MACRO SHMACRO ~ the devil in the detail.

[Cheryl]

Mozzies in particular are there to boost the human ego! Look at it this way: when you feel you as a person are too small to have an effect, try getting into bed with a mozzie....

[shakes]

It's easy, there are very little anthropomorphic reasons for any taxon's existence, unless we modify and or tame them. This ability to "re-purpose" other organisms leads us to think we are the centre of this planet, the reason for it's existence, so the fallacy of pests got started. We have since seen that whole ecological systems are needed to support our pompous selves and so we have bestowed worth on un-tamed organisms.

Where there is a food source there's a gogga that'll exploit it, Without this law and all the itchy bites that follow with it, we wouldn't be here. Furthermore the malaria mozzies evolved along with human settlements and most likely their live-stock, they adapted to very ephemeral sources of water in and around human settlements, to breed a cow footprint in the mud that fills with water, a pit latrine, the puddles that form in footpaths... So the pests are in fact the only wild animals that are developed precisely because of us and our habits.

[Surly Ghillie]

Shakes, you are of course entirely correct.
But your reasoning has a fatal flaw; it overlooks the fact that to comprehend it requires that one rub a few brain cells against each other. The heat thus generated produces the light that illuminates the fact, but alas, not everybody has the resource required to fuel the process.

Can somebody please find something to say about MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY... which is what the thread purports to tut!!!

We have now covered everything from the evils of burning the retinas out of big cats through to the banality of anthropomorphology and the anal retention that is its diagnostic. Now that we've done the schmacro, lets get back onto macro ~ the initial post, remember?.

[Johann van Rensburg]

Can somebody please find something to say about MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY... which is what the thread purports to tut!!!

OK Man...chill a bit....

Seeing that Mozzies obviously fear us and never stick around for a shot, how do you shoot a Mozzie ?

[Surly Ghillie]

OK Man...chill a bit....

thanks Johan . And that's your answer right there; ... you chill it a bit.

All invertebrates are cold blooded. Their metabolic function is powered by ambient temperature. Any sudden spike of 3 degrees downwards stops invertebrates dead in their tracks. Spikes of 5 degrees or more will result in heavy mortalities amongst all but the most resilent of macro-invertebrates..

[shakes]

I must say when lighting these things I prefer to have the flash off-board, but also a reflector opposite the flash - one day when I'm big, I'll get a camera that can remote fire my flash, then one can have a little ringflash like diffuser with on-board flash and an off-camera flash... Man have you seen the images at 1x.com... http://1x.com/photos/macro/ oh my word, this takes some doing, although I must say there is some cohesive aesthetic there....

[Surly Ghillie]

Off camera flash is certainly a way to go ~ it creates great flexibility but you need to pay particular attention that stray light does not catch your front element ` as discussed further back in the thread. Because the flash is being used so close to subject, even tiny variances in the distance and ratio of distance between main light, subject, and fill reflector make for vast differences in the tonal gradient from the 'on' flash side to the 'off' flash side. .

[JanFRvdW]

...how do you shoot a Mozzie ?

Dare I suggest a 75mm Doom Lens?

[BrerFox]

I like your style of writing and your approach to the subject. Your stunning photos add credibility. 10/10 from me for a well thought out, superbly executed piece of work, Surly. As a scientist myself, I err towards a clinical and mathematical style, but this article is a reminder of the importance of an artistic balance. Thank you for that!

[Surly Ghillie]

I like your style of writing and your approach to the subject. Your stunning photos add credibility. 10/10 from me for a well thought out, superbly executed piece of work, Surly. As a scientist myself, I err towards a clinical and mathematical style, but this article is a reminder of the importance of an artistic balance. Thank you for that!

It's my pleasure Andre. Glad it works for you. Thank you also for the affirmation. it's much appreciated. I apologise for the long delay in acknowledgement. Didn't mean to ignore you... just my life has been overwhelming this last while and only now am I beginning to retrieve some of the balls dropped along the way.

[Mark Drysdale]

An extremely educational and entertaining thread, Wolf, thank you; sharing your wealth of knowledge with us not only takes time and effort, but also a passion for what you do...which is clearly shown in your writing....and how you live your life.

I dont often venture into these forums (I have my hands full in Avian) and must add that I feel i have been missing out, if more threads like this, are posted, well then there's a lot more one can learn here, than looking at the exif and making your own deductions.

Your writings get a big thumbs-up from me and an extra block to tick (educational) as well as useful and entertaining... Well done!!

Ps. I would like to see one of these images of yours posted in Macro, with a link to this thread.

[Surly Ghillie]

thanks mark. very kind of you. much appreciated.

[Sean Harrison]

Thank you for taking the time out to post this - very informative and helpful.... even for a newbie like me

[Surly Ghillie]

thanks Sean. your comments are appreciated. strange thing is we're all newbies. it's just a question of degree. in creativity everything is always experimental. if it's no longer busy being born, it's busy dying.

[Andrea Sada]

Superb Article. I really liked your approach and humor.

[Surly Ghillie]

thank you Andrea. your kind comments are much appreciated.