me Roz! Congrats on another great image.

all the colours of the rainbow
by roz

Comment by Neat:
So so cool Roz!

Your entry is rock solid as usual :)

Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp with Dewdrops.
by roz

Comment by Dennisheckman:
Excellent work Roz! I am really struggling with "What the voters like and don't like". Thats why I am taking a break from entering for a bit. But Congrats on your HM with another great macro.

Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp with Dewdrops.
by roz

Comment by willem:

Originally posted by roz: thankyou for your positive comment willem .. i photograph the insects in their natural environment so i have to be quite stealthy .. !! .. ...etc... i've answered you in here in case anyone else was interested .. there's a heap more i could say . but i've just tried to answer your questions .. have a great day .. :)

Thanks, very interesting, will try it myself when spring arrives here. For now I have a cheap solution to do it ... a manual focus 50 mm lens reversed, or one of my two lensbaby lenses. Working distance will be a key factor here as well.

Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp with Dewdrops.
by roz

Comment by roz:

Originally posted by willem: Beautiful as ever. If I would be really nit-picking I would say it would be nice to have part of the second antenna in focus as well. I always wonder how you get so much in focus of a moving animal and whether you use natural or flash light. My macros always show a lot of out-of-focus, either because of DOF or because of movement. Top 3.

thankyou for your positive comment willem ..
i photograph the insects in their natural environment so i have to be quite stealthy .. !! ..
i dont use a tripod which some macro photographers do .. for me setting up a tripod to photograph them would be ridiculous .. for starters all the movement in setting it up would probably scare them off ... and the time required .. the insect would be gone ..
i use an external flash in most cases because the available light is very unreliable .. and usually not bright enough .. i change the exposure on the flash depending on the available light and i change the direction its pointing as well .. also depending on available light .. i can change the exposure setting on the camera so there's less movement .. movement is often a precursor to the insect deciding its an unsafe environment and leaving ..
so i move very very slowly ..
i do focus stack if i have the opportunity .. sometimes i'm able to get a few shots of the insect suitable for a standard edit where each photo has to look very very similar .. sometimes that's not possible ..
but i try and get as many photos as possible .. if the insect isnt moving .. focusing on different parts of its body ..
i focus stack manually in photoshop because the slightest movement up and down or sideways will mean most of the programs you could use to do it for you wont work .. and if you're not using a tripod or focusing rails then there will be slight movements .. i try and brace myself on something to lessen the movement of my body ..

i do love the shallow depth of field that you see here in this image ..
if i made it less shallow and got more of the insect in focus i would lose that lovely soft background .. and also it would make it more difficult to focus stack .. its like a sacrifice .. i do want as much of the insect in focus usually .. but i dont want a busy background .. of course there are times when i like that all the insect isnt in focus .. it can be quite beautiful when you dont see everything ..

i've answered you in here in case anyone else was interested ..
there's a heap more i could say . but i've just tried to answer your questions ..
have a great day .. :)

Message edited by author 2021-02-08 15:36:37.

Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp with Dewdrops.
by roz

Comment by LevT:
Stunning macro, Roz! Colors are so beautiful!

Sugar Ants collecting nectar.
by roz

Comment by MaryO:
This has roz written all over it! Perfect DOF and a story well told of these industrious critters.

Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp with Dewdrops.
by roz

Comment by IreneM:
My goodness, Roz, you're totally amazing!!!