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From an Alien World
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From an Alien World

by Basil Greber

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted January 12, 2012181 views5 comments
Sometimes, I'm stunned by the creatures you find if you care to look closely. This certainly does apply here. This comes from a series of shots showing this bug and a few flies, but I think that this one is certainly the weirdest looking shot of the bunch. Would have liked some more DoF, but I think with the in focus head, this shot may work nevertheless. What do you think?

Techs: Nikon D300 + 105/2.8 AF-S VR Micro.

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on January 12, 2012 at 8:47 PM
Basil, great capture of this very strange looking fly. I agree that, because of the profile view, a little more DOF would have been better, but it's very sharp about the head and eye where sharpness really matters. The larger view really shows this. Good exposure on the white flower, too. Excellent image.

It's kind of coincidental that you posted this. I showed my wife the fly image I posted two nights ago, which also is not one we typically see, and that got us guessing about how many species of flies there are. We then googled the answer - 120,000! :eek: So, after our respective posts, plus Eirini's robber fly that got this week's WP, and Chris's recent hoverfly, the forum has only 119,996 to go. Get busy posting those flies everyone!
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Hali Sowle on January 12, 2012 at 10:01 PM
Wow what a cool looking fly, I remember in high school that my biology teacher told me that there were more fly species than any other order under kingdom animalia in the biology classification. All that aside :razz: I think the side profile is really interesting, and although a little more DoF would have been good the result is still really pleasing with all that great detail of the pollen on it's legs and it's face and back. Nice bg and as well.
Registered on January 9, 2008, 36 Posts, 582 Comments
Comment posted by Basil Greber on January 13, 2012 at 2:19 AM
Thanks for your comments. Looks like there's lots of work left to do. :smile:
Registered on November 8, 2005, 219 Posts, 1340 Comments
Comment posted by Chris Grabski on January 13, 2012 at 4:23 AM
Basil, it's a fantastic shot. And I am going to start searching for some more flies, too. :wink:
Registered on April 29, 2011, 122 Posts, 431 Comments
Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on January 15, 2012 at 10:54 PM
It's pretty strange looking, alright. I think the dof kinda adds to the other-worldliness. You certainly got detail where detail counts. Nice capture
Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments