Day2 of Photo101 Rehab and I hope I’m not too late!
I love to experiment with macro photography. I took these photos when I was cleaning my camera one day during the November photo101 challenge. I had cereal for breakfast outside and had put a little on the tiles for Gidget. I watched as an ant came along and used its two front legs to grab the cornflake and pull it apart – the piece that it’s carrying is just one quarter of a cornflake, so you can see that this is a very small ant. What I loved was how determined he was to take the cornflake away – he was totally driven.
The hardest part of taking these photos was tracking the ant and keeping him in focus – I experimented with just autofocus and then with continuous autofocus as well. It was tricky because he was pretty fast – I think he was worried that I might want the cornflake back! I was lying flat on my tummy to take these shots and I took a number of shots to get these. They aren’t as sharp as they could be – I think the header one is the best. I should have upped the ISO so that I could use a faster shutter speed.
As usual, I edited in Lightroom. A very slight increase in contrast, highlights and shadows, and a small boost to saturation and vibrance to bring out the colour in the ant.
Tomorrow, I hope to have time to actually get the camera out and take new photos.
x desleyjane
musingsofafrequentflyingscientist.com 
sweet! these critters sure can run!
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oh yeah thanks, so tough being on my belly and chasing him
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Great work anyho! Don’t think i’ve seen these ants before. Interesting colour. May I know what kinda lens you used for this?
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I’m using a mirrorless camera so my 60mm macro lens (Olympus all the way) is a 120mm equivalent. I think they’re just notmal Aussie ants. Tiny!
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Ohhh cool! I need to get myself one of those extension tubes for macro.
It must be cause i’ve never seen them this upclose before!
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Amazing, I like the one on the bottom right of the grid, never really tried macro…so there is a challenge
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Excellent! Thanks Andy. Tomorrow maybe? 😉
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Now there’s a challenge 😉
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Should be fun!
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I’d like to get into doing some Macro photos. Yours look great. I wanted to try w/ an iPhone5s. Anybody have recommendations on what’s a good lens attachment for the 5s?
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I havent really looked at that except for the ollo clips for iPhone. I did see some great insect shots on instagram that were taken with smart phones. We should definitely investigate. Thanks!
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We to Barnes & Noble today. All the books I could but were all on Photoshop but I dont own the software. I had to go to online to my library to renew a book I have out. I did a search there. I’ve order 3 books. Lets see what I can learn from the written word. Also, just checked out you tube, they have abunch of video’s there. Well I’m back to school.
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Oh cool! It will be good to find out what’s available for iPhone….
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First off don’t trust Siri to know what you said. I think I might like “Lightroom” because a lot of information is saying “we are almost like Lightroom,..” That’s like how everybody compares themselves to an iPad.
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I doubt that you’re late for the second rehab session, I think you might even be the first to report! 😉 As to a fellow macro fan, your macro photos very much appeal to me. I have the same issues with focusing as you describe; but being at the very beginning of learning to shoot, I have no advice. Besides keeping on experimenting. And having fun! 🙂
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Cheers Mara. I thought of you last night. It was 2am and I was still perusing blogs. I’m paying for it now at 8:30 in the morning. Time for coffee (again)!
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Great close ups! I hate those little ants getting in to my house, but they are interesting to watch! Your shot sure shows his strength!
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LOL he was amazing. Yes, they really make a mess. If Gidget doesn’t eat her food, it’s covered within about 15 minutes.
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You’re going to be the first, always…time zone helps you. And what about this photo? Wow! Brilliant.
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Thanks so much Lucile! I feel like we might be a day behind but it’s all good. Can you believe I left my camera at my folks’ place tonight?!
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The Clinic is always open and each patient follows an individual therapy; timing is 24×7…
I can’t believe it…are you ok? Trembling yet? Get a mobile phone…now! Lol
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I am quivering, freaking out. I may need double-treatment!! Oh dear. It’s ok, they will take good care of it and bring it by tomorrow. I have 2 iPhones to sustain me til then lol 😉
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I’m relieved to hear. I was already calling emergency services in Australia! 👍
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I am so lucky to have you!
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Likewise!
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I didn’t know that ants enjoyed cereal for breakfast! 🙂
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Me either! Maybe it was the milk 😉
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This is the first time I’ve visited your blog site. Your pictures are most interesting with a wide variety of subjects. The quality of your work is awesome. Stayed at your site for almost an hour mesmerised by your shots.
Last night I took a hard look at your camera, the Olympus OMD EM5. If it weren’t for the steep price I would consider buying it. Everything I read and viewed on the Internet was first class. You are indeed priviledged in having such a great artistic tool.
Plan to return as much as I can to see more of your work.
Cheers,
Omar.-
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Thank you Omar, that means a lot. And thanks for stopping by. 😄
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