# Tarcan's picture thread!



## tarcan

I don't have one in the tarantula section, but decide to have my own for in the wild pictures. Will post pictures I take here in Quebec.

These at took at the Mount Royal.



















Martin


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## tarcan

Here are some I took last week end with Alain, when we went again at the park.

Hope you like em

a few lady bugs













these guys mating again!







Couple of flies of course, I cannot resist. I unfortunately clipped the wing on that first one


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## tarcan

A few tiny bugs


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## tarcan

And the spiders

























That's it for now!

Martin


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## eman

Excellent shots Martin! I love the first fly one!

Emmanuel


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## tarcan

Alain, JF (Dreamslave) and I went to the park again yesterday, here are some of my shots, some I am really happy with.


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## tarcan

Some more

























I love this one of the fly blowing a buble!


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## tarcan

some more













these flies are next to impossible to take pictures of, so I am happy with this one although composition is not that great


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## tarcan

Last ones for tonight


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## Lorgakor

Awesome pictures Martin.


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## tarcan

Thank you Laura!


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## ahas

Great pics Martin.    I remember those last 2 spiders.  We had those in the Philippines.  

You must have a good camera eh?

Fred


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## tarcan

Ahas,

thank you, yes I have a decent camera, the lense is more important as you could easily have a more affordable body and take as good pictures.

Yeah, crab spiders are all over the place!

Martin


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## spiderfield

Beautiful pictures! :drool:   I definitely need to invest in a macro lens.  Keep 'em coming!


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## pato_chacoana

Bloody great pics again Martin! Now it's time to publish for Nat Geo, pro quality!!! :clap: 

Cool to create a field trip thread, always the priceless pics are taken in action... let's see some south american jungles! hehe ;-)

Cheers,
Pato


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## lilmoonrabbit

omg, I love your pictures!!!! they are so beautiful! :clap:


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## tarcan

Pato, 

Thanks for the comments! Far from pro yet though, but I am happy with my improvements so far.

South America, hummm... cannot wait to be there!

Yes, I agree that field pictures is much more fun, the excitement of finding the bug and to get a chance to get a good shot of it.

Take care

Martin


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## eman

Excellent shots again Martin... the pics keep getting better as Pato pointed out!  Nice work. 

Perhaps you can teach me some lighting techniques (external flash, diffused light) as I would like to get better lighting with my shots.

Eman


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## tarcan

Eman,

Thanks for the comments, I am sure we will talk about it for some time next time we get a chance to see each other! 

Take care

Martin


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## tarcan

went for a quick run to the park this morning and took a few pics





































last one a bit soft, but I realized at after that I was at f16, I guess I most have touch the button without realizing it.







Hope you like em

Martin


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## tarcan

went out again today with Alain and JF... as usual, I always forget something, today was the worst as I forgot my spare batteries!:wall: :wall: 

Anyhow, still managed to take a few shots with my not fully charged battery  

Looks like it is Argiope season, they were all over the place!

























and some bugs

























I hope you like em

Martin


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## tarcan

Can't believe I forgot that one, which is one of my favourite of the day


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## Anthony Straus

tarcan said:


> Can't believe I forgot that one, which is one of my favourite of the day


_Pelecinus polyturator_ pretty sure these guys are parthenogenic. Nice shot Martin!


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## tarcan

Anthony, interesting info, thanks for sharing

Martin


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## tarcan

a few cicada shots



















Martin


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## tarcan

some more from last Friday













the fly carrying mystical orbs! 













this one at 4:1 macro







and 5:1







and my favourite one of the day


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## tarcan

oups, forgot that one playing bowling with a water droplet!







Martin


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## tarcan

well, it is getting colder and colder up here... Alain and I went today to take pictures, but it is pretty much finished for real now.

Done some landscapes unstead.

First picture actually took yesterday, very cloudy, raining, not ideal.







the next two are from today













Martin


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## tarcan

forgot to post these last week

























Take care

Martin


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## Anansis

Nice pictures Martin but you better harvest those cabbages or they're going to freeze!


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## tarcan

Ollie,

LOL, no need to, that is a picture of the terrarium I breed my feeders in, they will eat the cabage!

Martin


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## Royal_T's

Great pics!  You're good with that camera.


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## Roski

Stunning thread, Martin!

Looking forward to seeing you go nuts on photography, after those new lens you're getting in exchange for Rocky Horror 

--Rosie


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## urs

Nice Martin, very nice! 

Best regards Uros


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## tarcan

Roski said:


> Stunning thread, Martin!
> 
> Looking forward to seeing you go nuts on photography, after those new lens you're getting in exchange for Rocky Horror
> 
> --Rosie


Rosie, a deal with the devil that was... anyhow, I am ready to suffer on Friday!

Thanks Uros!

Martin


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## pato_chacoana

Amazing pics as always! Love the forest pic! and the dragonfly's head!!!  

Cheers,
Pato


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## tarcan

pato_chacoana said:


> Amazing pics as always! Love the forest pic! and the dragonfly's head!!!
> 
> Cheers,
> Pato


Pato,

Thanks, everytime I have a notification you post on one of my thread I become worried because I think you already have a picture of a jaguar and that is what you are posting! LOL

Take care

Martin


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## pato_chacoana

Hahaha! Don't worrie Martin, I'm still far from getting the pic.... 

Cheers,
Pato


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## fartkowski

Very nice Martin.
I really like the landscape shots.


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## tarcan

bugs are finally out, not a ton out there, but still found a few in the little time I was out.

Tiny crab spider at approx. 3:1













another small spider













ladybug







and these water skaters!













Take care

Martin


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## moloch

Martin,

Your photos are beautiful.  What size macro are you using?  Also, what is your lighting?  Multi flashes?  They all are terrific shots.

I agree with Pato.  You need to head south where the diversity of inverts is staggering.

Regards,
David


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## tarcan

Hello David,

Thank you for the nice comments. I had the chance to go to Soutrh American a few times, would love to go back!

These pictures are not all taken with the same lenses. But my current set up, I mostly use the Canon 100 mm L and the Canon MPE 65mm for the extreme closeups. Last year, I was using the EFs 60 mm macro with extension tubes for higher than 1:1 magnification. I still have that lens that I use mainly for my pictures indoor.

Picture of my gear to show the flash and diffuser.

Martin


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## Ninth

so nice pictures:clap:


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## moloch

hmmm .... looks like I have lots to learn.  I also use a Canon 100mm macro and a 430EX flash but I don't get the same results!

Regards,
David


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## tarcan

David,

Do you diffuse your flash? That makes the biggest difference. You do not need a "fancy" one like mine, some do it on their own with some Cola cans and paper towels.

The bracket would not be mandatory with the 100 mm as your working distance works just fine with the flash mounted in the hotshoe.

Pictures 2, 3 and 4 of the last series are focus stacked. At this magnification, you would not get that much DOF (just in case you may wonder about any post processing).

I hope this may help

Martin

PS: Although it makes very difference in the pictures, may I ask what body you are using?


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## moloch

Thanks for the info, Martin.  I use a 40D body.

When you say focus stacked, I assume that you are overlaying multiple photos each of which was focused differently?  Is this done with photoshop?  I wondered how you obtained such an amazing DOF.

Also, I do have a diffuser but tend not to use it much.  I find that I have to drop back to f-stop to the mid-teens and I end up with a very shallow DOF.  You don't have this trouble with your diffuser?  Mine also tends to make the colours too saturated.

Regards,
David


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## Anansis

Martin, what program are you using for ther focus stacking. I'm trying Helicon since I'm using a Mac.

Ollie


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## tarcan

David,

Do you use the liveview on your 40D (I thinkit has it right?) At first, I snobbed this feature, but soon realized that it drmatically enhanced my results in macro. The ability to zoom in live view, compose the frame more easily and get the focus exactly where you want it really changed everything for me.

Yes, you are correct about the focus stacking. You take 2 or more pictures where the focus is done at a different layer and combine them. A bit of work doing it handheld as I never use tripods, but it is worth trying it out. I am still only at my early stages with this.

I do not use photoshop for this, but a dedicated focus staking software. As well to answer Ollie's question, I tried a few and Zerene Stacker is the one I like the most by far. I was not happy with my results in Helicon and also tried CombineZ.

Most of my shots at f11, although, with the MPE, the higher the magnification the wider the lens needs to be to obtain the optimal sharpness. Apparently, at 5:1 you need to be at f5.6, at this mag. that wide, the focus plane is paper thin! I tend to go between f8 and f11 with it and sacrifice a bit of sharpness. I am not good enough to take 5 or 6 shots and stack them. I usually only end up with 2 or 3 that are usable for it.

Do you shoot in raw? Should be easy enough to desaturate your pictures in post processing if you use raw. Also nice since you can change the white balance at will after the picture is taken.

I would start back experimenting with the diffuser. But some indeed give bad results. I had another one before and I was also getting that very saturated look, was not so nice.

I hope this helps

Martin


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## moloch

Thanks for the great info, Martin.  I only shoot RAW so usually do play around with saturation and white balance.

I also do not use liveview since I considered it a gimmick.  From what you say, it looks like I was wrong and that it would be useful.

I don't use a tripod since I am usually take the shots in the field and tripods are often pretty awkward when shooting in-situ pics.

Thanks for the info on Zerene Stacker.  I will download it and give it a try.

Regards,
David


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## zonbonzovi

Great pix Martin & thanks for your setup explanation!  I wish we had a dedicated photo technique thread here on AB.


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## tarcan

Thanks all for the nice comments.

Here are a few more shots from the week end

assassin bug eating a mite







a velvet mite, these guys never stop moving, it is a little frustrating



















this little fellow













last but not least, a gorgeous tiger beetle, for anyone who ever tried to take pictures of these, I think you will appreciate that I managed to get these!













and a crop of the two above shots for a close up of the head













take care

Martin


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## Anansis

Nice pictures Martin. That tiger is ready for POTN. Wish I could get out but it's snowing again here today.

Ollie


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## tarcan

Ollie, having some warm weather yet?

Some more from last week

























take care

Martin


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## Anansis

It's slowly starting to warm up now.  

That crane fly is an ugly sucker.

Ollie


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## Crysta

How much did your macro lense cost you tarcan?  I really want one!

The results are wonderful! Love the little jumping spider, she reminds me of a little girl in a frilly white dress!


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## tarcan

CentipedeFreak said:


> How much did your macro lense cost you tarcan?  I really want one!


Hello!

Well, I have probably two of the most expenses macro lenses out there so not a very good idea of the general price, but you do not need to pay that much for a good macro. In fact, apparently, you cannot really go wrong with pretty much any dedicated macro lens out there.

You could go for a Tamron 90 mm that goes for about 520$ or so in Canada and you can get the same quality image as with my Canon 100 L that sells for around 1100$ - 1200$

The Canon MPE is a specialized lens that can be hard to use when you have no experience with macro, so I would not recommend starting with that.

Good luck

Martin


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## Crysta

thank you for the reply! I will surely look into this! 
I also have one of those flash fillers I got for my birthday, but mine is a little different. It fits around the lense and you can adjust the diffuse type on the remote that is attached on the top, much like yours.


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## tarcan

CentipedeFreak said:


> thank you for the reply! I will surely look into this!
> I also have one of those flash fillers I got for my birthday, but mine is a little different. It fits around the lense and you can adjust the diffuse type on the remote that is attached on the top, much like yours.


if you can and if you have two cameras, post a picture of that diffuser set up as I have a hard time visualizing it.

Martin


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## Crysta

tarcan said:


> if you can and if you have two cameras, post a picture of that diffuser set up as I have a hard time visualizing it.
> 
> Martin


Np! 
Its called Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX, used in macro shots apparently.
I am very bad at using it though haha.... probably because it feels so clunky to me, and I usually only work with available light, hates flash!! I am sure I will learn to use it properly in the future. 
Hm maybe I meant...adjust the brightness/harshness instead of diffuse?.... 
Anyways you can adjust each side a different level if you want, or adjust the the same level.... theres this thick lil handbook that goes with it that I am too lazy to read... lol 

Ah...I feel like I am hijacking your thread...so I will post links.
Apart
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f310/CrystaPerak/IMG_3721.jpg
Together
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f310/CrystaPerak/IMG_3726.jpg
Little menu thing
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f310/CrystaPerak/IMG_3723.jpg
Close up
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f310/CrystaPerak/IMG_3725.jpg
Also here is a link for an on-line review if you are interested. http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=122


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## tarcan

ah ok, yes the ring flash, I am very familiar with it, I used to own one, I was confused as you talked about a diffuser.

Thanks for clarifying

Martin


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## tarcan

PS: you might want to be careful with which lens you buy than, to make sure the ring flash will attach to it, there are adaptors that can be bought though in the worst of cases.

Martin


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## Crysta

Np! I guess I mean it gave off diffused light already. haha 
Please keep posting more pictures.  I like bugs! (So do my spiders)


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## tarcan

some more from yesterday, the mosquitoes were horrible, so I did not stay long



















don't know what this little fuzzy thing was!













and last tiny fly for the day













take care

Martin


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## tarcan

a crop of the first fly







Martin


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## tarcan

a few more crops of the above


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## eman

Impressive shots Martin!


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## tarcan

thanks Eman

A few more from today

























and my favourite of the day







played with it in photoshop, thought the image could work well with this sort of effect







take care

Martin


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## xhexdx

Great shots, Martin!


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## Koh_

tarcan said:


> take care
> 
> Martin


amazing shot Martin, great capture!


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## Anansis

Is that your blood Martin?

Ollie


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## tarcan

Anansis said:


> Is that your blood Martin?
> 
> Ollie


yes, pretty is it not? lol


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## Roski

Hahaha, awesome velvet mite.  Can't imagine how long you must have hovered around the little guy. 

Hooray updates!

Cheers,
Ro


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## tarcan

some of my pictures of my week in Cincinnati.

managed to get that firefly, but focus is dissapointing... nevertheless, took me two evenings to get that, with tons of mosquito bites!







tiny little furry butted guy!



















tiny weevil



































































that's it for now

Martin


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## Shell

All your pics are great, but that very last one...WOW. The details are just amazing :clap:


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## Crysta

very beautiful pictures as always, I am jealous of your sharpness.


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## tarcan

thanks guys

some more from today



































































my favourite ones of the day













crop from above







hope you like them

Martin


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## zonbonzovi

Unreal, Martin!  Do you happen to know what the beetle is in pic#2 from the most recent series you posted?


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## tarcan

I have no clue, looks like it is mimicking some poopy of some sort! he he


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## eman

Superb shots again Martin!  

Cheers,

Eman


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## tarcan

thanks Eman, it's appreciated

went out to take a few shots today, was so windy, I gave up, but still managed a few.





































and last one eating


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## Anastasia

Amazing! :clap:


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## moloch

Your shot are simply incredible!

Regards,
David


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## Protectyaaaneck

Your photos are amazing.  I love looking at this thread.


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## Anthony Straus

Havnt been in this thread in ages...forgot the "field trips" board existed!

Great shots Martin! Some really amazing critters in there!


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## tarcan

thank you everyone for the nice comments, been a while since I had the chance to go out and take some pics, here are  afew of today





























































take care

Martin


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## Crysta

wow tarcan you're amazing!!  
I really love the funnel web spider!! It's beautiful! 
and that crane fly? wasp bug? the black curly one is amazing looking.  Too bad there wasn't more bokek it's beautiful!


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## tarcan

Crysta, thank you for the nice comments, some more shots from yesterday

























spider with abdominal parasite


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## tarcan

oups double post


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## tarcan

the rest





























































take care

Martin


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## Crysta

damn tarcan i want your camera ahha = ) oh the interesting things you can find in canada.

I was out taking pictures today and saw this massive jumping spider (well bigger then usuall around here, but she hopped away so ill check her hide tomorrow to see if she's returned (she had eggs so i assum she will lol)


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## tarcan

what you probably want is the lens, otherwise you can take the same pictures with any DSLR body!


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## zonbonzovi

Neat scorpionfly!  What are the mating pair toward the bottom?


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## tarcan

the close up of the fly is a rober fly, sadly I have yet to find a scorpion fly, which is very high on my want list!

The mating pair is supposed to be ambush bugs, but not sure about any more details about them.

Take care

Martin


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## syndicate

tarcan said:


>


Wow Martin what a cool find!Looks like some creepy alien sex! 
Keep at it man!Your pics keep getting better and better!
-Chris


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## Protectyaaaneck

Incredible pictures.  You seem to find some really wild looking bugs.


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## xhexdx

Where the heck do you go to find these bugs?!?!


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## tarcan

xhexdx said:


> Where the heck do you go to find these bugs?!?!


Joe, not too far actually, aside from the series I took in Cincinnati, all are done on the island of Monteal!


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## Anansis

tarcan said:


> Joe, not too far actually, aside from the series I took in Cincinnati, all are done on the island of Monteal!



Also known as The Island of Dr. Moreau!

Those ambush bugs are wild Martin. They remind me of chameleons.

Ollie


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## Nerri1029

syndicate said:


> Wow Martin what a cool find!Looks like some creepy alien sex!
> Keep at it man!Your pics keep getting better and better!
> -Chris


It's like he could Illustrate a Sex Guide for bugs... 

AMAZING pics as always Martin


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## tarcan

lol, thank you everyone... maybe we could work on a kama sutra for insects!


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## smallara98

Can I tell you you have amazing photography ? And those last pics , what the heck were they doing ? Lol


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## tarcan

thank you

a few more from last Friday, was very windy, did not stay too long













could not resist these guys again































hope you like them

Martin


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## Koh_

nice colored creatures!
awesome pics Martin.


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## pato_chacoana

wwowwwww... look at those itchy bristles !!!!! congrats martin, really sharp!!!!


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## tarcan

thanks guys! Pato, one day we might go take some pictures together in Argentina! would be nice!

Some from today









































































take care

Martin


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## pato_chacoana

That'd be great Martin! :worship: You're welcome here, just let me know and we'll go! 

Loving the 4th pic!!!


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## Crysta

martin, martin, martin, your pictures just keep getting better  ! 

I really enjoyed the lil transparant leaf hopper  and the frog is so nice! beautiful!


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## tarcan

thank you Crysta

here are a few from last Friday, a series with Aphids at 4:1 macro

























take care

Martin


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## bobusboy

Feels like a National Geographic special   awesome photos.


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## tarcan

thanks for the nice comments!

some from last week that I did not post yet









































































take care

Martin


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## tarcan

some of the last chances before cold arrives and our twins are born





















































































take care

Martin


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## tarcan

well, after that disapointing series from last week, I had a much better one this time. Might be the last time I go out this season, I think it will finish well.

tiny little shell I found under a mushroom. This is 5:1 macro with slight cropping. A stack of 5 shots







under that same mushroom was that fly







also unfortunately squished a springtail by accident, again this is 5:1 macro with cropping







other tiny little fellow (yes, it is getting cold here and most of the bigger bugs are absent)







this nice bug

























and my favourite series of the day, a tiny little metallic green wasp, was about 2:1 to 3:1 macro. I was really thrilled. Been looking for some green wasps the whole season without success, so I was really excited!



















take care

Martin


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## Crysta

very beautiful photos martin!! I need to get out there 0.0 hehe 

thanks for sharing and the green wasp with the purple is amazing 

good luck with the twins


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## tarcan

thanks, yeah, you are lucky to be in BC, you should have all kinds of crazy things out there + a mild winter. You better go out there and show us some pics!


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## JesseD

Incredible! Unfortunately these shots are quite distracting while at work! Which one will end up my next desktop background?


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## spiderslight

All i have to say is those pictures are amazing and that i need a better camera. LOL love the pictures!!!!!!


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## tarcan

thank you everyone for the nice comments and for looking.

time to get serious now... here is my new set up which will give me 10x macro... I am missing a little bit of tubing to get there, should be settled soon.







here is a picture from tonight, not great, but a start, it is insanely hard to handhold at this magnification and if the insect is moving, it is impossible to find it! Will be my next year's challenge.

Anyhow, not sure how much mag there is, but it is close to 10x







take care

Martin


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## pato_chacoana

Wow! Martin, you're taking macro photography to a whole other level!! 
I loved the last bug in the flower shot!!

I'm excited to see new pics with that setup!

Cheers,
Pato


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## tarcan

Pato,

yes, but it is insanely difficult, the DOF is non existant! Will have to practice a lot at home before I can contemplate taken that on the field!

Thanks for the comment

Martin


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## Philth

Thats crazy Martin haha, Cant wait either to see what you do with it.
Later, Tom


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## zonbonzovi

Wow, Martin...that is a great idea.  Looks like you cannibalized a microscope?  A great canidate for photo stacking with the low/no DOF.  Would love to see a blog on your photo exploits(hint, hint)


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## tarcan

zonbonzovi said:


> Wow, Martin...that is a great idea.  Looks like you cannibalized a microscope?  A great canidate for photo stacking with the low/no DOF.  Would love to see a blog on your photo exploits(hint, hint)


he he, I just bought the objective seperatly on ebay, Mike (Nerri) also brought one for me to try out, but the working distance was way to short. The one on the picture is my new on, it is a "long working distance"... a whoping 10mm or so, maybe a little more, I did not measure yet. Mike's was 5.6 mm LOL

Yes, you have no choice to focus stack with these, that picture I posted is a stack of 3 and there is no DOF as you can see... normally, shots with these objectives will require over 30 shots to get any kind of decent DOF, hard to achieve handheld, but not impossible! But ideally you need an elaborate focussing rail to achieve good results, I am not equiped yet for that. And normally you are mostly stuck at taking pictures of dead bugs, something I am not so interested in. 

I have been wanting to create a little site with my favourite pictures and some info on them, but I really have no time right now! Maybe eventually...

Martin


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## Roski

Geez Martin, it didn't take long for you to take photography to the mad scientist level!


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## tarcan

Roski said:


> Geez Martin, it didn't take long for you to take photography to the mad scientist level!


LOL, as a mad scientist yourself, looks like you have a bad influence on me!


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## DrAce

Those are all just... wow.

Sometimes, I wish I could do these things. Then I realize that sometimes, it's just best to let people like Tarcan who know what they're doing do them.


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## tarcan

DrAce said:


> Those are all just... wow.
> 
> Sometimes, I wish I could do these things. Then I realize that sometimes, it's just best to let people like Tarcan who know what they're doing do them.


thank you Martin, but it only take a little practice, you should try!

Found a few pictures looking through old files from this summer, not sure why I overlooked these.

Dolichopodidae fly, whoever tried to shoot these know they are quite a challenge. These are no flash, natural light, which is rare for me! LOL













cannot wait for next summer.. .right now, it is full of snow here!:barf:

take care

Martin


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## pato_chacoana

Wow! I actually love the lightning in those pics! The colors are amazing...really good pics Martin!


Best wishes,
Pato


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## Leviticus

Martin thank you so much for sharing. These threads are a great inspiration for some field trips that my daughter and I can enjoy this summer. She turns five this spring and she has a keen interest in our pet spiders and snakes.


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## tarcan

thank you everyone

Jow, that is pretty cool, I cannot wait to take the boys hiking!

Martin


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## Leviticus

tarcan said:


> thank you everyone
> 
> Jow, that is pretty cool, I cannot wait to take the boys hiking!
> 
> Martin


I know what you mean. My daughter and I did our first little camping trip this summer, only one night but she did well. She turns 5 this year and I think she will be ready to get a bit more rugged. My son turns 2 this summer so I am going to start him on the outdoor adventures early.


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## Spam010

I love your pics! :worship:


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## tarcan

OK, not field trip as this specimen was dead, but just wanted to keep my pictures together as it is some local fauna.

This is a wasp from Quebec, I think it is a Pompilidae, it looks just like one and it apparently also predates local spiders.







second one full head shot, a bit too dark for my taste, but gives a better overall look







take care

Martin

---------- Post added at 07:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:06 PM ----------

tighter crop of the first one to show eye detail, I was surprised by the nice patterns on the eyes


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## Leviticus

Impressive wasp photo Martin, and yes the pattern on the eye is quite intriguing.


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## tarcan

portrait of a phorid fly


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## ZergFront

These are very VERY nice! Keep up the great work. :clap:


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## tarcan

I am back after a much too long winter, some shots from Germany taken last week











































take care

Martin


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## fartkowski

Those Germans always have cool stuff
Nice shots Martin.


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## The Spider Faery

I'm looking at pic #3...Is that a mite?  What is that strange fuzzy red thing?


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## tarcan

yes, it is a velvet mite, we have tons here as well


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## The Spider Faery

Oh yes, I've seen them, now that I know for sure what it is.  It looks so much prettier up close on a macro then just a tiny red dot crawling around.


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## tarcan

OK, finally had a chance to go out with Alain and take a few pictures, been testing a new flash set up to minimize weight, not bad, but still have to fiddle with them.



































































hope you like them

Martin


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## fartkowski

tarcan said:


>


Very nice Martin
I like the design on this guy.


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## tarcan

thanks Chris, I thought they looked great too, Alain found them some time back and I was hoping to get a pic of them. Very hard to photograph.

---------- Post added at 10:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 PM ----------

rarely take the time to take ant shots, tooks these two the other day in front of our place.


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## khil

wow! amazing!


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## tarcan

thank you Khil

here are more from yexterday





































---------- Post added at 11:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:29 AM ----------

a few more


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## tarcan

some more from last week end


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## Croaton

Wow.... these pictures are absolutely incredible.... :worship::clap:


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## zonbonzovi

Awesome Cicindela shots, Martin!  That is a very difficult group to photo.  I just noticed the hummingbird mimic fly(?).  I've been chasing those all over the yard for the past couple months, trying to get a good shot.  You must have latent hunter/gatherer superskills:?


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## tarcan

thank you for the comments!

Zonbonzovi, I have two dirty secrets... the first one... the tiger beetle was actually dead! LOL but to my defense, I only confirmed it when I was finished with my shots, I was amazed and very suspicious that it was not moving and was very calm, like you said, these guys are very hard to approach, I only succeeded well last year when it was in spring, was still cold and it was eating, so it made the tiger beetle distracted and I managed some really nice natural light shots. These two shots were with flash though.

For the beefly, I was very lucky, like you, I was chasing them (and cursing like a sailor) for quite a bit of time, until my friend ask me "is this what you are trying to take a picture of" and there it was, very calm and still for the duration of several shots, when I tried to get higher mag. shots, it flew away!

Martin


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## pato_chacoana

awesome shots Martin! the lighting looks great, are you playing with the twin flash yet? 

looks like your weather is getting nicer !

the spider eating the fly is very cool and the green beetle!! The wolf spider brought me nice memories  here is getting freaking cold and not so good for the field...had the last weekend in Cordoba province but the weather was horrible. looking forward to testing the flash in the field  Ohh, my camera went to the service but it was only a software update! (luckily) lol

really loved the new pics.

pato-


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## fartkowski

Awesome shots Martin
It's amazing how beautiful these "bugs" actually are when you see them up close.


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## tarcan

Thank you Chris and Pato

Pato, no I do not have the flash yet, stupid Canada Post was on strike, so it is probably sitting somewhere in a warehouse right now. Hopefully I get it soon, Canada Post workers have been ordered back to work.

I am sure that your nice Argentinian weather will be back soon! Can't wait to see your new pictures with your new set up... or to go take again some pictures together maybe next year!

Martin


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## tarcan

Hopefully I do not bore you guys to death.

Finally got my twin flash... humm... what a pleasure to use.

Still fiddling with it, but so much fun. Feels great in hands, well balanced and solid.

A few shots from last week end

First I found this new Dolichopididae sp. fly (new to me I mean)... I was extatic, anyone who's been on the field to take shots with me knows that I have a weid facination for flies and Dolis are amoung my favourites. They are challenging to shoot as they fly off when the flash is activated



















my friend Alain L. (also on the boards) found this crazy mantidfly!



















metallic beetle, a nightmare to expose































turtle beetle larvae with dead skin for camouflage, another great Alain find







and this mayfly


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## zonbonzovi

Never bored  I like to cannibalize your ideas and the particulars of how you got the shot(before I spend big $ on a good cam).

The mantisfly has a doppelganger here locally in a crane fly that I haven't been able to ID.


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## tarcan

thanks zonbonzovi!

no problem to cannibalize ideas, happy to help if I can!

what cam do you currently use?

you must have some pretty insane bugs in the rainforest out west! Wish I could go there for pictures!

Martin


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## zonbonzovi

tarcan said:


> thanks zonbonzovi!
> 
> no problem to cannibalize ideas, happy to help if I can!
> 
> what cam do you currently use?
> 
> you must have some pretty insane bugs in the rainforest out west! Wish I could go there for pictures!
> 
> Martin


Hey Martin, I'm using a Panasonic Lumix FZ50 w/ a Raynox DCR250 macro lens...it's OK but I want to be able to shoot those elusive creatures that are thumbnail size & less.  I'd like to find a gently used DSLR body and a dedicated macro lens now that prices are dropping.  

There are absolutely some great photo ops in the rainforest here, but with the exception of the slugs & vertebrates, macro is ideal.  If you ever make it out this way, give me a holla!  John


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## fartkowski

Amazing shots again Martin
When I go to the park I have to start looking for bugs rather than just squirrels


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## tarcan

John, indeed DSLR is the best way to go for macro, but can be expensive. Like you said, with a used body, you can save quite a bit of money, there are people out there who upgrade their body all the time thinking their pictures will get better! So you can find good deals... same for lenses. I use an "old" body now by most people's standards these days, but it works perfectly fine (although I would love to go "fullframe"!).

Chris, yes, get off your lazy butt and take that macro lens of yours out for a few trys!


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## Kruggar

Amazing as always Martin! keep em coming!


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## tarcan

thank you Richard

here is my new series from Friday, some change as I decided to experiment with natural lighting. I decided it was time to welcome new challenges. These are all handheld, no tripod.

Hope you like them

Martin

















































---------- Post added at 09:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:09 PM ----------

two last one, not sure why my post got posted before I finished!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Philth

Incredible:worship:, makes me think of how much cool stuff I walk past everyday, or step on, or swat at when it lands on me.  Just awesome man!

Later, Tom


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## tarcan

thank you Tom


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## ScottyMcgee

Awesome photos


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## tarcan

well, apparently I no longer know how to place pictures, sorry for that post until I figure out what the problem is


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## zumbul91

Amazing fotos!


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## mrclean518

I am thankful that I found this thread.  Beautiful and truly amazing.   Invaluable.

Thanks so much.


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## Christoffer

Truly incredible pictures and awesome critters!! I have no words 
Do you ever catch any of them and try to keep them? I would've  Especially tiger beetles


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## tarcan

thank you for the nice comments, Christoffer, no, I never bring back critters back at home, I have enough tarantulas to take care of as it is! he he But I have been tempted by a few crab spiders!


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## Christoffer

tarcan said:


> thank you for the nice comments, Christoffer, no, I never bring back critters back at home, I have enough tarantulas to take care of as it is! he he But I have been tempted by a few crab spiders!


I dont blame you, their so cool. We have Misumena vatia in our garden. They're so cool


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## tarcan

here is my mozaic of a retrospective of my favourite shots of 2011, hope you like it!

Reactions: Like 2 | Award 1


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## Kungfujoe

Looks like pics you see in national geographics magazines, awesome pics.. keep em coming.


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## TityusBahiensis

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!! wow!!! nice pics! By the way, what camera did you use? congratulations for the pics!


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## tarcan

thank you for the nice comments!

Tityus, you have a picture of my old set up on page 3, but essentially, I use the Canon 50D, I alternate between 4 macro lenses, the EF-S 60mm (very rarely, but some older shots were made it it), the EF 100mm L, the Sigma 150mm and the MP-E 65mm, also, since last summer, I use the Canon twinflash.

Take care

Martin


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## Anastasia

Martin, this thread like an eyekandy, I truly enjoying every time I see it and looking forward to see more of new incredible shots!

Anastasia.


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## tarcan

thank you Anastasia, much appreciated!


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## tarcan

all right, the season has started... finally

anyhow, barely I should say, it was freezing cold today and there was snow... but nothing would stop Alain and I to go take some shots.

got this shot of a fly walking on the snow... took me about 15 minutes to get this decent shot, after that I gave up as I had my knees in the snow and I could not feel them anymore!







and a second one of that same fly







a nice little spider







and got a shoot a few ants, which is rare, the temps kept them decently slow!













Anyhow, nothing outstanding, but I was just happy to be back on the field!

Martin

Reactions: Like 2


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## moloch

Glad the season has begun for you.  I am looking forward to your terrific photos.

Regards,
David


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## tarcan

thank you David, here are a few more recent ones, there were a decent number of small arachnids































and Alain found a giant millepede, I had no clue we had these up here, quite impressive!







more to come when I get the chance

Martin

Reactions: Like 4


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## Christoffer

You inspire me!


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## tarcan

Here are some new ones from this week end

















































Hope you like them!

Martin

Reactions: Like 4


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## VinceG

Super les photos Martin! C'était dans quel coin?


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## tarcan

thanks Vincent, it was at park Angrignon


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## Philth

Always nice Martin, I'm shocked by the millipede posted earlier as well

Later, Tom


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## Shrike

Wow, great stuff.  The clarity on those close up shots is amazing.


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## grayzone

wow.. Im speechless.. this is by far the best thread ive seen so far.. ive SCOURED the tarantula pics section and there are a few great photographers that do wonders, but THIS THREAD rocks.. i love the diversity in it.. there is a little of everything. Amazing stuff and thanks for giving me stuff to look at.


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## tarcan

thank you everyone for the very nice comments, it is much appreciated and motivating to keep on going!


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## grayzone

please do:biggrin:


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## tarcan

a few more from this week end

That first one, I thought was really funny!







Spider waiting for it's lunch to jump!







closer view of the spider







smallest weevil I ver saw, that was at 2.5:1 maco with some cropping







mayfly portrait

























last, the pictures are not so good, but that buterfly was gorgeous!

Reactions: Like 2


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## syndicate

Great shots Martin!Love the photo of the ant tending to the aphids!
-Chris


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## Low

syndicate said:


> Great shots Martin!Love the photo of the ant tending to the aphids!
> -Chris


Agree...

Its pretty amazing that some species of ants actually "farm" aphids for their honeydew...
And those r excellent photos as well...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk


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## tarcan

a few more from last week

Reactions: Like 2


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## RobynTRR

Such incredible pics!

---------- Post added 07-24-2012 at 07:49 PM ----------

Incredible pics!


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## Storm76

Awesome detail!


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## tarcan

thank you Robyn and Storm

A few more from Saturday, a tiny little angel! A nice plume moth







same moth, but a portrait at 4:1 macro with some cropping

Reactions: Like 2


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## tarcan

a few more from last week-end, season coming to an end!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Shrike

Wow.  As always, you take some incredible pictures!


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## tarcan

thank you Shrike! Much appreciated


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## tarcan

Here are a few from my last outing two weeks ago

a cute tiny fly







and the holy grail of hover flies, I thought I would have a heart attack!

Reactions: Like 6


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## tarcan

here is a portrait of the first fly of the previous post, lovely little thing, was taken at 4:1 with some cropping

Reactions: Like 2


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## Nujs

Amazing shots!!


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## Shrike

That hover fly is awesome!


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## tarcan

Thank you Shrike

a few more from the season

Reactions: Like 1


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## Petross

Really great photos.


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## tarcan

thank you Petross

I got myself a new toy this week... I really cannot wait for spring! Had my 50D since early 2009, 4 years of loyal services. Still keeping it, now will not need to swap lenses on the field between the MPE and the regular macro.

Reactions: Like 1


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## moloch

Lovely shots, tarcan.  Always great lighting and amazing images of the arthropods!

Do you know the Malaysian macro photographers, Kurt and Derrick?  I think that you would enjoy their shots as well.  They also use a Canon MPE-65 and like you, take incredible photos.  Their photo sessions are year-round since they live in Kuala Lumpur, just a little north of the equator.  I met them on a couple of trips and will do so again in the future.  It is amazing to see them in action in the field.


Regards,
David


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## tarcan

Thank you for the nice comments David.

Yes, I "know" Kurt (from the Canon form, never had to chance to go to Malaysia and meet him). He is a huge inspiration for me and I have improved my photography a lot thanks to him. He shares a lot of info and his blog is very useful.

Hopefully I get to go to Asia one day!


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## Philth

I'm looking forward to spring now to Martin 

Later, Tom

Reactions: Like 1


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## tarcan

first one of the year!

Reactions: Like 2


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## moloch

Beautiful bee.  I am glad that the season is beginning for you again.  Look forward to the pics!

Regards,
David


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## tarcan

thank you David!

A few more from the same day, almost all of the same wasp

Reactions: Like 5


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## Shrike

Gorgeous little wasp!


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## tarcan

here are some from 2 weeks ago

Reactions: Like 8


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## Akai

Love the pics!  Keep em' coming!  hotogenic:


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## Shrike

Love the latest set!  The colors on that insect's (weevil?) carapace are amazing.


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## Smokehound714

that treehopper looks awesome!


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## tarcan

thank you everyone for the kind comments!


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## Shell

Wow, Martin! Amazing pics.


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## BiophilicGinger

Overall, remarkable! Bookmarked this thread and eagerly awaiting updates. Exquisite work, Martin!

-Chris Bailey

Reactions: Like 1


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## tarcan

thank you Chris... spring is slowly coming... hopefully I can go back in the field in a month or so!


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