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It's a Fly
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It's a Fly

by Peter Cross

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted August 25, 201351 views4 comments
I've been in the backyard this weekend trying out different lenses to see which works best as a macro lens with an extension tube attached. We have a ton of different kinds of bees working over all of the flowering plants. Most are natives but not all. I took a couple of shots of this little guy (1/4" long) thinking it was an interesting kind of bee. But when I actually got a look at it on the computer screen, I found it was really a fly. Short antennae, really large eyes, and only 2 wings are all marks of a fly. It's on a rosemary bush that is quite popular right now. This is about 40% of the original and was handheld. Comments and critiques appreciated.

Tech Info

Canon 60D with EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 135mm and 36mm extension tube
1/250th @ f/11 and ISO 800
handheld

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on August 25, 2013 at 11:44 PM
Pretty darn nice capture here, Peter. Especially being handheld too. The larger version provides some very nice detail. :cool:
Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on August 26, 2013 at 7:37 AM
Hi Peter. Good capture of this hoverfly. I like the way you positioned the HF in the frame, and isolated the HF and its perch from the bg. The light areas in the bg are a bit distracting, but the bg is good as a whole. :wavey:
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on August 28, 2013 at 8:36 AM
Nicely captured, Peter. It does, though, look a touch too bright on my monitor - I wonder especially if a bit more contrast on the fly itself might bring it up even more ? A very pleasing image nonetheless - I like the way the fly is perched.
Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments
Comment posted by Marylynne Diggs on August 28, 2013 at 9:00 PM
love the detail you captured here in both the hover fly and the rosemary and the drop off in dof to render the background less distracting.He almost appears to be hovering! The 28-135 USM is one of Canon's great lenses without an L to its name. I trade mine for the 24-104 and have regretted the loss of reach.
Registered on December 14, 2010, 122 Posts, 1034 Comments